"Toothbrushes!" Yang called out with a passionate yell and a fold of her arms.

"Check!" Ruby confirmed with a salute and a smile.

"Scrolls!"

"Check!"

"Weapons and ammo!"

"Check!"

"Blankets!"

"Check!"

"Panties!"

"Double-checked!"

Yang nodded affirmatively and wiped her brow. "Whew! Thank goodness for that, it's probably the most important item of all!"

Ruby and Yang were currently in the middle of packing their things. It was still quite a bit early, which is why they wanted most of their items sorted out as soon as they possibly can, so they wouldn't forget anything later. Yang was leading the rechecking of their items and having Ruby confirm them herself, just to be extra sure. She herself might miss something in their haste, but Ruby sure won't.

"Alright then, that should be everything." Yang hummed as she closed her suitcase, with Ruby closing her own with a huff. Luckily they weren't bring so much that they couldn't carry everything in a case. Just enough to have everything they might need from home, and a little bit extra. "Man, can't believe we're actually going for it. We're actually gonna be doing this."

"I know. It doesn't feel real. But it's like, really for real." Ruby muttered as she briefly seated herself in her bed, kicking her feet about. "But..."

"Uh oh. But what?" Yang questioned as she plopped down next to her sister, seeing her inquisitive expression.

"Is it really, truly okay? Is it going to be okay?" Ruby asked, the same question she asked Glynda and Amber before. Yang had a feeling that this wouldn't go away as easily as that. "With everything that's happened back then, and how it's affected how the people of Patch see us...is it gonna be the same for Beacon?"

"Huh. I've got no clue, sis. Mostly because we haven't arrived there yet." Yang shrugged.

"I'm serious, Yang."

"So am I. We're not gonna know until we get there." Yang reasoned as she placed a hand in Ruby's shoulder. "If we're gonna get a warm welcome to Beacon, great. Fantastic, even! But if they're gonna give us a hard time, there's not much we can do about it from the get-go. That's something that's gonna have to change overtime. But from the starting line, it's something we'll have to grit our teeth and bear."

Ruby looked at her lap for a moment. "That sounds really rough."

"Didn't say it was gonna be easy. But it's something we'll have to do it it turns out that way. Maybe we'll get a break and it's somewhere around the middle of that scale. That'll at least give us some leeway, at the cost of not knowing for sure how to go about things."

"I guess I can see your point. There really isn't anything we can do about how people react to us. It's not within our control." Ruby mumbled with a sigh. "Neither of us have any friends here, no one wanted to try. Do you think our chances will be higher at Beacon? To make friends?"

"Can't say for sure. That's just another thing we'll have to go and find out." Yang stretched her arms a bit, yawning. "Of course, if they decide they wanna throw hands instead of simply talkin' down to us, then we're gonna have problems."

"Yang..."

"I'm just saying. If I end up throwing a punch, they've given me a reason to do so." Yang huffed, before she rolled her arm and turned fully to Ruby, smiling warmly. "Anyway, worryin' about that right here and now isn't gonna do you any good. I'm not saying don't think about it at all, but maybe put it to focus until we've actually gotten there first. You get it?"

Ruby thought about it for a moment, rubbing her chin and tilting her head. In time, she turned towards her sister and nodded. "Yeah. I think I got it, at least a little bit."

"Good on ya. C'mere." Yang grinned as she slid her arms around Ruby and pulled her into a hug. Ruby chuckled slightly, which was muffled a bit by Yang's bosom. "You've gotta have a bit of faith in these things, Ruby. If we're gonna do this, we're really gonna have to work for it."

"I know, I know. I get that." Ruby sighed as she slightly returned the hug, with Yang caressing the top of her head as it was rested on her sister's ample bust. "It's that kinda thing I know is probably gonna be something we have to deal with, and I get the how's and why's of it. But even so, I can't bring myself to be fully comfortable with it." She lightly lifted her head to look Yang in the eye. "It's like you said. We won't know for sure what to do until we're actually there to get a feel for it."

"Righto, Rubes."

"Yeah. Now, can you ease up the hug, Yang? Your boobs are kinda suffocating me." Ruby muttered with a smile.

"Hmph! You say that, but may I remind you of the amount of times you fell asleep on them? I'm such a caring, affectionate big sis that I let ya sleep on my bosom. Where's the gratitude, eh?!"

"But I'm not sleepy right now!"

The mood lightens up as Ruby was sent into a laughing fit when Yang did indeed ease up her but yet refused to completely release Ruby. Instead she insisted on ruffling her hair while gently pressing her against her chest, with Ruby lightly saving her arms in a protesting giggle fit.

Though eventually, Yang finally pulled away, and Ruby was allowed to breathe and stop her laughter. Yang's hands remained on Ruby's shoulders, and a more sincere look graced her eyes.

"Hey. We've got this. Even if it takes one tiny step at a time, we've got this in the bag. Kay?"

"Okay."

"Break!"

Both sister's high-fived each other as they grabbed their suitcases and headed out of the room, taking one last look into it, and the several things they would be leaving behind.

"Goodbye, room."

"It's still gonna be here, Ruby. I mean, unless it gains a mind of its own and flies away, but that's pretty unlikely."

"Would it really be able to do that?!"

"Course not!" Yang paused, then rubbed her chin. "At least, I hope not. Crazier things have happened on Remnant before."

"Yang."

"Whaddya want me to say?!"

"Ah. Thanks girls, for reminding me of what I'm not going to miss." Taiyang called out to them, getting their attention as they were descending down the stairs. "I just realized that with you two going out on your journey, and Qrow doing his own thing, the house is gonna be a lot more peaceful and quiet."

"Wow. We'll miss you too, Dad." Yang rolled her eyes.

The sound of barking filled the room, and Ruby's eyes brightened as a corgi came running about into the fray. She raised her arms with a joyous cheer.

"ZWEI!"

"Awhaw, Zwei!" Yang exclaimed.

Both sisters kneeled to the smiling corgi, hugging him simultaneously and giving him kisses all over the pup's face, with various instances of 'Who's a good boy?!' and 'You are, yes you are!' filling the room. All while he barks happily with a wagging tail. Taiyang rolled his eyes at the scene but couldn't help but smile.

"D'oh. I forgot we're gonna have to leave Zwei behind." Ruby pouted as she nuzzled her cheek against Zwei's. "How can we leave behind such a good boy?"

"The bestest boy of all the boys." Yang supported as she gently pets the corgi's head, causing him to turn it and lick her hand, making her laugh.

"Don't worry, you two. He'll still be here. And if not with me, then surely with Madame Mallari. He loves hanging out around her farm and with the other animals."

"Right. Zwei's in good hands." Yang confirmed, reassured with the fact. "Alright, Zwei. Me and Ruby are gonna head out on our journey. You gotta take care of our old man so he doesn't feel lonely, alright? We're counting on you."

Zwei barks twice.

"That's the spirit, Zwei!" Ruby cheered and lightly nuzzled his cheek some more, which promoted him to turn and lick her cheek in repayment, making her laugh. "Oh, I'll miss you so much, Zwei!"

"Me too, Zwei!"

Taiyang huffed. "Geez. It sounds like you'll miss Zwei more than you'll miss me. Way to hurt your old man's sensitive, fragile heart."

"There ain't nothing fragile about you, Dad." Yang turned to her father and extended a fist to his chest. "There's a burning soul in here, always fiery and passionate." She then brought her fist to her own chest. "And I have some of that fire now, too. I'm gonna use it well, Dad. Count on it."

"I know you will. Just like I taught you. A burning soul that burns it's enemies and brings warmth and light to loved ones. If you can become someone like that to any friends you make, do so. They'll definitely appreciate it more than you'd think." Taiyang lightly patted her shoulder, before turning to Ruby and ruffling her hair. "You'll do well too, Ruby."

"Thanks for believing in me." Ruby nodded, then hung her head slightly. "But I don't have a burning soul like you guys..."

"No, you don't. You've got something of your own, Ruby. Remember?" Taiyang smiled. "Rose petals that dance on the wind that blows freely."

"Er...I've forgotten what that means, sorry!" Ruby bowed slightly in embarrassment. Taiyang chuckled, then continued.

"It means you're carefree and energetic, always moving about. Intelligent and even wise, if a tiny bit unfocused sometimes because of that energy pushing you in different directions. But when you get furious, you're comparable to an unstoppable tempest that blows everything away. When you're around enemies, that's what they experience. But around friends? A gentle breeze that gives an air of freedom. Always comfortable and free to be themselves when you get close to one another."

Ruby blinked softly. "You mean like..."

"Yeah. Though I have a feeling you'll eventually put something of your own into the mix, Ruby. The sky's the limit with you."

Ruby thought over her father's words for a bit, attempting to have a better understanding of them and what he meant. She soon nodded as she looked towards him with a smile. "Thanks, Dad."

"Great. Now remember, you two may have decided to finally get out there on your own, but that doesn't mean I'll stop helping you. Remember, I'm here when you need me. And if you come across something you can't handle yourself, all you need to do is give me a call or send me a letter. I'll go over to where you are and kill everybody."

"Dad." Ruby and Yang deadpanned simultaneously.

Taiyang sighed. "I know you think I'm exaggerating to make a point, but I mean it. I don't care what I'm doing at the moment. If you need me at all for something you can't handle yourself, let me know. I'll drop everything and hurry to your aid. Like I've said many times, I'm your father. I'll be concerned no matter how old or strong you get. I'm simply saying, the option is there if you really need it. Don't forget this."

Ruby and Yang pondered their father's sincere worry about them. Thinking it over, they both smiled as they reached out and hugged their father, who didn't hesitate to hug them back.

"We got it, Dad. We'll keep in mind, for sure."

"We won't forget, Dad."

Taiyang nodded. "Also, I know I say this a lot, but just to really push it home: Have each other's back, because things can get seriously tough out there. Also, try not to get into too much trouble, because I know better than anyone how you two can get."

"We'll be alright, Pops. Count on it. You were the one who taught us a thing or two, after all." Yang declared with a thumbs up.

"You can trust us to be good, Dad!" Ruby emphasized with a smile. With both reassurances made, Taiyang shook his head with an accepting smile.

"Thanks, girls. You really help make this a bit more bearable." Taiyang pulled away, and opened the door outside for them. "Now, you don't want to be late. You'd better get going soon."

"Right!" They both exclaimed as they soon dashed out the door, managing to get out a brief 'be good, Zwei' before they were on their way. "Bye Dad!"

Taiyang gently waved farewell to his two daughters as the distance between them grew even farther.

Though for the briefest of moments, he sees two certain women in the place of Ruby and Yang. One clad in white and then other with jet black hair, surrounded in white rose petals and black feathers.

He blinked, and they were gone instantly, replaced with his daughters again.

He sighed tiredly, scratching the back of his neck as Zwei briefly barked up to him, paws on his leg. "I'm fine, Zwei. Just, reminiscing, that's all." He lightly scratched behind the corgi's ears, before he turned and stepped back into the house, before he could reach out and change his mind on the whole thing. They needed to do this, he had to let them. He and Qrow have spent a decade preparing them, he had to have faith that the time spent would be enough to give them a solid start for them to build off of.

But again, he's a father. A father who's made a misstep or two that almost dearly cost him, but he's still a loving and caring father. He was always going to be a tiny bit concerned, no matter what.

Speaking of concern, it was time to get in touch with Qrow. With the girls in the most reliable hands he could currently think of, he could trust them to be on their own under Beacon's guidance. With that out of the way and assured, the two men had a bit of work of their own to do. And they had plenty of things they had to plan for.

One of them being Ruby's sixteenth birthday, which would be arriving in due time. Taiyang definitely had to make sure he could make time to properly plan for it.

This was Ruby's first time riding an Airship. And to be honest, it was a pretty amazing experience for her.

She was looking out the window with sparkling silver eyes as she observed everything that she could currently seen, which was Vale's main city.

It was a lot bigger and more advanced than anything she's seen back on Patch, with much taller buildings, significantly cleaner and cleared streets-aside from the obvious traffic-and a lot more people walking out and about, carrying about their business. It was a lot more busy looking than Patch, that was for sure.

And a lot more bright and colorful, given the many lights shining that could be seen, even during the day.

"Look, Yang! Some of these cars are flying!"

Yang blinked, and looked out the window to see for herself. Indeed, while some cars remained somewhat on the ground, others were taking other routes via airborne, with careful directions on which way to go and how to get there without crashing into anything on accident. "Woah. Okay, that's pretty neat. Must be powered by Gravity Dust." Yang briefly imagined riding a flying motorcycle, and she slowly grinned at how awesome that would be. "I could pull off epic tricks with a flying motorcycle..."

"None of the cars fly back on Patch." Ruby mumbled as she kept staring out the window, her eyes shining brighter with each new thing she saw.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Tch. The big places always gets the good stuff. I bet Atlas has the best stuff, stuff that makes all this look like child's play. They're the ones with the super big toys because they're the ones that make them."

"I bet they do!"

"Still, this is really cool. It's like medieval stuff, but with super advanced technology on top of it."

"I know! It's so super cool!"

Yang chuckled and briefly patted Ruby's head. "Alright, slow down there, Rubes. Check it out, Beacon's straight ahead. And is it a sight to behold."

Ruby took a look ahead for herself as they stepped out of the Bullhead when it landed, and she fully agreed.

Yang already said that the city looked a lot like advanced science meeting the medieval, and Beacon certainly met that image she painted. A series of majestic green and red trees, a series of ornate buildings all around, gray smooth concrete paths, and what was the most prominent detail of all, at least to her, was the large tower right in the center of all of it, which appeared to touch the very sky. She briefly wondered just how long the tower alone took to build, never mind everything else along with that.

In Ruby's eyes, for however long it took, they certainly made sure that it looked positively awesome.

Though, as they began passing by various amounts of people, her attention was drawn to something that was all around her. Something that involved what Yang might call her favorite subject of casual discussion.

Weapons.

"Ooooh! Look! That woman has a crossbow that can fire spears!"

"I see it, Rubes."

"And that guy wields a sword that has a shotgun function!"

"Real cool, Ruby."

"And that woman has a whip and a shield that fuse into a flail, and it works like a yo-yo!"

"Interesting. A yo-yo like weapon? That's gotta take some work to make legit, I'd bet."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "THAT guy's motorcycle transforms into a pair of chainsaw-cycles!"

Yang immediately shot up. "Say what!? That sounds badass! Lemme see!"

This went on for four minutes, with both sister going from one place to another and admiring someone's weapon from afar, if they had one. There were some that were quite creative, and others that were mundane but still interesting in appearance. It was a rather unexpected way for them to pass the time.

Fortunately Yang was able to regain control of herself, and quickly grabbed Ruby by the hood. "Woah there, little Rose! We're getting off track. You check the time?"

"Time?" Ruby briefly looked at her Scroll, and gasped. "BWAH! We have only four minutes to get there in time?! Why didn't you stop me?!"

"You looked like you were having fun. Didn't wanna spoil it too soon or you might make an angry pouty face at me or something. And I have a hard time resisting those. They're simply too powerful."

"But four minutes?!" Ruby exclaimed in exasperation, before shaking her head and taking Yang by the hand. "C'mon, we gotta get moving, right now!"

Yang's smile turned for the anxious. "W-Wait, Ruby! Let's relax for a m-"

There would be no relaxing.

Passerby would be stunned and caught off-guard, as a speeding blur of roses and gold sped by them, with the gold laughing at the speed they were going, regardless of what was in their way. A few unfortunate folk ended up knocked on their rears from the force of the wind following the blurs.

After a single minute of blurring around trying to find their destination, they suddenly came to a stop. Ruby skipped a few times while waving her arms like a hummingbird to regain her balance.

Then ends up falling on her face anyway.

"Owww."

"You alright, kid?" A familiar voice called out to her. "That must have hurt."

"H-Huh?"

"I appreciate you trying to make it on time, but you might wanna slow down a bit, ya know? Don't wanna crash and burn, that'll just look unsightly." Ruby looked up to see the woman in green she's seen the other day, Amber Aurelia. The woman was holding a hand out to the stunned Rose, who yelped and stood up to attention after accepting the helping hand.

"That was totally my fault! I wasn't looking where I was going, there was just so much of the initial sights alone to take in, and-"

"Relax, it's fine. You're not in trouble, and you're in fact on time. Just slow down, or else you'll hurt yourself again." Amber suggested with a gentler tone as Ruby slowed her pacing and her breathing. "There, now doesn't this seem a lot better than outright panic? You can breathe properly now."

"R-Right."

"Whew! That was fun, Ruby!" Yang cheered as she recovered from the crash, shaking her head and pumping her fists. "I almost feel like going again!"

"I'd rather not."

Yang pouted slightly, but didn't argue against the decision. She soon turned to Amber with a wave. "Heyo! We're here and totally not late! Whew, that was close."

"Yeah it was. Better be grateful for that, GG's not exactly a person who has high tolerance for others being late, especially when she already gave them a notice." Amber looked to the side and noticed that the woman in question was beginning to descend upon the stage, making her gasp. "Oh, shoot! Can't chat for long, I gotta get over there by her side! I'm not that tolerance thing! It ain't gonna look good to not have the second hand not be by her boss' side! I'll talk to ya both later!" With this, Amber rushes over as quickly as she could, leaving Ruby and Yang alone again.

Yang lightly scratched the back of her neck, chuckling slightly. "Well, we'd better find some seats. It's gonna look real awkward if we're just standing around."

"R-Right!" Ruby nodded as she and Yang hurried around to find somewhere to sit.

While everyone who showed up managed to find a place to sit, Glynda gracefully lands upon the stage, with Amber quickly hurrying to the side with a thumbs up. She didn't turn towards her, simply moving up to the front of the stage, where many could see a microphone levitating in front of her. Taking a brief look at the audience that was able to gather, she nodded to herself and began to speak.

"For those of you who have come, you have completed your rite of passage, and began taking your first steps on a long journey. I congratulate you all for working hard to get here." Glynda pushed up her glasses. "That being said, your paths will not be getting any easier from here on out. It is here, within this home base, as well as your new home, where you will continue to nurture yourselves into capable, exceptional Huntsmen. I'm sure you're somewhat aware of our reputation. There are those out there that believe the only thing Huntsmen will ever be good for is fighting Grimm."

Ruby and Yang seemed briefly stunned by the solemn tone at the end, if only because it lead to a stronger one than before.

"But it isn't. There is more to being a Huntsmen than slaying Grimm. Our duty as defender and protectors of our world goes beyond that. It's to fight against all malevolent forces that intent to cause chaos and destruction in our world. Be their origins from monster or man." Glynda sighed, as she briefly stepped away, and allowed Amber to take her place for a moment.

"It is with this, that it's important for you to become the best Huntsmen you can be. Pursuing this path will maximize your ability to fulfill your duty to protect the world, and to help those unable to help themselves. Some of you may not be entirely sure of what this entails, but that is why we are here. To help you discover that part of yourself. And with that, as each of you become the best Huntsmen you can be, will your combined efforts yield even greater merit. Each of us seeking to become the best versions of ourselves means that when we put our efforts together, we can achieve even grander things and make the impossible possible."

Amber briefly placed a hand on our chest, gazing towards everyone as her Aura flared softly.

"Instead of nature vs nurture, nurturing is my nature. And I intend to nurture all of the newcomers, and even those already here beforehand, to become the best they can be, so they can properly inherit and protect this world we live in."

Glynda stepped back up when Amber retraced her own steps. "Newcomers, you'll be heading with an older aide that will give you a brief tour of Beacon so you can get a feel for your new home. Once you've gotten yourselves situated, you'll be heading to your rooms and getting settled. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you're feeling lost. We are more than prepared to provide." Glynda finished as she stepped away from the microphone, letting it set on the floor again. "That will be all. You're dismissed. Do try not to get lost."

With this, everyone dispersed from the auditorium, as the sisters stood up from their seats, with Yang stretching her arms.

"Well, that didn't take too long. Didn't think she was such a strong speaker."

"I think she really cares about what we're doing here and why we came here, and that's why she's saying what she said." Ruby suggested while taking a brief look around. "At least, that's how I see it. I dunno if it's right, though..."

"That's probably it. We told her why we're here and what we hoped to do as Huntresses. Guess she's doing a re-address while addressing everyone else." Yang wiped her brow. "Whew, so may addresses. Where's the houses, eh?"

"Booooo."

"Shush." Yang grumbled as she lightly bonked Ruby on top of the head with a knuckle. Ruby whined from the light tap, but still insisted on laughing a bit. "C'mon. They said they're giving a tour of this place, best see what our new homes gonna consist of. Must be a heck of a lot, considering how big it is."

"Right!"

With the next phase out of the way, the two sisters moved on with the rest of the crowd, onwards towards other locations within Beacon. They wondered what they would find next within the majestic structure, that which was mixed with medieval and modern.

Ruby and Yang have seen Cliffside from the distance when they were being flown to Beacon, and had to admit that it was far more beautiful looking than any cliff had the right to be, in their opinion. And of course one of the notable thing's they've seen from it was Beacon Tower, which they secretly hoped they would see the inside of.

What could possibly be in there for the need of a tower that huge? How long did it take to build? Ruby found herself wanting to know, but she had other things to explore.

"When are we gonna explore, when are we gonna explore more? Tour!" Ruby beamed with raised fists.

"Hey hey, slow down, sis. Did you already forget what happened last time you went too fast? Cause it was literally twenty minutes ago." Yang chuckled with folded arms as she followed seamlessly after her excited sibling.

"Yeah, but I'm at a much better pace now, Yang!" Ruby reassured with a huff. "There's no way I'm gonna blindly run into any-oomf!"

Ruby had tripped, and something stopped her. Not by the cold hard ground this time. No, this not only stopped her from falling, but also cushioned her head quite gently.

"That was close! Are you alright?"

"Mmf?" Ruby's eyes briefly shifted upwards, looking at a pair of brown eyes that watched her with concern, not really minding the implications of the incident that occurred at all. It's with a startled meep that Ruby realized she ran into the young woman's chest.

Which Yang pointed out all too quickly.

"See, Ruby? This is why you gotta slow down and look where you're going. Someone else will have to be your airbag!"

Ruby blinked, then gasped and jumped back next to Yang, quickly bowing her head in apology. "S-Sorry about that!"

The other girl chuckled, waving her hand. "It's no trouble at all, don't worry about it. I haven't seen an excited and eager newcomer like yourself in a while." As Ruby unbowed her head and got a better look at the girl, she noticed something that briefly gave her pause.

A pair of rabbit ears atop her head, and she noticed one of them twitched slightly.

She ran into a Faunus.

"Anyway, so long as you didn't hurt yourself, it really is no trouble. While we're at it, let's each introduce ourselves." The young Faunus placed a hand on her chest and smiled. "My name is Velvet Scarlatina. If you're feeling lost, I'll be your guide."

"R-Right. I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby introduced herself after collecting herself, still feeling slightly embarrassed. "And, uh, I'm a tiny bit lost, yes."

"Yang Xiao Long. Good to meet ya!" Yang beamed with a raised hand. "Pardon my sister's clumsiness. This is kind of a first time experience regarding this kind of thing, so she's bound to run into a thing or two here and there."

"Yang."

"Hey, you ran and tripped into her boobs, not me. Be glad you didn't knock her over."

"Can we move past that part, please?!"

Velvet blinked, briefly looking at the two of them. "Oh, you're sisters?" She couldn't tell at first glance, not to mention their different surnames.

Yang lightly rubbed the back of her neck. "We're half-sisters, to be more clear. Same father, different mothers. That's why our surnames our different. I took on Dad's last name, while Ruby took on Mom's." Yang turned to the side, her expression slightly dull. "It's not a very simple matter, to be perfectly honest."

"Yeah..." Ruby muttered, lightly pulling her hood over her head.

Velvet saw the sisterly duos expressions and moods turn for the somber. Realizing she accidentally stepped in something personal, she rapidly shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not trying to pry! You don't have to explain anything about it to me if you don't want to!"

Yang already heard the sincerity in Velvet's voice, and simply shrugged it all off. "You're a lot more reasonable about it than others who heard about it back home, so you're all good."

"It's alright, really." Ruby reassured as she looked at the Faunus from under her hood.

Clearing her throat, Velvet shared Ruby's desire to move past this and onto more important things. "Right, so if you want to tour a bit through Beacon, please follow me."

"Are you gonna be the only guide?"

"Oh no, there are several of us here who know the place well enough to do this. Like myself." Velvet explained as she briefly gestured to Beacon Tower in the slight distance. "As you've already excitingly seen, Ruby, that's Beacon Tower. That's where Grand Huntress Goodwitch mainly resides when she's managing her duties. It gives her a view of almost the entire area."

"I bet it does. Look at how tall the damn thing is!" Yang pointed out with a whistle.

"And right at the base, is the CCT." Velvet gestured with a wave of her hand. "It's a system that allows other nations to communicate with each other in various multimedia ways. Support towers are put in place and protected around Huntsmen bases and training facilities, as well as several major cities in order to keep the primary functions going while primary towers occasionally go through maintenance." Velvet raised a finger. "They've been upgraded over the years, too. So during times of maintenance, or if one of the towers happens to fail completely, the other nations can still communicate with each other. And if need be, they can send help to ensure the system is back to working operation as soon as possible."

"Woah, is that so?" Ruby tilted her head. "So all of them being unable to communicate with each other if one of them goes offline used to be a limitation?"

"Not anymore." Velvet shook her head. "If someone falls down and they can't find the strength to get back up on their own, it's only right for others to have the ability to help them back to their feet, not fall down with them. Help them regain their sight and voice as best as you can, don't blind and mute yourself as well. I suppose you can say that this one way to reflect these beliefs."

"Right!" Ruby agreed with a strong nod, which made Velvet smile.

"You've already been to the Amphitheater because that's where Grand Huntress Goodwitch and Huntmaster Amber gave their speeches. So that's already another one down." Velvet gestured to various rooms as they passed by them. "We have crew rooms, where you reside and sleep in. And over here we have the dining hall, where of course, many of us have meals, or full-on feasts. And there's the training room, where we have occasional sparring sessions. The library is over here..."

As Velvet went on, Ruby and Yang couldn't help but feel awed by everything. Particularly how grand everything seemed to be. It was nothing like what they had or seen back on Patch. Everything seemed so much bigger. Even the crew rooms to an extent, slightly bigger than their bedrooms at home. It was so much to take in.

Velvet seemed to pick up on it, as she stopped in place and noticed them still looking around in awe and surprise. "Am I going too fast for you?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just...wow. I knew Beacon was a pretty big place, but I had no idea that it's insides were gonna feel larger than the outside." Yang answered as she scratched her head. "Yeah, we definitely would have gotten lost in here without a map or something."

"Fortunately, that's provided within your Scrolls, so there's no need to worry about that for too long. It's just taking a few minutes to upload to yours." Velvet's rabbit ears perked up at a 'ping' noise. "Oh, it just finished!"

"Eh?" Yang briefly checked her Scroll, and a detailed map was indeed on display. They we're currently back around the Amphitheater, and if was well into the afternoon. "Wow. Time sure flies when you're touring."

"You're right about that." Velvet gently clapped. "Well then, let's get you back to the crew rooms so you can get yourself situated. You must be tired having to follow me around like this. And a tiny bit bored."

"Only a little bit, but getting to know the lay of the base is nice." Yang rolled her neck. "Say, Velvet. If you don't mind me asking, what Huntress rank are you?"

Velvet smiled sheepishly and scratched her cheek. "Nothing very impressive. Only an S-Rank Intermediate Huntress."

"Say what!?" Ruby and Yang gasped simultaneously, while Velvet chuckled a bit at their reaction.

"In fact, I'm the only S-Rank Intermediate within my age group so far. One of my friends say I should go for Senior right here and now, but I'm not feeling up to that yet. I still have ways to go."

"That's really amazing. You must have been working really hard to get that far."

Velvet nodded. "Life as a Huntress isn't easy. As Grand Huntress Goodwitch and Huntmaster Amber say, our duties go beyond fighting and slaying Grimm. We help people who lack the ability to help themselves." Velvet's ears twitched slightly as she nodded. "Defend their livelihoods as well as their lives to the best of our own ability. It's just as important to help hunt for materials to fortify walls, hunting for lost items, hunt for missing people to return home safely, hunting for the safest route for escort missions, and plenty more."

"We're really stretching the meanin' of the word 'hunt', are we?" Yang smirked. Velvet lightly scratched her cheek with a smile.

"In a sense, yes. It does help with flexibility, at the very least." Velvet nodded. "Our duty as Huntsmen is to uphold the peace, support the helpless, and protect the world from harm. Beacon, Haven, Atlas, and Shade all work together in this regard to make sure the Huntsmen they recruit and train live up to these standards."

"Is it because of the risk of them operating without anybody supervising them?" Yang couldn't help but ask.

"Precisely. Grand Huntsmen and Huntmasters are usually in charge of them, along with some advisors. It's important for them to help organize the movements and activities of the Huntsmen under their watch. Sometimes they handle the delegation of missions, and occasionally they head out into the field themselves, and that tends to be a major turn of the tables."

"Huh, cool."

Velvet nodded. "In essence, these home bases do provide some sense of supervision over Huntsmen, as there have been one too many instances of the previous way of things leading to far too many rogues to consider acceptable." She lightly shook her head with a sigh. "Unfortunately, there have been many who have ditched responsibility and decided to use their power for selfish and sometimes destructive ends, at everyone else's expense. The previous setup was very ripe for abuse. It's for this reason that in regards to Vale and Beacon itself, once she earned her rank, Grand Huntress Goodwitch found it necessary to start tightening the grip on things before it could fester any further."

"Is that right..." Ruby's eyes lowered at the thought. Huntsmen abandoning their duty so they could lord their power over others, with no one putting serious thought or effort into stopping them? Or no one around being strong enough to do so? She couldn't help but further believe that Glynda Goodwitch was as strict as she appears and acts for very good, necessary reasons.

"Alright, I think we've finally made it to the room you'll be residing in." Velvet stopped and gestured to the room in question, which was currently closed. The sisters too a brief look at it, as Velvet took out her own Scroll. "It looks like someone already made their way to it."

"Wait, you mean we'll be sharing these crew rooms?" Ruby deduced, in which Velvet nodded.

"Every room available supports a maximum of four, which supports the filling of a 'default' four-person team."

"Teams? And the maximum for a single team is four?"

"That's right. With this being said, with this assigning of rooms, there's only about three of you at the moment. You'll have time to fill in the fourth spot, so don't worry about it for now." Velvet clapped. "And that's about it from me, for now! I have to attend to other things for now, but please don't hesitate to ask me more questions when you see me again!"

"Okay, thank you!" Ruby waved to the rabbit Faunus as she was injured way to different duties. She sighed and folded her arms. "She was really nice and helpful."

"True that. Maybe she'd make a pretty good friend. Though this the first time we've met, let's not rush that potential route." Yang turned towards the door. "Anyway, Velvet said that someone beat us to this room already, and stepping in means we might be stuck with them, team wise. Dunno how I feel about that, to be honest."

"Well, there's not much we can do about it at the moment, so we should at least to in and introduce ourselves and make the best of it, right?" Ruby smiled, as she held up her Scroll, and the door slowly opens up. She steps inside with a wave and a smile.

Yang follows in soon after, and indeed, there was another person in the room already.

The very first thing they both noticed was the young woman's light blue eyes, which we're currently occupied with her Scroll.

Everything else came after.

The young woman wore a white pea coat, double-breasted with black piping, cuffs, and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim. Yang could also see a pair of white, thigh-high boots with black heels and lace-topped black stockings. Overall, she looked nice. Her eyes locked onto them, and she blinked, almost in surprise.

Then Yang saw her eyes narrow critically. Her own smile dropped quickly.

This isn't gonna be a friendly start, is it?

"Well. It's about time you showed up! How long were you two going to keep me waiting?"

Nope.

"We're sorry?" Ruby apologized, but her raised eyebrows were a hint to how confused she was.

"Clearly, if you're going to be capable Huntresses worthy of fighting by my side, we'll need to work on your punctuality." The white haired girl scoffed as she walked up to the duo, folding her arms and giving them a once over. "You two don't look like much, but I believe I can make do."

"Huh?" Ruby blinked.

The woman huffed. "Listen up, since we're going to be working together, you're going to have to follow my lead. You look like you'll dearly need some direction." She pushed her hair away from her eyes, in which Ruby briefly noticed a scar running down her left one. "The thought of being teamed with you both feels embarrassing to stomach. Still, I suppose I'll have to bear it."

"Eh?" Yang's eye twitched.

Did this girl just declare herself the boss without our input?!

"You." The woman snapped her fingers and pointed towards Ruby, who jumped in surprise. "Name."

"Ruby Rose?" Ruby blinked, unsure of what to do.

The white haired woman turned to Yang, who began wearing a fake smile to hide her irritation. "You as well. Name."

"Yang. Xiao. Long. Nice to meet you." Yang did her best to not let her teeth grind during the last four words.

"Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. Alright, I'll commit those names to memory. In return, be extra sure to not forget mine." The woman placed her hands on her hips. "My name is Weiss Schnee. How fortunate for you to have me be the one guiding your hands. I do intend to lead our team and have us find nothing but growing success, so I implore you to do your absolute best to not trip over each other, slow me down or get in my way. Do as I say, and we'll all be better off for it." Weiss huffed as she walked past them, unknowingly bumping shoulders with Ruby. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make, because we still need one more member to complete a four-person setup. Make yourselves useful and be sure you'll be able to help me implement them flawlessly, so we can all progress smoothly. Got it?" She turned towards them with a smile. "Doesn't that sound like a surefire path to victory? You'll have a Schnee leading you both. You're welcome in advance. No need to thank me just yet, but I'll be waiting for that as well. Gratitude is important, after all."

Ruby blinked as the one known as Weiss Schnee simply gave them orders and expectations, then walked past without a single moment for them to so much as say hello.

"...What just happened?" Poor Ruby couldn't help but question with a tilted head. Meanwhile, Yang scratched the back of her head with a sigh.

"We gotta share a room with a girl like that? Sheesh. That's certainly not gonna be problematic. No, not at all. This is gonna be fun, I can tell." Yang shook her head. "She was so cold, too. So cold, I think I'm gonna call her Ice Princess until further notice."

"Weiss Schnee. Schnee. Schnee..." Ruby rubbed her chin with closed eyes as she thought about the name. Then her eyes shot open. "Wait a minute..."

'Only four so far in history managed to be THAT incredible, yep. The very first one who set that standard was a man named Ozpin. The second was Nicholas Schnee.'

Ruby wasn't all too sure about who the Schnees were in detail due to living on a remote island like Patch, but she knew enough about the name itself to know that it was important. And that the family was important to Remnant as a whole, due to their heavy involvement with Dust being further available and reachable to it's people, not just Atlas, their home nation. If she recalled correctly. And Nicholas Schnee became a Grand Huntsmen, so there was heavy influence on that front as well. In short, Ruby knew the Schnees were super important in several capacities.

She would have thought that someone so significant and important from Atlas would have stayed in Atlas, as it's their home and where they probably have the highest amount of influence and advantages. Success would come to Weiss a lot easier there than anywhere else, as that's where Schnees have access to a lot more resources. Again, if Ruby was recalling correctly from what limited info she had on them.

So with all of this in mind, what brought her all the way to Vale? And in turn, Beacon?

Ruby sighed tiredly, putting that question aside for later. She couldn't expect for the girl to answer something like that to someone she just met, so she'd have to leave it be until they were on better terms. If they could ever be on better terms. That first impression left a lot to be desired, on both sides.

For now, she'd mostly focus on adjusting to Beacon being her new home.

This one is mostly going through the motions of being introduced to Beacon, including what's different and what's the same. Most of which is due to events in this AU's history.

And quite a bit is different, indeed.

Though for the most part, again, it's mostly about Ruby and Yang's first steps into Beacon. They'll get chances to explore it in more detail as time goes by, when they've got such time to do so.

As for initial meetings between characters, some go well! Others begin a bit awkwardly but end up on good terms. And others...could use a bit of work.

It's alright, though! Because the journey is just beginning.