(A/N) Hello and welcome to my new story! Fun fact, the RWBY x XCOM series (I'm sure you all know the one) is part of what inspired me to start writing in the first place. So I decided to take a break from Ruby-B312 to write a story in that category. Well, I've been trying for a while (this may or may not be the third attempt at it), but still!

Anyways, if you're expecting this to vaguely follow the order of events in DrAmishMD's RWBY Within or Remnant Unknown, well… Just look at the first character's name…

Chapter One

We Lived In Peace

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

I squeezed the trigger, sending a Grey to the afterlife.

"Nice shot!" I heard my sister shout from the yard below. Moments later, she practically shoved her shotgun down another alien's gullet.

Having racked the bolt of my rifle, I sighted in the last Grey, red veins in its enlarged head pulsing. Its gaze locked to me as my finger started to squeeze the trigger, eyes boring a hole into my very soul. Strange… thoughts started… running through my...

They aren't here to hurt us, why are we hurting them?

We should stop hurting them.

We're monsters for hurting them.

We should be hurt.

Suddenly, my rifle's sights moved, centering on the blonde mane of the monster.

We should be killed.

My finger started to squeeze…

Four Days Earlier…

The car suddenly lurched, causing me to hit my head on the window I was leaning against. "Ow!" I shouted, my eyes snapping open as I rubbed my head.

"Great timing, sis!" Yang shouted.

I blinked my eyes, clearing the fog from my vision. "Ugh, are we there yet?"

"Just about." She said, grinning. The car sped out of the forest, the small town of Patch coming into view less than a mile ahead. "You ready for your first day as a sopphie?"

I lightly smacked her arm. "Yaaaang! That makes me sound like I'm a kid."

She tisked, pulling off the gravel road and into the nearly empty parking lot. "Well, you certainly aren't an adult."

"Yeah, neither are you…"

"Psh, seventeen's close enough, don't ya think?"

I gave her a flat look. "Even Uncle Qrow doesn't buy that."

She parked the car, getting out almost immediately. "Yeah, well, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

I rolled my eyes, getting out of her '89 Firebird and grabbing my backpack. I sighed, looking towards the school. "Do you… do you think they'll like me?"

"They'll love ya, sis." She said, smiling. "Besides, I can show ya the ropes! And we've even got a few college classes together!"

I frowned. "Yeah, but those aren't 'til the end of the day. I mean… what if I-"

"Ah ah ah!" She interrupted. "None of that. Public school isn't even that bad! Plus, all ya gotta do is tell 'em about what homeschool's like and you'll be the bees' knees!"

I… didn't know how to feel about that. "Wait, do people actually use that phrase?"

"Nope, just me!" She said, smiling.

I glanced back at her car, seeing another roll in. This one was pristine white instead of her blazing yellow, the contrast in style being even more obvious as the driver parked next to it. My jaw practically hit the floor when I realized it was a brand-new BMW. "Uhh sis?" I asked. "Who's that?"

She did a double take. "Huh. I… don't actually know." She said as we both came to a stop on the sidewalk. "Maybe it's Cardin? He'd totally drive that, but I didn't think his family was that rich…" The door opened and a petite girl with snow white hair stepped out from behind the tinted windshield. "Okay, definitely not Cardin." She said. "I don't know her though; guess you're not the only new girl."

Said new girl huffed, trailing a finger along the hood of her car and rubbing the dust between her fingers. After a moment, her gaze snapped to us and I stood up ramrod straight. Her cold eyes appraised me for a moment before moving to my sister, hanging for just as long and then losing interest. She grabbed her own backpack and strutted towards the building, high heels clicking against the concrete as she passed us without even a wave.

"Uhh…" I let out, more than a little confused.

"Huh, well, look on the bright side, sis." She said, patting my back. "I think you'll have an easier time making friends than the Ice Queen over there will."

"I hope so…" I said, staring towards the buildi- A hand on my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.

I looked back at Yang, a wistful smile on her face. "Hey." She said. "She'd be proud."

My gaze trailed to the ground. "Is." I said.

She frowned slightly. "Ruby… it's been months. We'd've heard something by now."

I wiped away a tear. "I know. It's just… I can't shake this feeling." I said, turning away. "We should probably get going." I walked onwards; towards the place I'd be going for the next three years. The school itself wasn't bad looking, but the tan brick walls and the rusty roof flashing told me it certainly wasn't new either.

Yang caught up to me just as I exited the parking lot. "C'mon, let's drop off your ca- cloak that you're wearing for some reason."

I huffed, crossing my arms in mock annoyance. "It's supposed to rain later, remember? And you can't tell me it doesn't work."

"Yeah, but it does make ya look like a weirdo." She said, ruffling my hair.

"Yaaaang!" I let out, lightly shoving her into the flagpole as we passed it.

It rang like a bell as she impacted, but I didn't push her hard enough to hurt her. I chuckled as she gave me an exaggerated pout. "How could you do this to me? To your own flesh and blood?!" She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Because I totally hate you." I said, smirking as I pushed open the door, leading me to an… auditorium? 'I think that's what it's called…' I thought.

A large stage dominated one side of the room; two basketball hoops were lashed up to the ceiling just in-view from where we stood. Two large sunken platforms stood before it, each with three tiers. Said platforms were oddly empty right now; off to the side, I saw someone wheeling a table towards the many ramps that connected them to where I was standing.

I saw another flash of motion and, turning to it, I saw an anchorman appear on an old CRT TV mounted on the wall. 'Bismarck is Burning!' The text under him read. Everything around me ceased to exist as I approached the TV. The man's lips moved silently as he spoke, but the subtitles and videos in the background told me everything I needed to know.

Thousands dead or missing. The city in ruins. The Army in full retreat.

I sighed, unable to watch any more. As I turned around, I saw my sister staring at the TV. "Those… bastards." She said through clenched teeth.

I reached up and gently grasped her shoulder. "Yang…" I said, softly.

Her head snapped towards me, but the murder in her blue eyes faded as she met my gaze. She sighed. "…Sorry Rubes…" She said. "I just… I wish I could do something."

"Me too…" I said, continuing on towards my locker. My sister and I climbed the stairs in silence, but I could practically feel the rage boiling beneath her skin. I enveloped her in a hug as we reached the second floor. "…Have a good day?" I said, not really knowing what else to do.

I felt her untense slightly as she returned the gesture. "…You too…" She said, breaking away. "See ya at lunch."

"Yeah…" I said as she walked away. Behind me, I heard a few people coming up the stairs. Looking up to the third floor, I sighed, heading towards my locker. When I arrived, however, I realized I forgot my combination. I rolled my eyes; it wasn't any big deal. I had it written down in my-

I froze.

My pocket was empty. I instinctively glanced at my watch; only twenty-three minutes until class started! I didn't have enough time to-

I took a deep breath. 'What would Yang do in this situation?' I asked myself… only to shake my head when I pictured her breaking her hand trying to punch open the locker. I looked around, seeing what I had available. My eyes immediately drifted to my locker's number plate, which was loosely hanging on by a single flat-head screw.

I pulled at it slightly, testing its rigidity, and nodded in approval, setting down my backpack and getting my ruler. A few turns later, and my makeshift screwdriver had my new bypassing tool free. I stuck the thin piece of steel into the locker's latch and slowly inched the bolt open.

A few slip-ups later, and I was rewarded with a satisfying click. I grinned as the locker opened, replacing everything and grabbing everything I needed before zooming off.

I only had thirteen minutes to get to class!

I stepped out of the kitchen and into the cafeteria with my tray full of… food? 'I'm pretty sure my mashed potatoes just growled at me…'

Ignoring them, I looked around for somewhere to sit and, seeing none, I-

"HEY SIS!" A familiar voice shouted.

My head whipped around, seeing Yang frantically wave at me as all activity in the cafeteria stopped. I sheepishly waved back at her, moving towards her table. "Nice job embarrassing me in front of the whole school…" I grumbled, heading over to her table.

I sat down in one of the two empty seats, right next to Yang. "Umm… hi?" I said to the others. "I'm uhh… Ruby. Yang's sister."

Other than Yang, there were four other people at the table; an athletic, tall, and strangely familiar redhead, an equally athletic but short ginger girl, a blonde guy in a baggy bunny sweatshirt, and a stone-faced guy that the ginger was practically hanging onto.

The ginger girl gasped, shooting to her feet. "A new person?!" She shouted. "And you're Yang's mysterious little sister too?!" She started walking around the table, only for the stoic guy to grab the back of her shirt.

"Nora, I don't think she wants a hug at the moment." He said, pulling her back into her seat. "I'm Ren, by the way."

"Umm… nice to meet you." I said.

"And I'm Jaune Arc." The bunny guy said. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

I gave him a flat look. "Do they?"

"Well, this one does!" My sister said, putting her arm around him.

I glanced between them for a moment before my eyes widened. "Oh, you're Jaune Jaune, not just… Jaune."

His head tilted slightly. "I'm not really sure what you mean by that, but yeah, I'm the only Jaune at the school."

My fingers fiddled. "I mean, umm… Yang talks about you. Like… a lot."

"And she talks about you too." He said, resting a hand on her thigh.

The redhead cleared her throat. "Remember you two; no intimacy at the table."

They shot apart. "Ah shi- crap. Sorry, P-Money." Yang said.

"Uhh… what?" I let out. "I get the feeling I'm missing something here…"

She smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "It's a… bit of a long story."

"Eh, not really." Jaune said, shrugging before turning to me. "They both liked me in umm… that way, buuuut I didn't notice for a while. Eventually, Yang got tired of waiting and made it obvious."

"You mean she walked up to you, right in the middle of the hallway, and made out with you." The redhead said.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Yang shouted. "Seriously, even I didn't know you were after Vomit Boy."

"I am aware." She said, gaze trailing downward for a moment. "But I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm… Pyrrha Nikos." She said, her voice full of trepidation.

I blinked. "Wait, Pyrrha Pyrrha?"

"If you're referring to Pyrrha the marathon runner, then… yes. That is I."

I gasped. "I heard you can run a six-minute mile and not even feel tired!"

She smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "Well… six would be pushing it. I can do a seven-minute mile if I'm not running long distance, but I will certainly feel it afterwards."

"Still, that's awesome!" I shouted. She looked away, fidgeting with her fingers. "I mean uhh… that's cool." I said, quickly looking down at my plate and shoveling a few bites of growling potatoes into my mouth.

"Welp, now that introductions are over, how's your first day been?" Yang asked.

"Weeem, ashi frooo-" I paused, realizing I was doing it again and swallowed. "Ehehe… sorry… I mean, aside from forgetting my locker combination at the beginning, it's been alright."

She winced. "Ouch. Did Miss Schwartz at least go easy on ya?"

My head tilted to the side. "Uhh… whaddaya mean?"

"Miss Schwartz." She repeated. "She goes ballistic on people who ask them for their combinations. You said you forgot yours, so…?"

I blinked. "Wait, you can just go ask for your combination?"

"Uhh… yeah." Jaune said. "Wait, if you didn't do that, then what did you do?"

My cheeks flushed. "I… used the number plate to bypass the lock?"

They all just stared at me. I glanced around for a moment before retreating into my hood. Yang burst out laughing, patting me on the back. "Only you, Rubes." She said. "Never change."

"Yaaaaaang!" I whined, pulling away slightly. "The only other thing I could think of was punching it open like you'd do, buuuuut I kinda didn't wanna break my hand…"

She gave me a blank look. "Why the he- heck would you think I'd punch it open?"

"Weeeeell…" Pyrrha started. "You are the three-time middleweight state boxing champion…"

"Light middleweight, thank you very much." She said, glaring. After a few moments a smirk pulled at her lips and she shook her head. "Alright, I guess I can see it…" She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Either way, you dropped this when we were leaving the house. I guess I just forgot to give it to you with... everything that happened this morning." The table's mood grew a shade darker after she finished, most retreating to their meals.

After a few minutes, Ren spoke up. "So Ruby, is my understanding correct that you were homeschooled up to this point?" I nodded. "And yet, your sister has been here ever since Nora and I arrived. I don't quite understand the logic behind that."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Weeeeell… our parents kinda didn't know the other existed for a while, so our dad enrolled Yang in school and my mom thought it'd be best to homeschool me."

Yang hummed in agreement. "And when they finally found out, they decided to just keep things the way they were."

He nodded. "I suppose that makes sense, but if you don't mind me asking, what changed?"

I glanced at Yang, who gave me a soft smile. "Summer…" She started. "Ruby's mom… disappeared, a few months back."

Nora gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"My condolences." Ren said.

Pyrrha withdrew for a moment, her eyes gaining a longing look for a moment. "Mine as well…"

"She isn't dead, she's just… missing." I said.

"Whatever ya say, Rubes." Yang said before going quiet for a moment. Suddenly, her cheerful expression reasserted itself. "But enough of this sappy stuff, you guys up for a fire this weekend?" She asked, her smile wider than I'd ever seen it… it looked weird on her.

They all stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded by the sudden change of- "Yooooooooou bet'cha I am!" Nora shouted.

The others blinked. "Well, you know my answer." Jaune said.

"And where Nora goes, I go."

Pyrrha frowned. "Unfortunately, my weekend is already spoken for."

"Awww… whyyyyyy'd ya ditch us, Pyr Pyr?" Nora asked, not even the slightest bit serious.

"Ah, it's a… private matter, I'm afraid."

Yang dove into her hands, elbows on the table as she grinned. "Oooooooh?" She let out. "Ya gonna go see your Illuminati friends?"

She pinched her nose. "Yang, for the thousandth time, I do not have ties to the illuminati."

"But you are disappearing all the time, though."

She raised an eyebrow. "And that automatically makes me a member of a secret paramilitary organization with ambitions of world domination?"

My sister's eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at Pyrrha's face. "You win this round, but I'll prove you wrong one day!" She held the pose for almost thirty seconds before bursting out laughing, the rest of the table joining her.

"Let me guess, I will rue the day I decided to deceive you?" Pyrrha said between laughs.

"Oh yeah, you'll do all of the ruing!" She said, breaking down laughing even harder afterwards.

I smiled slightly; maybe public school wasn't so bad after all…

Huh. Pyrrha's smile looked weird too…

I opened the door to my second-to-last class, chemistry. Despite it being a college-level class, I was fairly excited for it. After all, it was one of the two classes I had with my sister. 'I just hope she's less embarrassing than at lunch…'

I scanned the room as I entered, but found no trace of my sister's blonde mane. Seeing I was one of the first people here, I took a seat in the front row and patiently waited for class to start.

Almost no one I knew walked through the door; all of them older than me. Other than Yang, the only one I even recognized was the white-haired girl from this morning. She sat down next to me without a word, leaving only a single seat for Yang. I really hoped no one would take it before-

"Heya, Rubes!"

…she arrived.

The girl next to me sighed as Yang plopped down in the empty chair. "Must you be so obnoxious?"

She reclined back, lacing her fingers behind her head and kicking her feet up on the desk. "Eh, the teacher isn't here yet, so why not? Plus, she's my sister, so…"

The girl's chilly gaze flicked between us. "Half-sisters, I presume?"

I blinked. "Huh. Yeah, actually. Not very many people guess it on the first try."

"Yeah, usually it's just 'oh, I can't believe you two are even related!' or something like that." Yang said.

She shrugged. "Well, I have a… knack for reading people."

"Well, you're new here, right?" Yang asked, receiving a nod. "Me, Rubes, and a couple of friends are gonna have a bonfire at our house on Friday night after school, ya want in?"

"While I appreciate the offer, I am afraid I must decline."

"Aww, c'mon! Don't ya wanna break the ice at a new school?"

"I insist." She said, gaze trailing to the floor for a moment. "I… don't like crowds; too many people to read."

"Hey, no problem, Ruby's like that too!" She said, making me glare at her.

When I turned back, the girl's icy stare had returned. "No." She said, her voice low and commanding.

Yang backed off, hands up in a surrendering motion. "Okay, okay!" She said. "Jeez, just tryin' to help ya out a bit, y'know?"

She crossed her arms. "Well I can help myself, thank you very much."

I gave my sister a look, which she returned. Before we could respond, the green-haired teacher burst into the room, apologized for being late, and immediately started teaching. I quickly got out my notebook and started jotting down notes. Midway through the first five minutes, my hand started to cramp up.

I sighed internally; at least the day was almost over…

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\

I gently closed the door behind me, stepping into my house as softly as I could. Even so, my head throbbed with every step I took. I barely noticed Klein greet me as I staggered towards my room, only waving as I passed him.

When I entered, I immediately went for the drawer on my end table; my hand reaching for the small, unmarked bottle that I'd been thinking about for the last several hours. The pill hit my palm and I raised them to my mouth befo-

Suddenly, I remembered my decision this morning; the resolution I'd made to ween myself off this… medicine. Shakily, I put the pill back in its bottle, sealed it, and took some Tylenol instead. I set down my backpack, kicked off my shoes, removed my colored contact lenses, and climbed into bed; my alarm would wake me in half-an-hour.

Just as my eyes closed, I frowned. 'I hope my baby sister Winter never has to deal with this…'

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

The door clicked shut behind me and I let out a sigh of relief. The day was over; the week was over. As I slung off my backpack, though, my shoulders tensed up and I remembered the bonfire later toni-

"Saaaal-u-tations!"

I jumped, letting out a quick "Eep!" When my feet hit the ground, I frowned at the ceiling-mounted speaker above me. "Pennyyyyy… don't scare me like that!"

"I am sorry, Sister!Ruby, I did not intend to startle you!" Suddenly, I heard the oven pop open, a heavenly scent reaching my nostrils only a moment later.

"You baked cookies?!" I shouted, anger forgotten as I zoomed to the kitchen.

As I entered, I saw the three-and-a-half-foot-tall centaurbot reaching into the oven and grab the tray inside with its suction cupped arms. "Indeed I did! I wished to celebrate the conclusion of your first week of school!" She said as the bot raised the tray over its body – through where the torso would be on an actual centaur – and set it on back. "Where is Sister!Yang? My exterior sensors detect no trace of her nor her vehicle." I tried to grab a cookie off the bot's back, but I instantly pulled back with a hiss of pain. "Be careful! They are still quite hot!"

"Yeah, I figured that out…" I muttered. "Yang went off to get a few things before she picked up Ren and Nora." I reached for the fridge handle, but found a sticky note on the door. Grabbing the jug of milk, I read it.

Hey girls, a couple officers are still in Bismarck helping with the cleanup. Me and Qrow are covering their shifts tonight, be back around midnight. I told Penny to order you guys some Shopkeep's pizza for tonight, don't make us come out there for a noise complaint!

Love Taiyang

I frowned, pouring myself a glass. I was kinda hoping to get away from the party with the excuse of helping dad with supper, but I guess that plan just went out the window…

I glanced at the clock, putting the note back so Yang could find it later. "So, we've got an hour before it starts… can you bring the cookies to my room?"

"Of course!"

I zoomed off towards where my backpack lay, retrieving my books and my notebook before going to my room. As I entered, I saw the centaurbot lay down in its charging station, the cookies still on its back. I snagged one, glad they were finally cooled off enough to touch, and slid into my desk chair.

I pushed aside the sketches I'd made for various projects and replaced them with my notebook. "Alright…" I said, eating the cookie whole. "Any progress on finding mom?"

…

"Penny?"

"…Not yet, unfortunately." My head hung low for a moment, only raising when the centaurbot placed the tray of cookies on my desk before trotting back to charge. "We will find her. I am sure of it."

I shoved another cookie into my mouth. "…I know…" I said, cracking open my textbook. I stared at the pages I'd been assigned to read, only processing a few words before my mind drifted off. Minutes later, I'd realize what happened and start reading again… only for the process to repeat. After half-an-hour, I let out a tired sigh. "Maybe if I just… work on something else for a bit…" I thought aloud. Suddenly, my head snapped up. "Hey, Penny, did those parts finish printing yet?"

"Which ones are you referring to?"

"The ones for your new body!" I shouted. "Y'know, after your old one got stolen when mom disappeared?"

"I still wouldn't exactly call it a body, it is more of a computer in a backpack." She said. "But regardless, those parts are, indeed, complete!"

"Awesome!" I said, grabbing another cookie and quickly rushing to the 3D printer, retrieving the parts I needed. I shuffled through the maze of half-completed projects on the workbench side of my room, taking almost a full thirty seconds to cover the dozen or so feet that was strewn with… things.

I made my way over to the workbench and strapped on my anti-static band before looking over the current project. Outwardly, it was just an oversized backpack with some LEDs. Inside, though? It was a sea of hard drives, processors, RAM sticks… everything needed to make a nice little home-on-the-go for a world-class AI.

"Hey, Penny? Can you throw on some Helljumper Jazz?"

"Certainly!"

I got to work, humming along with the soundtrack as it started. This will only take a second…

I stuck my tongue out in concentration, even the slightest twitch of my hands forcing the part out of alignment. I gently set the microchip in place, tacking it down with my soldering iron a moment late-

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, pounding on my door. I jumped, nearly messing up my work. "Ruby, the party started like… three hours ago!"

I groaned. "Yang, you can't just do that!" I shouted. "I'm in the middle of finishing Penny's body!"

She opened the door, stepping inside my room. "You can do that later, the gang really wants to hang out with you."

"Can't it wait 'til later? I'm almost done with this."

She stared at me for a moment. "…How long do you think it'll take?"

"Uhh… I dunno, fifteen minutes?"

She sighed. "Fine. But if you're not out there in fifteen minutes, I'm gonna drag you out of here." She exited my room once more, but before the door latched shut, she poked her head back inside. "It's getting dark out and everyone really wants to start shooting, y'know."

I made a shooing motion. "Fine, fine, I'll hurry up."

The door latched shut and I tuned out all distractions. I loved building things like this, but I also loved it when Yang and I had our little shooting competitions. Mostly 'cause it's the one thing I'm better than Yang at... that she actually cares about…

Finally, the last component clicked into place. I sealed up the backpack, opened the cooling ports, hooked it up to a monitor and keyboard, and switched it on. After several agonizing moments, I was greeted with the BIOS screen.

I cheered, quickly grabbing an ethernet cable and hooking it into the house. "Alright Penny, do your thing!"

"That I shall, Sister!Ruby!" She shouted. "Also, Sister!Yang is approaching your room, you should consider-"

"Ruby!" She shouted, barging through the door. "I said I'd drag you out there if you-"

"Yang, I just finished!" I shouted, flinching away. "I'll be right there."

She stopped in her tracks, crossing her arms. "You better."

I jumped up and grabbed a key off one of my top shelves, rushing past her to the laundry room down the hall. "You got yours?" I asked, opening the gun safe.

"Not yet." She said from behind me.

I handed her the '870 she loved so much before grabbing my M1903 Springfield… my Glistening Rose. I ran a finger over the rose emblem burned into her stock, letting a small smile grace my fa-

"Ruby, you can finger your rifle later, let's get going already."

Every single thought in my head ground to a complete and utter halt, my face heating up instantly. "Y- Yang!" I said. "Y- You can't just… say that!"

She smirked. "I know something that'll take your mind off that." She said, leaning in. When her face was only an inch away from mine, she gave her shotgun a loud pump. "Leeeeeeet's use these things!" She reached behind me and took one handle of the ammo crate just beside the safe.

I shook my head, knowing she hadn't actually chambered a round, as I shut the safe and grabbed the other end. Just then, the centaurbot appeared at the doorway. With a grunt of effort, we hoisted the crate onto its back. Seemingly not noticing any difference in weight, it happily trotted towards the back door.

Soon enough, we exited the house ourselves, holding the door for the Penny-controlled robot. A gust of cool air washed over me as we exited, making me shiver slightly and pull at my cloak.

"Whaaaaaat you guys have a robot now?!" Nora shouted, zooming over to us.

"Nora, they had it the last time we were here."

She craned her head towards her boyfriend. "Ooooooh yeeeeeeaaaah…" She let out, giving the bot a pat on its 'head'. "But it's still awesome!"

A small smile pulled at his lips. "I won't disagree with you there."

Yang cleared her throat. "So… we gonna shoot these things off, or what?"

Jaune chuckled nervously. "You didn't tell us we were gonna shoot guns… I'd've brought mine too."

"Well, no probs! Y'know you can use mine anytime, right? Plus, you guys know we've got a lot more than just these two."

"Heeeeeey, does that apply to us too?" Nora asked.

"You betcha!" She said. "So, who wants to go first? I bet twenty bucks that Ruby wins."

"Wha- Yang!" I let out.

Ren hummed. "You seem quite confident. Given you know our shooting ability as well as your sister's, I do not take the bet."

"Yeah, same." Jaune said.

"You're on!" Nora shouted.

I stood there awkwardly as Ren tried to talk Nora out of her bet. Eventually, I just started looking around, admiring our yard… if you could call it just a yard.

The actual area was bigger than most city blocks, though three-quarters of that was taken up by woodland. To the southwest, some of the last rays of daylight shone through the trees' needles. The grey form of the old barn was only slightly visible through them as well, the sun glinting off the single window that still had some glass in it.

I could just barely hear the rumble of a combine in the distance; Nora and Ren's arguing doing its best to hide the machine's noise. A few dozen meters off our redwood deck stood a metal target, blue masking tape freshly applied.

I glanced back at the others, seeing the ghost of a smile on Ren's face as he tried to calm Nora down. I shrugged, reaching into the ammo crate and-

"Alert!" Penny suddenly said over the exterior speakers. "Sensors have detected a flying object of unknown make approximately a kilometer from this position."

"Your house has sensors?" Jaune asked.

Yang frowned. "Just a basic camera that we stuck in a tree…" She muttered. "Hey, Penny, did you search the internet too?"

"Indeed I have, Sister!Yang, all publicly-available records returned zero hits for the saucer-like object currently heading towards this location."

We all stiffened. "Did you say… saucer-like?" I asked.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over us. Looking towards the sun, I only saw blue and green lights poke through the trees. We all stood completely still, scared out of our minds while it passed.

"Alert! Saucer is landing approximately two-point-seven kilometers south-southwest. Please seek shelter!"

A fire burned in Yang's eyes. "Those bastards burned down Bismarck and we couldn't do a goddamned thing!" She shouted, grabbing handfuls of shotgun shells from the ammo crate. "I'm not just gonna sit here while they try and burn my home too!" She leaped off the deck, running towards the shed.

"Yang, wait! You can't take them on by yourself!" I shouted. She didn't even glance backwards. An ATV's engine roared to life moments before it peeled out of the shed, my sister's golden mane flapping in the wind. I groaned, throwing Ren the gun safe key and grabbing ammo for myself. "Take what you need, I'm going after her!"

I completely ignored their cries as I rushed to the other ATV.

(A/N) So, something a little different on my part, eh?

Normally, this would be where the review responses go, but seeing as this is chapter one, there aren't any. So… I guess see ya next time in "Hit The Fan", the next chapter.

…

…

They're civilians going up against a landed UFO in August, what did you expect?