The Cosmic Cycle
Chapter Thirteen
Mondays
Three and a half months later...
A bright, beautiful day.
That was what greeted both returnee's and new arrivals of Beacon Academy. Birds sang on the grounds, though mostly going unnoticed in the din of students and staff. Cooks rushed to prepare for the inevitable influx of orders from students; making a checklist of all the ingredients they'd need for the various dishes. Witnesses to the new recruits came clambering in for initiation the following day; excited for the slaughter that was to follow.
A little sick and twisted, but nothing very unusual with the cultures that would no doubt have formed around the grimm.
The newly dubbed Second years had been filing in since the day before; returning to their dorms with varying degrees of mourning for their lost free time, and wonder at what they would encounter in the coming year with their team and classmates. It was a time of interest, since now they could take on full missions instead of shadowing another Hunter. Which no small part of the second years were excited for. Not to mention being one step closer to being full-fledged Hunter's in their own right.
For the new arrivals, those who would become the newest Hunters-In-Training, would find themselves part of the academy they had only dreamed of becoming students of. Whether it was following in the footsteps of their parents, or those unknown wanting to make a name for themselves in Remnant, they would find themselves staring into the open arms of the faculty. So long as they passed initiation tomorrow, anyway.
As for the teachers, it was simply another generation they had to teach. Oh, they would take great care to aid them in learning all they could, and they would undoubtedly grow to care for the lot of them. But it wasn't anything new to them; save two individuals.
"Should I really be here..?" Amber asked the surrounding teachers with a noticeable touch of hesitation and nervousness in her tone. In anticipation for this day, she had added a few new sets of clothing to her repertoire. The outfit she currently wore was similar to her usual in a few ways. With a set of knee-high leather boots with brass armor covering her toes, heels and ankles, that covered over black pants, with a green piece of fabric that ran hip to hip and down to before her knees, covering her arse from perverts. Her blouse was replaced for a less long and frilly version, though was partially covered by another corset, along with a jacket that acted much like her old vest did, with a single sleeve that ran over her right arm, which was accented with her usual bracer, bracelets, pauldron and pendent. With the added addition of a single ring that ran on the edge of the fabric between the shoulder and arm. Along with similar embroidery around its hem.
Standing out on her back was her namesake, the symbol of an orange leaf encased in an asymmetrical, slightly jagged amber. She had decided to forego her cape until she was back out in the wilderness again, which was probably for the best. It would have probably brought attention onto herself.
Plus, who wore a cape when they were in a city? Best she could imagine were creeps and other, more unsavoury individuals.
"Nonsense, my dear!" Port shouted, boisterous laughter pretty loud in the moderately sized teachers lounge. He gave her a pat on the back as a show of support that would have sent her reeling had she not propped herself up beforehand with the table they were all sitting at. "None are more prepared for the position as you are!"
"I'm the only one with enough of an idea for the position." She deadpanned, her hands repeatedly clenching. The maiden sighed. "I'm so not ready for this."
"Yes, but you're far more prepared for it than any of us could ever hope to be!" Bartholomew replied damn near all at once, all while eating a nice salad. "Having experience in the field makes you the best suited for the position! Whereas we would simply flounder about helplessly!"
"Indeed lass. Four years is a sight better than us flubbing about." Port nodded.
"Yeah... that... that's a fair point." She chuckled nervously at Ozpin and Glynda's little cover-story. Namely that she had been an apprentice to Jonas during said time, which in part gave her the powers she had now.
She really didn't like lying to them. Despite their eccentricities, they were good people who helped her get comfortable here; even opting to take some of their downtime to help her relax through stories or the like. Port had tried to take her out on the town at one point just to have some fun. The big guy was like a fun uncle to young children.
Though a bit of a bore to the older folk, she would admit to herself. But never dared say that out loud.
Bart did much the same thing, but he could tell you amazing stories of ancient ruins lost to time that he came across in his spare time, and a detailed history lesson of Remnant; no matter the area or type. Little wonder he was a history professor, despite his inability to control his speech pattern.
A lithe hand gently grasped her unarmored shoulder, and she found Glynda standing by her, looking down into her eyes with a small almost unnoticeable smile. A large scroll held between her hand and elbow. Even now, with the assembly coming in short order, she was still working.
"Deep breaths." She soothed. "The first day on the job is always the worst. Even I wasn't exempt from it."
"Yeah, I know..." Amber sighed. "Just more worried about if I have the qualifications for it."
"Understandable reasoning, Miss Tawny." Ozpin finally cut into the conversation. He sat with his back to the windows behind them that gave a nice view to the grounds."But you need not fret. You will find your rhythm in due time. You must trust in yourself to find it."
"The staff will do their utmost to aid you in settling into your new position until then." Professor Goodwitch nodded in encouragement, the others nodding. "If you need any advice, don't hesitate to ask any of us."
Amber stared at the merry group of misfits in front of her in slight surprise, that slowly turned into an expression of gratitude, a small smile on her face.
"Thank you. Really."
"Ah~. I remember my first day on the job!" Peter sighed, and Amber's smile grew a little bit as he began another tall tale about 'how he was a strapping young lad' or something or other.
Really, she just learned to tune it out.
"You need not worry too much about it." Ozpin replied after Port had quieted down enough for him to speak over the portly fellow. "You'll only be working in the capacity of an Assistant to Professor Everblue, so you won't have as much to deal with as he will."
There was that, yeah. Jonas admitted as much himself. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing when he asked for her help. Admitting he wouldn't have put her on the spot if he had a choice. There were the other Maidens, sure, but she hadn't a clue where they were. And Ozpin wasn't exactly forthcoming on the locations of the ones he knew of. That left the spotlight on her. And didn't that just instigate an old fear of large groups of people all in one place. All of which would be looking at her.
It was like from a nightmare.
He had clarified that she would only be helping him get to every student they could, as instead of having a single year per class as was the norm, they had decided to simply put them all into a single room after the rest of the classes for the day were done. Leaving them with the afternoon to teach a single class without having to constantly repeat themselves. Along with that, she'd be required to show certain spells to show the impressionable students the methods and requirements to cast them. The reasonable part of her mind would admit that it was an understandable conclusion to come to, but that many people in a single place? It made her shudder unintentionally at the thought. The only mercy was she still had a week once classes had properly started. And even that was fleeting!
Words of plans for lessons among the tales of Port and the near indescribable words on Oobleck slowly petered out one after the other, and after a moment all their eyes wandered towards their other new addition.
Who looked to be taking a nice nap on the table. His arms around his head to block out the light.
Both Amber and Glynda sweat-dropped, while the headmaster gave a small, almost unheard chuckle. Both Peter and Bart deigned to ignore the sight, simply allowing the man to sleep in peace.
It left her frustrated, and she couldn't help but pity him for the situation he was in. The Council had been pushing him as hard as they could legally; going over the Hunter Guild and putting him in mission after mission for the last three months, with but a single day in between to decompress. And sometimes even less than that, under the false belief that the situation had deteriorated enough to warrant sending him to the mission site early.
A crock of shit if you asked her. And likely the others thought the same. But they were the ones in control of Vale, so what could she do in response? Send a complaint?
'This is why I live outside the walls.' She sighed to herself. Tentatively, she reached over and gave his shoulder a little shake. "Jonas? You there?"
A tired, tortured groan greeted her in response, eliciting a grimace from her. Slowly he raised his head, and she found herself staring at a set of beautiful designer bags underneath his eyes.
Maybe she should've let him sleep a bit more?
"Uh... you alright?" She asked hesitantly. He looked at her for a second, his eyes never breaking from her own and causing her to lean back a bit.
"...You know it's damn near impossible to fall asleep fully on a Bullhead?" He redirected, sitting up straight while rubbing at his eyes with his fingers. "Rocky movements kept jolting me awake on the six hour flight back here earlier today. Doesn't exactly help that I effectively got yanked into another mission before I could get a proper nights rest just over a few days back, either." Jonas looked ready to slam his head on the table again in the hopes he'd knock himself out, instead opting to just lean back in his chair. "Those council members really don't like me right now, do they?"
"Well... you did force them into this situation. Best choice aside, some of the council members probably see you as a threat because of that."
"That wasn't really a question that needed an answer, Amber..." He sighed in reply as he groused. "And lets be honest here. I'm hardly going to usurp their position. Seriously, putting myself into this situation is bad enough, thank you very much. Rather not have the extra workload being a Councillor would entail."
"I don't know. Frankly, it sounds like a pretty cushy job all things considered."
"Do keep in mind, they are tasked with running the day to day events of Vale, as well as emergency situations that may threaten it. We ourselves, while being a separate organization, still follow their orders in war times." Glynda reminded them both. "Bearing no offense in saying this Jonas, but you quite literally appeared out of nowhere and forced them into an agreement. That alone is enough to give them pause."
"Yeah, I get that. But honestly, between that and the morons up top, it's been pretty hard to get a proper night or two of rest." He sighed again, turning to eye the blonde, changing the subject to something more relevant. "By the way, did those construction workers finish up the last checks for the building yet? Haven't had the time to look yet."
"Mostly. It should be totally finished by the end of the day." She clarified. "While you aiding in its construction did help it to speed along, and at an astonishing rate, this also forces them to look at everything in more detail. Since they themselves were not the ones who put the structures in place. Not to mention those 'Special Additions' that you had added in yourself."
"True enough. Still helped speed it along at least, right?"
They nodded. It was certainly an odd sight for them all the first time he did that. How could it not? Suddenly having a chunk of the building formed up in a couple of hours instead of the usual days or weeks; even if he had to tear some of it down again for the sake of plumbing and the like. Though they did say they'd let him know when and where to do it again to make all their lives easier, and maybe save a bit of Lien.
Jury was out on that, though. Had nary a clue how much he had on him.
He told them how he managed to accrue it, to which Ozpin and the others were keeping an eye out on the market, both legal and otherwise for their appearance and whoever might have obtained them.
"Thank you for footing the bill, by the way." Ozpin cut in after taking a hearty sip from his beverage. "Our budget for the year would have likely not survived."
"Eh. I figured I should, after causing that kerfuffle." He shrugged. "Had more than enough on me anyway to deal with everything out of my pocket. Barely made a dent, as is. Seemed like the right choice to make."
"That, and the mess you're gonna create in a few hours." Amber replied.
"Yes. Thank you for that sterling reminder, Amber." Jonas flatly responded, groaning again as he put his head back onto the table. "I'm really not ready for today."
She snorted at him almost copying her word for word as Glynda's voice cut in. "Could you not delay it until tomorrow? Surely they would give you that much leeway?"
"Really wish I could. But I'm trying to avoid giving those council members ammunition they can use to discredit me of the position. As it stands, I can't trust them not to do that." He sat himself straight again, her expression a mix of annoyance and resignation. "Like it or not, I'll have to slog through today."
"Would you like some coffee?" Ozpin offered. "It might help you stay better alert."
"Nah. Too bitter for me." He turned him down, getting looks of horror from both he and Oobleck afterwards. As if he had just spoken blasphemies in their church.
Amber giggled quietly to herself as the conversation devolved into the finer points of, quoting Ozpin, 'The hot brown nectar of the gods' while she made her way to the fridge. Jonas perked up a bit, his visage going comically serious when she pulled out a can of grape soda, moving and gingerly placing it in front of him; his eyes never leaving the drink.
The next few seconds were a bit of a blur. One moment, it was just sitting there all pristine. The next it looked to be entirely spent of its cargo and slightly dented in a few places, to the bafflement of most of those watching; Jonas letting out a satisfied hum at the taste.
"Thanks for that." He nodded to Amber thankfully, getting a small smile in return that turned amused when he let out a small burp. Though he had the decency to excuse himself. Slowly, the magic professor stood, making his way towards the exit. "Still. I think I'll go for a walk. Try and get the rest of the cobwebs out."
"Is it just a walk? Or should we expect you to be on the tabloids again?" Goodwitch asked pointedly.
Jonas just grinned as he looked towards her.
"What do you think?"
Fifteen Minutes Later...
The flight on the Skybus was both exciting and tense for a young Ruby Rose.
On one hand, she had basically been given permission by the headmaster himself to partake in initiation to see if she could become one of the few to become a fully fledged hunter. A whole two years early at that!
The excitement was definitely still there, even a week later. And how couldn't it? She was getting into the school of her dreams, people! She was entitled to a little squealing every now and then! But she wasn't so stupid to not realize how much of a rare event this was.
No one could just get admittance into a place like Beacon that easily. You needed the skills and savvy for it. While she certainly had the skills in her opinion, she'd be wrong to fib about having learned everything that the others here have.
And, despite being lacking, Professor Ozpin still let her in. She was very humbled by that fact.
Speaking of skills though...
She was currently wishing for the ability to avoid death by Yang Hug.
"Oh my god, I can't believe my baby sister's going to Beacon with me!" Yang grinned, nearly crushing her sister between her arms. "This is the best day ever!"
"Yang..! Stop..!" Ruby choked, struggling in her iron hold. "Cant breathe..! Need air... To LIVE..!"
"Right! Sorry, sorry!" She laughed as she let go. Her sister falling to the floor; taking large gasps of air. "I'm just so proud of you!"
"It was nothing, Sis. Really." She sighed.
"Nothing?! Ruby, it's incredible!" The blonde bombshell slapped her on the back, eliciting a grunt of pain. "You beat up some thugs. Stopped a dust robbery. And best of all, you got admitted into Beacon two years early! Everyone's gonna think you're the bee's knees!"
"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees'- I don't want to be any kind of knees!" She burst out, saying it as if she was holding it in until now. "I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."
"...Sheesh. What's with you? Aren't you excited?!" Yang asked her with genuine concern.
"Of course I am! It's just..." Ruby sighed again, tone unusually downcast and serious. "I got moved ahead a whole two years. I don't want anyone to think I'm special."
"But Ruby, you are special." The blonde replied in that sisterly tone, wrapping an arm around the little reaper and pulling her close.
Ruby sighed, leaning her head against her shoulder. The contact brought a certain amount of comfort, helping to calm her currently wandering mind. It reminded her that, even though she didn't have any of her friends from signal with her, at least she had her sister.
"...So hey. Did you hear about a special announcement going on today before initiation?"
Both Ruby and Yang perked slightly at the gossip, eyes looking to one another briefly before they listened in; ignoring a certain news segment.
"Huh? No, not really." Another said in reply. "What's it about?"
"Apparently, there's a couple of new professors working here now!" The first guy said. "Heck, they even built another building for them! And it's huge!"
"...Do you know what they're supposed to teach?"
"Not a clue. But If I had t-"
Their conversation was cut short when the news was suddenly cut off by a large hologram of Professor Goodwitch; the woman who saved her on the rooftops.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon." The recording started, its tone not unkind.
"...Who's that?" Yang asked.
Ruby turned to her, mouth agape at her obliviousness. Did she really not know who one of the most well known Huntresses of Vale, let alone Remnant was?!
"I'm Glynda Goodwitch."
"Oh."
Ruby just facepalmed.
'Agh! I really need to get her updated on the gossip train for popular Huntsmen and Huntresses after this!'
"You are among one of the privileged few who have received the honour of attending this prestigious academy." They continued, undeterred by her sister's stupidity. "Remnant is currently experiencing an incredible time of peace. As prospective Hunters, it will be your duty to uphold that peace once your time here comes to an end."
Most in the room stood a little straighter at the declaration. Like her, they were just as determined to make it. The thought served to make her a little nervous, but she did her best to drown in out by remembering uncle Qrow's lessons. She just had to put herself through her paces. Show them that she belonged here. Show them some butt kicking moves!
"You have all demonstrated the courage for such a task. So long as you continue to put in the effort required of you, we will in turn provide you with the knowledge and training to hone yourselves in order to better protect the world at large."
With that, the hologram faded, returning to the previously cut off news.
Yang blinked, grinning a second later. Looking to her sister, Ruby nodded in agreement, giving a small smile of her own.
'Right!' She decided 'Got to make my family proud!'
Just as the determination set root, her sight finally focused upon the view outside; showing the entire city of Vale underneath them.
"Oh wow..." She whispered, slowly walking to one of the windows to get a better look. The sight was breathtaking. She could just barely spot the shops that she had passed just a couple of minutes ago off to their left, and the people looked like small dots in the distance.
She looked around, trying to see if she cou- there! "Look, you can see Signal from up here!"
Yang opted to giggle at her excitement, leisurely making her way to her sister and grinning instead of saying anything, fully getting the feeling; even if she didn't show it.
Ruby gave a content sigh, the moment serving to calm her nerves. Yeah, true, she was kind of out of her comfort zone right now; being brought to Beacon without any of her friends... But hey! At least she was with someone she knew right now!
And nothing said she couldn't visit them, either! so there was that!
She wondered with amusement what stories she'd end up telling them in a couple of months?
"At least home is close by." Ruby stated after a few seconds, voice finally void of the tense undertones it once had.
Yang moved close by, her arm once again snacking around her shoulder. Her grin never fading. "Beacon's our home now."
It was an amazing view for the few fleeting minutes they had, but after some time the ship had eventually made its way over open water.
The water was neat being over it like this.
Still wasn't as good as the view of the city though.
There were a flurry of shouts from a window over that made the sisters flinch. Turning to look, they found a decently sized groups of people had built up, all of which were staring out of the port-side windows, pointing at something in the distance.
It took a few seconds to properly locate what it was, since it slid out of their vision every time they managed to find it like a red stream of light. Their jaws hung loose when the thing managed to get close enough, and they realized that it wasn't some drone, but rather a man flying around on a hoverboard.
A. Flipping. HOVERBOARD.
She couldn't tell very well from this distance, but it appeared to be a man with brown hair wearing a black form-fitting t-shirt, and armoured dark blue pants and leather boots. Along with that was a set of leather-bound goggles to keep the wind out of his eyes, and a scarf the same color as his pants to further help shield his face as he danced in the air; weaving around in ways that reminded her of both pro surfers and skaters.
But more to the point...
HE HAD A GOSH DARNED HOVERBOARD!
There hadn't even been a proper hoverboard before! At least, not that she knew of that could fly several hundred meters off the ground! The best people could manage was a dozen feet. Maybe more if they were top of the line!
How did he figure out how to make one without losing control?! How has the stupid thing not up and EXPLODED on him yet from the sheer power it had to carry?! The most she's seen some of the videos of the prototypes achieve is a couple minutes of sustained flight at most before there were issues! How'd he get past that?!
Looking at it as they began float across the side of the cliff as if he were grinding on its surface with all the dust that was scattering in the rampant winds, she couldn't find anything different. It looked kind of like a regular surfboard. Just thicker from the machinery. Nothing new there. It was coloured blue, with some silver plating in the front and back that looked to help balance it out during flight. Worriedly, she couldn't locate anything that secured his feet to the contraption. And here he was, pulling all these crazy stunts.
The form for it was unique with the board shaped like a figure-eight, and helped to tighten the wiring she guessed, but how in the heck was he able to manage it?
Her brain had slowly began to overload from the speculation, her sister giggling as an eye twitched and steam started to blow out her ears from the strain.
After Initiation was done, she knew the first thing she was doing!
Both were knocked out of their musing at another shout of awe. Apparently they had just missed him doing a triple flip along the side of the cliff face. Right after he twisted, doing loops at high velocity as he ran underneath the skybus and circled it; eventually cutting the power at the top and allowing himself to free-fall. Holding the board in one hand and doing circles in the air as gravity once again took hold; maintaining an arms and legs akimbo stance.
Onlookers waited with bated breath, waiting to see when he would pull himself out. The seconds felt long, and became longer still when he came tearing past the window of the airship with an almost reckless abandon. Closer to the chilly waters below. They were mesmerized, shouts slowly become louder the more the distance between him and the shallow seas below shrunk.
On and on he fell. And the closer he came to the water, the more those watching the spectacle began to chatter with both excitement and panic; their voices slowly reaching a fever pitch as the gap lessened to a dangerous degree. In the background meanwhile, and blonde-haired boy bolted from the windows with an audible gag; the sights worsening the churning in his stomach.
Ruby let out a small gasp, her hands covering her mouth, while Yang slammed her hands on the window as she tried to see if he was still alive with an enlivened grin, but finding it hard to find him from how far he was now. Finding one man, even if he was alone in the middle of the water, was pretty hard.
The room went dead quiet after they lost sight, wondering if they had somehow died or taken a morning swim. Seconds passed in bated breath as they looked about through where they could. Even Ruby leaned forward a bit, hoping a better angle would look. Her vision jumped about the area, hoping to see some sign of them, but finding nothing.
"There!" One of the girls called out, pointing towards a certain area. Everyone turned to follow where she was gesturing to, trying to locate but finding it hard to with the natural light in the way.
It took a minute, but eventually the two girls noticed a dim red light forming just a ways off for a moment.
And then the water underneath it cratered for a second, forming a small whirlpool in the aftermath as the red light jumped skyward; tearing towards them at high velocity; just skirting past the port-side windows.
The world slowed, as if solely for her viewing. But really, was more of an after-effect of her Semblance. Having had to adjust to it as much as she had to it allowed her to process things quicker than most.
What she saw was the man tearing by them while upside down. Scarf ruffling in the wind, and moving out of the way enough to show the massive smile on the mans face, before things returned to normal and he shot right on by; to the cheers of the small crowd, bee-lining straight for Beacon.
"Wow..." Yang whispered, awe clear in her tone, laced with just a bit of envy. "I need to get one of those!"
Ruby said nothing, staring at where he once was, almost in reverence while silently agreeing with her sister. Her mouth hanging slightly open. Said gaping turned into an open-mouthed smile as the little red reapers thoughts finally began to process.
This was it. This was the school she chose; without recourse or regret. Her father and mother's Alma Mater. The place both her and Yang would be attending for the next four years. And already, it was proving to have been the right choice. With scenery like this, the resources at hand, and people like herself – Though she didn't like to toot her own horn – her sister, and that hoverboarder... They gave her a fit of giggles from the butterflies in her stomach, her excitement mounting.
She couldn't wait!
Unbeknownst to most on the airship, which had begun to animatedly chat amongst each other from the spectacle, another news segment went ignored.
A Little Later...
'Nothing like a test flight to get the blood flowing.' Jonas thought to himself as he walked alongside one of the many aqueducts located off of the main avenue. 'Shame it can't get rid of the bags, though.'
Taking a leisurely stroll to let off some of the excess adrenaline. Awake he may be, but to much could be a bad thing. Especially so for what was coming. With the announcement for initiation, as well as the introduction for both him and Amber.
And a certain event that would no doubt pop up on the news.
'In about thirty minutes, no less.' He noted when he looked at the clock on his scroll, picking the pace up to a speed walk towards the amphitheatre-.
*BOOM!*
...Or he would have anyway, were it not for the explosion.
Almost immediately, he turned around sighing; booking it towards its origin – which sounded like the docks – throwing the board that he had been carrying up until now underfoot and taking to the skies in less than two seconds to get a better view. A better plan than trying to look through the droves of people making their way inward.
His assumptions proved to be correct when he found what he guessed was two individuals standing within a cloud of dust-infused smoke. Flecks of electricity and snow radiated outward for a few brief seconds. Long enough for him to land in the grass close by and take proper stock of the situation.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" A shrill, feminine voice shouted once he had the board back in hand. They took a moment to cough, waving a hand in a vain attempt to blow some of the airborne particles away from her. "This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I was talking about!"
"I'm really, really sorry!" Another girl apologized profusely, though it was kind of hard to hear from this distance.
The smoke had finally dissipated enough for him to make the two out, and funny enough; the both of them couldn't have been more complete opposites. Both wore red to varying degrees, and both had combat skirts – Which while he could understand some liked the style, there was still the problem of letting a few too many see your undies – but that was the end of the similarities.
The one in white he could easily guess was Winter's younger sister, Weiss. She had mentioned her family in passing, not willing to get into it with present company, i.e. him, but did drop a name. Though really, even if she didn't, the hair and eye color, not to mention the haughty attitude would have given her away anyway.
Said hair, sans her bangs, were pulled back into an off-centre ponytail that still ran halfway down her back besides, and was kept in place with an icicle-shaped tiara.
Or it looked like one to him; he didn't know. Wasn't exactly on the up-and-up when it came to fashion in this day and age, so...
Her look, while still styled in the modern age, had a dignified and regal air to it. Wearing what appeared to be a thigh-length strapless white dress that was scalloped at the bottom; the added stitching along it resembling snowflakes, along of a small piece of black lace just below her neckline, a white sash that lay on the front of her dress, and a silver chain with an apple pendant that matched well with the rectangular earrings she wore. Over said dress was a...
Dammit, what was the term? Belero..? Balero jacket?
Something like that. He read up on the new age clothing a good while back to see if there was anything better than what he was wearing. Something that might look more stylish that he might've fancied. Not that it did him any good, apparently!
Anyway, a similarly colored jacket with a ruffled collar that ended around the same point as her hair. It was bell-sleeved, with a red inner lining and there was a familiar snowflake logo on the back; indicative of a Schnee product. Wedged, heeled boots matched the rest of her outfit, with a silver trim along the top edge, and again with red lining on the inside.
His curiosity perked up as he watched her chew out the other girl for the slight, perceived or otherwise, and he focused his attention on her for a brief moment.
{Heiress Apparent}
[Weiss Schnee]
Health:
100/100
Aura:
198/198
'Well, nothing out of the ordinary there.' He snorted, eyes wandering to the other girl.
Jonas almost broke into peeling laughter at the sight of a girl who looked like what would happen if Red Riding Hood was a Monster Slayer. With the story proper, that wasn't too far off the mark.
The little lady was garbed in a more modest dress sense. With a high-collar and more form fitting sleeves on her black outfit, though not without a more prominent showing of red than the other girl; what with the red cape or hood – He couldn't tell which at this angle – that was held in place by cross-shaped pins, and a red trim on the ends of her sleeves and the hem of her skirt. Along with this was a pseudo black corset with red lace that he couldn't find the name of, a belt bearing a white rose emblem and a white pouch on one hip, and a small row of bullets on the other. Though those little beasts looked to be meant for a sniper rifle, or a heretofore unknown weapon he had no knowledge of.
'Guess she's a long range user?' He mused, scratching at his chin as his eyes roved downward to thick black stockings and similarly colored black combat boots; again with red laces, trims, and soles. Jonas snorted to himself. 'Seriously; people and their color coordination.'
Though he was one to talk, wearing all this midnight blue, dark gray, and gold.
{Little Heroine}
[Ruby Rose]
Health:
100/100
Aura:
230/230
Jonas raised an eyebrow at that oddly particular title, but chalked it up to her personality. He was more focused on the nagging feeling he was getting from her.
Had he perhaps met her at one point or another..?
...Nah, that didn't seem likely. He would've remembered that color scheme. But the feeling still remained nonetheless. Just where..?
Wait, didn't Ozpin mention something about letting a girl jump ahead a couple of years a little over a week ago? His brows furrowed as he tried to remember, but all he was getting was static from the unending missions he'd been forced to slog through up until now. Made a decent bit of change from it, bu- Wait, he was getting off topic.
'Something about a robbery... I think?' He questioned himself, moving to grab his scroll. 'If it's something like that, maybe I can find it on the news sites?'
And true to form, he found a certain article dating to just over a week ago after a couple minutes of searching. A well known criminal by the name of Roman Torchwick had been repeatedly stealing Dust for the last six months unimpeded. He already knew, of course. Had to in his line of work. But despite that he couldn't help questioning how they managed such a thing without getting sent to the slammer.
Not to say the local police forces weren't trying though. The couple dozen or so that had been on the scene during several instances of the thefts had been subdued with varying degrees of force. Never outright killing them; which was smart what with cops having a thing about cop killers if what he still remembered from some of the movies he watched as a kid were accurate, but leaving them injured enough that a repeat interception wouldn't happen anytime soon.
Then along came Little Red Riding Hood.
He snickered at the detail the article went into on the beating his cronies took, the outfits they wore sounding more than a little familiar.
Though that was for another time. What was important was that this fifteen year old girl kicked the butts of several full-grown men into the dirt, and likely would have done so to this Torchwick fellow too, if it not for the intervention of one of his allies flying in a Bullhead. She almost got blown up in the process, though the timely appearance of the lovely Glynda Goodwitch managed to turn the tides into a stalemate before things could escalate beyond that. Though they still managed to escape them and the proper authorities.
Shame he had a mission at the time. He'd have just forced the damned thing to land with Telekinesis before beating the ever-loving snot out of them. Or given them a taste of acupuncture via some of his many weapons.
Whichever was needed more at the time. He could go either way.
Still, she stopped a robbery against what folks were calling a Criminal Mastermind, so he could see why she was here. All this said she held enough skill to attend Beacon Academy, though he would be remiss if he didn't admit that moving her forward like this had consequences. Namely, that the poor girl was missing some crucial information from classes, not to mention experience, that would no longer be attended from being jumped ahead two years. Should even out in time, but the next few weeks might be a bit tenuous, if only to her. Possibly her teammates too, depending on their temperaments.
Speaking of spectating, he looked up from his scroll to find he had missed out on the conversation, having one very irate looking Miss Schnee power-walking down the main avenue with an expression that would have cowed most men.
Behind her he heard Miss Rose shout out towards her. "I PROMISE I'LL MAKE THIS UP TO YOU!"
He shook his head in amusement, able tell she was being genuine despite the treatment. An admirable trait, though fatal if taken too far. She turned to face behind her, starting to say something to another girl, her voice going quiet when she found that she had already started walking away, leaving her with the two butlers that were attending to the little snowflake. Jonas quietly chuckled to himself when she fell to her knees after they left, laying back on the stone pathways.
Silently, Jonas shook his head, and made his way towards her...
Was it too late for her to change her answer?
It was probably too soon to say everything was going to be great. The earlier excitement from being allowed to attend her dream academy and the little show they had before landing hyped her up.
Now here she was, crashing like a comet.
First her sister ditches her. Then in a state of confusion she crashes into a crabby girls luggage. Then the black-haired girl who got her off her back just up and walks away without saying a word.
'I mean, I still appreciate the help. But...' She sighed, closing her eyes and muttering. "Welcome to Beacon."
She laid there in silence, taking in the sounds of the engines of the Sky bus and the bird flying about singing as she tried to get her head together.
Maybe she should've waited? Said no to the Headmaster's offer? She might've been better prepared for this in two years instead of being thrown into it in a week. It was laughable to think she could
Gah! Why did everything have to be so complicated!?
She wasn't paying attention to it at first, what with being so focused on her internal conversation, but after several seconds of thought, she started to hear laughter coming a ways from her left. Ruby opened her eyes and looked in the direction it was coming from to find a very familiar person carrying a hoverboard looking back at her with a toothy smile, goggles just barely noticeable around his neck behind the scarf, and lugging said board under an arm.
"Hahahah! Well!" They chuckled. "That was certainly an interesting spectacle!"
She stared on, blinking dumbly at him for a few moments.
And then they passed, and she shot up to her feet, pointing at him and shouting. "You!"
He blinked right on back, never losing that smile of his. "Yes. I am me."
"No, no, I mean... It's you! The guy with the hoverboard!" Ruby quickly replied.
He chuckled again. "Did the big blue board I'm carrying give me away?"
"YouknowwhatImean!" She said, rapid-fire, arms flailing in the air as she started shooting questions at him one after another; gabbing him by the arms and trying to shake him violently. Which went about as well as you'd expect with someone much shorter and less muscled than you. "E-every other attempt at making a successful hoverboard always ended with the guy testing it nearly getting blown up, spiralling out of control from the speed or torque – sometimes both! – and getting pancaked!"
"Uuuh..." He replied, eyes wide in shock. "What?"
Such a reaction went unnoticed, however, and he sweat-dropped when she vanished from place. Damn near flinching when she popped up next to the board like a ghost with her hands hovering over it. Seemingly in reverence or awe, or afraid the moment she tried she'd wake up in her bed and find it all to be a dream.
"W-w-what was the solution?!" Ruby asked frantically. Her voice halfway to crazy as she abruptly got in his face. "The balancing? The wiring? The material?! TellmetellmetellmetellmeTELLME!"
"...Wow. Okay. I'm very uncomfortable now..." He went quiet, a momentary look of confusion passing over him. "Been a while since that's happened!"
It took a couple seconds for the words to sink in, her body frozen in place as her body processed the last twenty seconds. When it finally clicked, her fact turned the same shade as her hood as her hands covered her now gaping mouth, mortification morphing clear onto her face.
"I'M SO SORRY!" Ruby nearly screamed, looking a step away from curling into a ball and never coming out. "Its just that no one's ever seen a successful iteration of a board since they're so hard to control, so when i saw you just flying around in the open several hundred feet above ground level without any problems i couldn't help myself! And I get really into it when i get to look at other people's inventions, so..!"
Her motor mouth finally died down when she ran out of breath, panting heavily as the boarder just blinked, trying to register everything she said. She covered her face with her hands, letting out a small and quiet high-pitched whine at her own stupidity.
It was one thing to bump into Weiss's luggage and blow up. But this!? This was going full on 'Geek Mode' in front of a guy smart enough to make that beautiful machine! Gods, he must think she's a freak!
'Nice job, Ruby! Way to start off the new school year! First day in, and you're already alienating yourself from the student body! Just scaring them away in droves!'
Seconds passed in relative silence, until the faint sound of something heavy hitting the ground. Moments after, she felt a hand gently yet firmly lay itself on her shoulder. She let one of her eyes peek between her fingers, finding the guy looking back at her with understanding. Though still managing to give a slightly embarrassed smirk despite it all.
"I... kind of get that way, too." He admitted after a moment, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head.
She blinked once more, mind once again going blank at his admittance. A small snort passed her lips, and now she was doing everything she could not to break down in a fit of giggles, hands now cupping over her nose and mouth.
She was lucky.
Really lucky.
Ruby was under no false fantasies. She realized That the man in front of her had not just up and ran off when she lost it, even having the honesty that he acts like that himself...
It was soothing to know, in some way, that she wasn't truly alone out here. Yeah, she had her sister, but... it was her sister. Family. She had years to get used to her antics. Even her friends from signal had taken a year or two. Said they had needed the time to adjust to her quirks. But this guy was... new. Someone who held the same interest and awe for weaponry like she did.
It was a nice feeling.
"S-sorry, all this is just... just new to me." She giggled a bit. When she got it under control, she stood up a little straighter, giving the man a positively beaming smile, in her opinion. "Ruby."
"Jonas." He offered his name in turn. A corner of his mouth quirked in a grin. "Pleasure to meet you, Ruby. And believe it or not, the feeling is mutual."
"Yeah. New place, new people. New everything." She agreed, still a little overwhelmed with all of it. "Only person I really know here is my sister, Yang."
"Very true. More than you think. But hey! At least you have her, yeah?"
"...Yeah. I'm really glad for that." The little reaper gave a small, fond smile, thinking of the rowdy blonde. She looked at her... could she call him a friend?
"Uh..." And just as she was about to ask, an awkward but masculine voice called out from behind her, making her jump.
When she spun around, she found herself looking at another blonde. But where her sister was loud and boisterous, and always sure of herself, the guy in front of her seemed hesitant and shy. There was a select bit of armor adorning his body; namely his shoulders, his chest and part of his back that covered a black hoodie. There was a small piece of armor as the wrist. Just underneath finger-less leather gloves, but above his detached orange sleeves that ended at the elbow. The rest was pretty simple; what with him only wearing some blue jeans with a white patch on his left leg, and a set of black shoes with white soles.
The weapon, she noted with interest, reminded her of those childhood storybooks of knights and princesses; being a simple sheathed longsword.
Sadly, something came to the forefront of her mind, and she couldn't control the impulse.
"...Didn't you throw up on the ship?" She asked dully. It took her less than a second for her to catch up to what she was saying, sighing and facepalming from her lack of tact as he broke out into a fierce blush, looking down to the floor in embarrassment.
"Motion sickness is a common problem, okay?!" He whined, throwing his arms in the air in aggravation. They opted not to say anything more, not wanting to demean him any further. He sighed once he calmed down, looking to them with faux bravado. "Name's Jaune Arc."
They quickly gave their own names as they had begun to walk down the main avenue. Though not much else was said for a couple of minutes.
"So... Motion sickness, huh?" Jonas asked, breaking the unpleasant silence. "It run in the family?"
"No. Just me." He sighed. "My family made it a game to punish any wrongdoing from my sisters by making them sit next to me whenever we needed to go somewhere."
"Yikes." He cringed. "I'm so sorry."
This went on for a few more minutes, with them talking about recent events and some family history. Though Jonas never talked much about his. She didn't really know why.
"Vomit Boy? Really?" Jaune groaned, slumping as they walked along one of the aqueducts.
"Sorry, it was the first thing to come to mind!" Ruby replied apologetically. "You did kind of puke on my sister's shoes., you know."
"Yeah yeah."
"So sayeth Crimson Kaboom; Destroyer of All." Jonas retorted on an overly grandiose note, a massive grin on his face.
The little reaper gave him a dirty look. All the while, Jaune's snickering went unnoticed behind her.
They continued their walk in silence. And while she couldn't speak for the two with her, she enjoyed the silent camaraderie, feeling content in their presence.
While she couldn't speak too much about them, they seemed alright. Jaune kind of reminded her of some of the shy boys who she'd always see staring at Yang when they were kids. Always stuttering when she talked to them, and looking very uncomfortable to boot. He didn't seem used to being around people, but Huntsman all had their quirks, she guessed. He had this habit of building himself up to look better; another thing she'd seen back in grade school with some of the kids that chased after her sister.
Then there was Jonas. He was the guy who built that awesome hoverboard himself! And he was into weapons!
...And he didn't immediately run away from her after causing another incident. Even after she literally got in his face and went all crazy.
"You... doing alright there, Ruby?" The person in question asked when her face lit up like a streetlight. "Getting first day jitters?"
"I'mfine!" She said too quickly for her liking, trying quickly to change the topic and immediately found one strapped to her waist. "SO! Uh... I've got this!"
She unfurled what she considered to be her masterpiece. Eliciting a squeak of surprise and a raised eyebrow as she extended into a sniper barrel briefly before the muzzle and stock extended into a long shaft; unfurling a knife-like protrusion from the bottom while the barrels bottom half opened into a series of metal blades that shifted into a crescent moon shape.
She gave it a hard slam into the ground, the massive scythe's tip tearing into the cement underneath.
"W-what the heck?! Is that a Scythe?!" Jaune shouted.
"It's also a customizable, high velocity, high impact sniper rifle."
Jonas gave a whistle of admiration, eyeing her baby with great interest.
He wasn't wrong to. She was a marvel of weapons design, if she did say so herself.
Jaune however... looked like he blanked out at some point.
"...A-whut?"
"...It's also a gun."
"Oh."
The hoverboarder walked closer to get a better look at the weapon, a hand running down the crescent blade, and feeling the separate metal blades that formed it.
"...The weapon choice is quite unique." He considered after a couple of seconds. "Wouldn't she be a bit unwieldy with that particular combination?"
"Normally, yeah. But she works for me like this!" They clarified. "Instead of using something else to compensate for that and make her more clunky, I use the recoil to help me fight better in close-quarters! You know. Speed up my swings. Launch me away from danger. That sort of thing!"
He stared at it in awe, eyes hungrily roving up and down the weapon with a thoughtful look. Her words bringing an extensive amount of mental deliberation as he quietly muttered to himself. Though the little reaper was close enough to hear him. "No gaps between the sheets of metal. No grinding or groaning in the mecha-shifting process. And the sheer shape of it tells of how well thought-out its creation was. The time it took to make her was no doubt immense, but the craftsmanship is on the level of a pro." Jonas looked at her with respect. "You should be proud of yourself for making such a beautiful weapon."
"Thank you." She preened at the praise, face flushing a little. "Really, she used to be about the size of a small sickle. My uncle had me start small and work my way up to it. Said it would help be to better understand the mechanical aspects so I could recognize when I made a mistake, or if one of the parts jammed. You know, maintain her upkeep."
"Your uncle's a smart man." He nodded sagely, adding on with a deadpan tone. "The amount of moving parts here must have been an absolute pain in the arse to put together properly."
"You don't know the half of it." She groaned a little bit at the memories that resurfaced. "It took years of trial and error just to get her to this point. It cost me my fair share of allowance money."
They raised an amused brow. "How big was your allowance to let you build this little beast you got here?"
"Hey, I got the same amount any other kid would! ...I think." She added quietly as she folded the weapon back up.
Jaune looked between the two of them, sweat-dropping as he began to feel more and more sidelined with every second.
"So... What about you guys?" Ruby looked to the two of them. Jonas considered things, and looked towards him.
"I'll show mine if you show yours."
"Uh, well... I have this sword." He stuttered, pulling out the longsword. Ruby noted it wasn't particularly fancy looking like her baby was, but that wasn't fair. Nothing could compete with it in her eyes. He grabbed the sheathe, making hidden metal plates extend into the shape of a kite shield. "And my sheathe can turn into a shield."
"Oooh~." Ruby stared at the simplistic but sturdy design. "What does it do?"
"Well, the-" He yelped as the shield malfunctioned. The mechanism making it switch between the two modes erratically, causing him to lose his grip on it. He desperately tried to grab the thing as it flew about the air like a hot potato just out of the over, but found reprieve in Jonas snatching the thing at the top of the sheathe.
Instead of immediately handing her back, he gave it a small inspection as it continued to spaz out; flipping the shield around to get a better look at it. Reaching behind him, he pulled out a small can of oil, with a long narrow nose for controlled pouring; letting out a few drops in a couple of areas before grabbing a hidden cloth and properly rubbing it in, the shield finally settling on its sheathed form after a few moments, much to his relief.
"Mechanism was a little rusty." He stated as he handed it back to Jaune, who took it gratefully.
"Yeah, sorry about that." He replied with clear discomfort. "I didn't want to mess with it too much. She's a family heirloom. Been in my family long enough that she was used by my great great-grandfather in the war!"
"That's pretty impressive actually." Jonas commented. "Keeping an old weapon like this up to par all these years must've been hard to do. Did you and your family have to switch out any of the parts?"
"Not really. As far as I remember, she's always been like this."
"Nice."
"Well, I like it." Ruby grinned. "Not everyone has an appreciation for the classics."
Jaune grew a shy smile in gratitude, but didn't say anything. His eyes eyeing her own weapon with the smallest degree of envy, and discomfort when he looked back at his own.
It saddened her that he was ashamed of it. In comparison to most everyone here, all he had was a hand-me-down. It made some sort of sense, she guessed; what with all the cool gadgets and everything. Crescent Rose was a good example of that. But even still, it wasn't really fair to say that! She's seen how some people work with weapons passed down through the family line! And what they do with them is incredible!
Though she could have continued on, she had more pressing questions on her mind. Namely, the large blue board currently propped up on a stone column while their owner was busy.
Slowly, the two looked towards the third member of their group, who was still staring at his weapons. Albeit with a look of slight confusion.
"...You okay there, dude?" Jaune snapped him out of his thoughts with a small start.
"Yeah, sorry. Just curious how that weapon's survived over the course of five generations without need for replacement parts, honestly." He admitted with a shrug. Jonas looked towards them with a grin. "Guess it's my turn for show and tell?"
Rolling his eyes at Ruby's excitement that was clear in how she nodded at almost mach speeds, and Jaune's curiosity, he walked towards his board, running a hand down its smooth surface.
"Right, well. Where to begin..?"
"Maybe how you made your weapon able for flight?!" Ruby gave a wondrous smile. "Though if I had to guess, you have it equipped with chain guns and rocket launchers for aerial strikes?"
"...Wait, what are yo-? Oh. O-oh!" He broke into hearty laughter, causing Ruby some confusion. Did she say something funny? "I-i'm afraid you're a little confused here. See, this little number-" He patted the board. "-Is a prototype I mixed with dust and a few mechanisms of my own design. Still in the testing phase, so I haven't put anything resembling a weapon on here yet until I work out all the kinks."
"Oh." She deflated a bit at his statement, but just as quickly perked up when she realized that he meant he had more than a single type of weapon. Which then when back when she noticed no other weapon on him "So is it in your locker or... wait, do we even get lockers?"
"Don't ask me! I Just got here!" Jaune replied swiftly when she looked his way with a questioning glance.
"Okay, there are." Jonas confirmed for her. He quickly popped a knowing grin. "...but I haven't ever really needed one anyway."
"Huh? What do you mean?" She quirked her head to the side.
Instead of answering her, he chose to place his hand flatly on his board. She briefly considered if he had installed a storage space on his means of transportation somewhere, before the thought got sucked into a black hole from what he did next.
Ruby gasped and Jaune gave a small shout of shock when the awesome piece of technology abruptly vanished into small flecks of light that spread outward from where he made contact with it.
It didn't take long for her to connect the dots.
"...No way."
Said grin turned into a full on smirk when a Great Sword came shooting out from his still outstretched hand, the blades tip tearing through the concrete with little resistance; burying itself at least an inch deep.
"NO WAY!" She screamed in abject glee. Rather she chose to let out an adoring gasp at the stunning sight.
In front of her stood a sword no doubt bigger than herself. With a chrome gray outer layer that almost shined blue and purple under the sun, followed by a gold layer that encased its silver center. The hilt itself was downright gorgeous. With a guard that almost looked like wings, and an ovular ruby, her namesake, in its middle. Below the gray grip was yet another one shaped like a diamond, that was encrusted into a gold, trident-shaped pommel.
Her mouth hung open, looking just off from drooling from how focused she was. An arm hung in the air towards the weapon, quietly yearning to get an up-close look of the frankly beautiful piece of art in front of her. Jaune stared at her in fear; clearly recognizing the look in her eyes, and taking a few steps back to avoid the coming riot that was sure to follow. Jonas' grin, meanwhile, turned toothy, apparently very amused by her reaction. He pulled the weapon from the ground, giving it a twirl in the air, enough for it to whistle as it spun, and placed it on his shoulder.
"She's called Excalibur. Though I commonly refer to her as Callie as a nickname." Jonas stated, knocking them both out of their daze. "Made by me from some of the finest materials around, and sharp enough to cleave through most anything with ease. Not to mention just as heavy. I like to think she's one of my finest works, if you don't mind my humblest opinions."
"She's beautiful..." Ruby whispered in awe, hand hovering out towards it as drool almost ran down from her mouth. She looked to Jonas. "C-can I..?"
He gave her a small smile, lifting the blade and holding it out sideways for her. Ruby fidgeted in place for a moment before taking a couple of hesitant steps forward, and laying one of her hands on the smooth flat of the blade.
Despite being in the cool sea air, it felt comfortably warm. Not overwhelming. Just... a little over room temperature. Running a hand along it, she could tell how well maintained it was. She could just barely see some of the old battle-scars through the repairs on it over the years.
Along with all that was the feeling that, while she was looking at the weapon, it was looking straight back at her. It was exhilarating, to imagine that.
"Why 'Excalibur'?" Jaune asked confusedly.
"Would you believe me if I didn't choose the name?" Jonas posed the question with wry amusement.
"...Huh?" He stared at him blankly, the answer doing absolutely nothing to sate his curiosity.
"You've taken good care of her, haven't you?" Ruby quietly asked out of nowhere, removing her hand but not taking her eyes off it.
"You've got a good eye." He chuckled. "Yeah, this little lady's been with me for a few years. Used to have another one, but I smelted and fused it together with another weapon to make a much stronger variant."
He abruptly flinched at something, eyes jumping to the weapon with a mix of guilt and vexation.
"Really? So you have more than her?" Her eyes lit up like stars at his declaration, his reaction going unnoticed.
"I have lots of weapons. I just use Callie most of the time. Usually, she's all I really need to get the job done." He admitted after a second. He raised a hand to cut her off with a good-natured smirk on his face. "Before you ask... No. She doesn't weapon-shift. And I'm not showing anymore weapons right now"
"Okay, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a bit of a downer. But honestly, I'm kind of glad I got to see her!" The little reaper motioned towards the weapon with her hands. "I mean, look at her! She's so cool!"
Jonas laughed quietly at her child-like infatuation with his weapon, his eyes roving the blade before giving it a wink and putting it away.
Slowly, the three began to notice that significant lack of people in the surrounding area, all of them abruptly realizing the time. Jaune and Ruby looked to one another in worry.
"You know if were getting close to the meeting point?"
"Me? I was following you!" Jaune replied with worry.
Ruby slumped forward in defeat, giving a tired sigh at the constant tests on her patience for the day.
Jonas let loose a boisterous laugh at her reaction, shaking his head before motioning towards a certain direction.
"Here, follow me. I know the way."
Sweet baby Jesus, I LIVE!
Sorry I took so long to get this done, folks. Real life, you know?
Hopefully, I accurately displayed Rubys personality here. If not, then hey. That's what the editors for, yeah?
Jaune seems pretty simple to do here, mostly because of how much of a blank canvas the guy is back here. Just a quirky and odd newbie to the world of hunters.
Also, Hoverboarding. Because I couldn't not include it.