The trip was, excepting the roar of the furious storm around them just outside the gunship, totally silent. The dark hold just barely illuminated by four red lights on the ceiling just by the doors. The Hoots Troopers all stood with one hand loosely gripping their blasters, and the other keeping tight hold of the bar above them. The flight was hardly a smooth one, as the storm only intensified through the night as they glided through the dark skies many dozens of kilometers above the ground.

Ruby had, since the arrival of the Hoots Troopers, moved out from behind the crates, opting to grab hold of Gaz's leg as she was too short to reach the bar above them. She, like the rest of the troopers, was completely silent, though that didn't stop her mind from wandering about what had just happened earlier, and why it had happened. If her mother was truly dead, than what, or more specifically who, had killed her? Why had her father disowned her? Had she done something wrong?

Her mind was racing at the speed of light, idly wondering that if she had done something wrong, what was it she'd done wrong? She could only think of times where she and her technically-not-sister would get into fights and she would (royally) kick her butt. She knew that her father had extreme favoritism towards Yang, but that surely did not mean hated her, did it? Too many questions, too few answers.

And then there were the Hoots Troopers in the transport right now. The Schnee family had always been confident in their own security to keep them safe, so why were these Hoots Troopers, the most elite soldiers Remnant had ever seen, being moved to something so... well, if Ruby were being honest, it didn't make sense that they were being sent to guard a civilian installation when the security there had already proven its ability to defend it.

Then there was the fact in of itself that Hoots Troopers were being sent. Surely, if they needed a organized and militarized defensive force, normal Clone Troopers would've been more than enough, and certainly higher in number. The fact that it was Hoots Troopers and not normal clones just seemed, at least to her, to be way too overkill.

Sighing, she looked around the hold at the rest of her sisters, giving them all wide smiles. Having them on board and protecting her certainly made her feel many times safer, made her feel as though she could take on the entire world and triumph. Twenty of the best soldiers in an army of soon to be six million. It was baffling to be sure, and the fact that every soldier in the gunship with her had developed such unique personalities... they were all individuals, and used that individualism to great effect on the battlefield, much like she knew she would some day...

Arriving at the Schnee manor was truly something awe-inspiring, the sight of such a beautifully and intricately designed mansion, practically a castle. She did not see Weiss anywhere, but already knew well enough that she'd be bumping shoulders with the girl often, which she didn't mind in the slightest. Her father, however, was there, present with a butler by his side. Ruby knew this man, the Schnee family's butler, Klein. He was a stocky man, physically speaking, with a brown, thick mustache and a balding hairline, but Ruby didn't much care for physical appearance of the man, after all, the few times she'd interacted with him, he was like a sort of uncle to her.

"Ah, esteemed Hoots Troopers! I do hope your flight here was pleasant?" Jacques Schnee greeted, being met mostly with grunts and some sighs, with Gaz being the only one to step forward to shake his hand.

"Pleasant? No, but that doesn't bother us. A pleasure, Mr. Schnee." Gaz returned his greeting smoothly, taking his hand and giving a firm shake. "Given that you could've simple requisitioned a legion but you settled for just twenty Hoots Troopers, would I be wrong to assume you've called us for more than just security?"

The man smiled, before nodding and doing an about face, raising a hand to gesture them to follow. "You assume correct, Hoots-22550, but that's a discussion best had in private. The security knows nothing of your purpose here, nor do they know your backgrounds, and I intend to keep it that way... Klein, I would welcome Miss Rose, but I must prioritize getting these Hoots Troopers familiar with the facility and their roles here, so if you'd so kindly show her to her new room?"

The man simple smiled and bowed slightly, before taking her hand and leading her off, away from her sisters. Looking back as he gently lead her along down a separate path, she saw the Hoots Troopers look back to her all the same, giving small waves, nods and thumbs up. With a sigh, Ruby returned her gaze to the man leading her along, wondering what exactly fate had in store for her in this new, markedly colder temperature-wise, home of hers...

Ruby squealed in delight as the door opened to reveal Weiss idly inspecting a dust crystal, and proceeded to sprint up to the older girl and give as strong a hug as she could possibly muster. Weiss, not expecting Ruby in the slightest, nearly dropped the crystal at the loud noise, and barely collected herself in time to brace herself as to not fall down once slammed into by Ruby. After a small moment, Weiss and Ruby separated, with Weiss looking the girl over a few times before laughing, bringing the girl back in whilst still laughing almost hysterically.

"Ruby! I can't believe it! You're Alive! But how? I'd heard they terminated you when..." Weiss shut up before she could say anything stupid, and just continued to squeeze the girl affectionately.

"Yeah, I was to be terminated, and as far as Astra City knows, I have been... but those Doctors had to bring in Hoots Troopers to execute me, since Aunt Raven was in the way, and they misjudged where their loyalties lied, fatally so... they then smuggled me onto the gunship and now I'm here!" Ruby beamed enthusiastically, finally separating from the one person who wasn't her own flesh and blood that she called "sister" after about two minutes.

Weiss laughed again, just glad that her lil' adopted sister was safe and sound, and laughed some more as she thought to leave it to Ruby to simplify things to such extreme degrees. Leading the girl over to her bed, she briefly explained that they'd be sharing one, as well as other things about the room, such as the wardrobe's location, how things were organized, her bathroom rules, keeping things clean, etc.

Ruby rolled her eyes as she listened to Weiss prattle on about rules and procedure, knowing them all well enough already. Summer had raised her with similar standards to Weiss, excepting the fact that her own was a little more rugged than what Weiss was exposed to. Despite the slight annoyance, she smiled nonetheless, following her older sister around as she explained everything, wondering just what was to come in the near future, now reconnected with the one normal person whom she could actually connect with, the one person of her age and physical development who wouldn't hate her for not being naturally born...

I'm skipping the next six years over their childhood together because I really need to get this ball rolling. If you want a story of that time, I MIGHT make a story on that... eventually.

Six Years Later...

Ruby only listened with half an ear as the holoprojector aboard the carrier rattled on about a dust robbery the previous night, opting instead to check over her own equipment, make sure nothing was out of place or missing. She might've cared more about what the reporter was saying if she didn't know first-hand, being at the event they were so animatedly talking about. The only thing that did catch her attention is the tid-bit about so many details being blacked out, with not even a rough description of what she looked like was mentioned. In fact, it's like the story had been edited, with details being changed and removing her presence entirely.

This didn't surprise her, after all, Ozpin had full control over what information reached the news in Vale with things such as this, and it wasn't a stretch to think he'd wanted to disassociate her with any event that might make her more conspicuous, not to mention the fact that the clone army was still a complete secret. War had not yet broken out between the Empire and the Kingdoms, but Ruby was not blind to the tensions. Remnant will burn within the next year, maybe two if they were lucky.

She wasn't doing anything to currently conceal herself, it being not necessary among the crowd she had found herself in. They were hunters, in training, of course, but they wouldn't question her being so heavily armed to the teeth, nor her choice equipment. To any civilian, they'd immediately assume her special forces for Atlas, and while in a sense they wouldn't be wrong, she did wish to remain inconspicuous, at least until war did finally erupt and the army unleashed. Until then, however, she did not officially exist to the public.

Her armor was the same that the Hoots Troopers used, except hers was black with red markings, a single stripe going up from the back of her hands to her shoulders, mirrored on the front of her greaves, though only reaching up to her knee pads. Her waist cape was split in two along the back, the updated Hoots Trooper waist cape that allowed for a greater range of movement. On each side she had a red cross on a black background. Both sides of her double-sided pauldrons were a dark red, and on chest she had a red rose over her left breast, and three ammunition pouches over her right. Her helmet was similarly colored, except the top of her rangefinder was also red as opposed to it's normal grey color, her visor was silver, and the upper half of a human skull was painted in red over the face of her helmet. It worked surprisingly well, she'd found, when trying to intimidate someone.

It didn't bother her, after all, the last thing she needed was civilians staring at her like pigeons any time she walked down the street simply because she was a clone.

The chamber around her, despite the white noise, was rather peaceful. Hunter trainees conversed idly, walking to and fro about the ship, with conversations that did not interest her in the slightest, topics like fashion, celebrities, and their own social lives. They mainly just served, in Ruby's opinion, to draw attention away from herself, something she was quite happy with, being allowed to dwell in her own thoughts for a bit, properly analyze the situation she'd found herself-

"Hey there, Soldier Girl!" A voice exclaimed, cutting through her veil of solitude, successfully eliciting a silent groan in her mind. "Whatcha doin'?"

Ruby turned around to look at the girl, and nearly died on the spot. It was at that moment that she silently thanked herself for her tendency of wearing her helmet wherever she went, for right before her, lo and behold, was her former elder sister, Yang Xiao Long. She was only slightly taller than herself, though she was actively aware that that might not be the case within the next five or so years. Thinking for a split second, Ruby decided it best to be as brief and uninformative as possible.

"Thinking." Ruby said with a monotone voice, returning her gaze out the window.

"Well... You're obviously gonna be a huntress like me, so... I'm Yang!" She said, holding her hand out towards Ruby, oblivious to the fact that the girl she was attempting to converse with was also related to her... kind of. Merely nodding, she turned up the volume on her ear buds she had going up into her helmet, effectively tuning the older girl out. Internally sighing, she scanned the city below her, idly waiting for the ship to reach it's destination...

Finally arriving, Ruby smiled idly as she finally got to see Beacon Academy in person. It wasn't so imposing or inspiring as she'd initially felt it would be, but by no means meant that she was disappointed by her new home. It was certainly a warmer environment than the manor, even if Mr. Schnee was notably kinder to clones than he was regular humans, which she still knew next to nothing as to why he treated clones so well.

Her blonde bimbo of a "sister" had since departed shortly after Ruby had tuned her out, much to Ruby's own relief. Now, wandering out into the courtyard, Ruby took in the scene around her, noting personnel and weaponry they carried, careful not to look too noticeable as she used her helmet's rangefinder to scan them and their weapons, immediately pulling up and documenting known data about said individuals. However, it would seem today just wasn't her lucky day, as while she was distracted, something bumped into her from behind, followed by the sound of polymer cases tumbling to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" Ruby heard, barely phased by the cart hitting her, as the owner of said cart came around from behind to see who they'd bumped into. It didn't surprise her to find her adoptive sister, Weiss, who looked shocked for a moment, before collecting herself and rubbing the back of her helmet. "Oh, its you! Sorry about that, Rubes, guy directing the luggage cart must've not noticed you."

"Ah, no skin off my back, Sis. Any of the contents of those cases damaged?" Ruby inquired, helping her put all the cases back on the cart as the girl herself looked through each case, eventually pulling out a cracked vial.

"Ugh, fire dust vial cracked. Got any bonding tape?" Weiss asked, getting Ruby to shake her head as to say 'no.' "Great. Alright, not your fault... but what're we going to do about this?"

"Uhhh... I think I might got an unused vial, let me check..." Ruby answered, sifting through her own bag. She took an extra moment to take a look at Weiss's armor, noting that she must've done some modification to it. Her patterns were mostly the same as her own, except her primary color was white, and everywhere Ruby had red, it was replaced with blue on Weiss, with the exception of some red on the underside of her waist cape. Her visor was blue, with a snowflake adorning the center of her face in contrast to Ruby's skull. Though all this was already known to Ruby, her attention was drawn to the fact that her chest was no longer blank save for the three ammunition cases, a single bluish white snowflake over the grey supplementary armor over her normal breastplate, struck once diagonally. Smiling at the little bits of personalization, Ruby carried on looking for a new vial.

After about a minute, she'd found one, tossing it to Weiss who'd swiftly caught it and started pouring the contents of the damaged vial into the new one, topping it off with a cork and sighing loudly.

"Thanks Ruby. Hopefully we don't have another crash like this!" Weiss exclaimed, receiving a shoulder pat from the younger girl.

"Ah well, we can hope." Ruby chuckled, before looking about and noticing a single person staring at them from across the courtyard, giving them a judgmental look, one of disapproval. Looking a little closer, she noticed her bod twitch a little as her amber eyes continued their efforts to burn holes through her armor. Ruby scoffed, before looking over at Weiss, tapping a button on the side of her helmet so she could more privately converse with Weiss without the risk of prying ears.

"Weiss, there's a Faunas watching us." Ruby said with some suspicion.

"I know, been tailing me since I got here, must've immediately ID'd me and thinks I'm like our father. Tsk tsk, what a hypocrite." Weiss droned in an annoyed tone, rolling her eyes behind her helmet as she did a small stretch. "Think she's ID'd you as a clone?"

"Doubt it, unless she somehow knows about the clone army, our armor should seem completely foreign to her, shouldn't be able to recognize it unless she were one of the few survivors from whenever the White Fang has attacked a SDC holding."

"Tch, as if Ozpin would be so careless to let a Fang into Beacon. Besides, even if she was one, the only thing they know is that Hoots Troopers exist, and they're absolute monsters in combat. If anything, that should make things easier for us, she'll know not to take us lightly." Weiss assured, dismissing the initial concerns. Ruby, after a split second of contemplation, nodded in agreement, before gesturing for Weiss to lead the way to the auditorium. After all, they still wanted to Hear the Headmaster's opening speech...