Feeling like she had just ran the state championship for track and field again Ruby walked up the sidewalk to her house. After making her way out of the museum she'd gone to the nearest bus stop and caught a ride home.
The sun was starting to set when they came to her stop. Getting off the bus her bike was where she'd left it locked, taking that off and turning on the lights she pedaled the rest of the way home.
As soon as she opened the door her dad wrapped her in a big hug.
"Thank God you're ok Ruby, I was so worried."
Pushing away from his vice like grip Ruby could see the worry etched on his face. He couldn't know about that, that thing. There was no way since he'd been at work all day.
"I saw on the news a panther escaped from the zoo and got into the museum," He explained and then took a closer look at his daughter's torn clothing, "It didn't hurt you did it?"
"What? No Dad, I was just knocked down when the alarm went off. I might have a few bruises, but I'm ok."
The lie came surprisingly easy to her causing a wave of guilt, but Ruby pushed it down because she still wasn't sure she herself believed what happened. The only thing convincing her that she hadn't been knocked down and hit her head were the business cards in her pocket.
"Why didn't you answer your phone then? I didn't know what to think," He pressed.
"Sorry. I turned it on vibrate to stay quiet in the museum and didn't think to look at it once I got out."
Technically not a lie, but Ruby still felt bad for making her dad worry.
"Alright. I'm glad you're safe. I'll have dinner ready soon," Tai said giving her a smaller hug.
"Thanks Dad," Ruby replied
Pulling out of the hug she squeezed past him into their home. She gave Zwei a quick pat hello and climbed the stairs at the right side of the living room. At the top a quick walk down the hallway and she went into her room.
Inside the walls were covered with various pictures of family, friends, some engineering stuff, and posters of her favorite stories. In one corner were shelves packed with books the top of them being comic books and the bottom the regular kind. Another corner was her bed and in front of the window sat a long desk that was part engineering workshop and part writing station.
She sat down at the writing half of her desk and pulled out the two cards. One was blue and said "forget" while the other was green and said "understand". Both had an address and nothing more.
Firing up her computer she typed the address of the blue card into a map program. What it showed was a regular office building in Vale the only information about it was that it was owned by Wizard's Glass. Looking them up Ruby found that they were a large umbrella company that owned numerous businesses including the therapist center inside the office building.
Ruby wasn't sure what to make of being sent to a therapist so she decided to leave it for now. Looking up the address on the green card would be better than dwelling on something like that.
The address on this one was a lighthouse on the northern outskirts of the town. What was strange about this was that the city owned it but was declared unsafe for the public due to disrepair. Checking the card again Ruby was sure this was the right place, but maybe it made sense some kind of monster hunter lived in an abandoned lighthouse.
And that was just it, hunting monsters. She'd been avoiding thinking about it since she left, but looking at the cards and their addresses brought the choice and her experience crashing down on her.
The whole thing was impossible, there's no way monsters were real or that an old man in a suit hunted them. She must have hit her head when escaping the museum. She hit her head and one of her stories became a dream, a dream that replaced her memory of running away. Right.
But what about the cards? Those were real, she hadn't dreamed those up too unless she was still unconscious. That way lied meta existential crisis though so definitely awake. So it was real.
That only left the question of where to go tomorrow.
The next day Ruby adjusted her pack while walking up the path to the lighthouse. She'd taken a can of bear spray from their camping gear for whatever protection it would offer and left early in the morning leaving a note she had went into Vale to look at different businesses and who might be hiring.
The old road saw little use these days judging from the weeds overgrowing it and tree branches reaching inwards. It made for an eerie path but that might be the idea Ruby mused. Excited to see where monster hunters lived she picked up her pace.
Coming around a final corner she saw the lighthouse itself, a large building with an even larger tower. Both were in states of disrepair, but in front of it stood Ozpin seemingly expecting her.
"Ms. Rose it's good to see you have decided to come," He called.
"Well you know it's hard to turn down the opportunity to hunt monsters right?" Ruby ducked under a bar blocking the road and closed the last of the distance between them, "So is there a secret hideout in the tower?"
"Not quite. We make due with what we have Ms. Rose and I will admit it being less than glamorous. If you follow me I can explain more inside."
Ruby was a little disappointed that the tower wasn't also a base but she eagerly followed Ozpin into the building.
Inside a large room greeted her with large arches, a second story balcony, and grand windows covered by elaborate but dusty curtains.
"The lighthouse used to double as a hotel before we acquired it," Ozpin explained without turning around, "This room used to be our main hub of operations but now is only used in ceremony. We have not had reason to do so for a long time though."
Reaching the far wall Ozpin pulled aside a curtain revealing a door which he also opened and gestured Ruby inside.
This new room was very different from the last. Whereas the lighthouse lobby was old, grand, and unused this new one was barely larger than a closet and had all the feeling of a hospital hallway. The walls were white and only a handle-less door, a one way mirror, and a camera adorned the walls. The only thing of interest was a glass tank filled with water and a multicolored striped ball the size of an apple.
Ozpin picked up the ball and showed it to the camera before handing it to Ruby.
"What's this?" She asked taking it.
"A security measure. The orb contains many of the substances harmful to the supernatural, if either of us were to show a reaction the room would lock and we'd be detained. While there is no way to completely eliminate the threat of infiltration we take what measures we can."
The door opened into a staircase lit only by lightbulbs strung along a wire attached to a wall. Once more Ruby followed Ozpin into a new environment after replacing the orb. This door led to a long and winding tunnel. The short ceiling and tight walls made her claustrophobic so she did her best to only focus on the back of Ozpin.
After minutes of staring at a green suit and listening to the echoing of a cane Ruby thought there might not even be an end to this underground dungeon, but finally another door appeared leading into what seemed like a large warehouse. Bright lights shined down from a ceiling two stories high and sections were squared away on the edges by fabricated walls, in between them many people rushed to and fro.
It wasn't what she expected of a secret base with how everything seemed temporary yet worn down. Catching sight of a sword Ruby looked for more of the items that were carried through the underground warehouse, suitcases, firearms, and antiques all passed hands.
Ozpin didn't pay any mind to the bustle around them heading straight to a staircase leading to an office overhanging the rest of the facility.
Inside the office was a familiar head of blonde hair.
"Yang?!" Ruby asked incredulously.
"Hey Rubes."
Yang leaned easily against a filing cabinet with Pyrrha standing next to her looking somewhat apprehensive. Ruby had thought she had been prepared for whatever might be here but her sister had not been among her fantasies of hunting monsters.
"What are you doing here? I thought you and Pyrrha were personal trainers."
"That is what their cover jobs are," Ozpin said taking a seat behind his ornate desk, "Your sister works for Beacon because of an incident when she was younger. She encountered the supernatural and we helped her through it, she then decided to follow up with us and here we are. You may take a seat as well Miss Rose."
Looking from him to Yang she sat in the surprisingly worn chair. To hear Yang had been through who knows what and kept it to herself for so long hurt. She'd have to ask her about it later and why she had never talked about it.
"What about you Rubes? What are you doing here?" Yang asked.
Ruby fidgeted in her seat, "Well there was this monster at the museum and I-"
Yang held out her hand and wore a face more serious than Ruby had ever seen, "No I mean why'd you choose to come here?"
"It feels right," Ruby said after giving it a moment's thought.
"It feels right?" Yang did not sound convinced
"Yang you know I've been trying and trying to find myself for months. And this feels right, this feels like me. I can protect people from something they have no way of beating. That's who I'm meant to be."
Yang continued holding her gaze a few more seconds before turning to Ozpin. A silent conversation passed between them ending in Yang huffing and turning to face the window.
"You have a certain strength of character not unlike your sister," Ozpin placed a small object on the desk and slid it over to Ruby.
"Welcome to Beacon."
AN: And there is chapter two. I hope you find these first few steps into this world to be interesting