Ruby walked the streets of Vale, surrounded with guards whose helmets shone against the rising sun. The enforcers were armed with semi-automatic rifles and armor suited with Remnant's most technically advanced equipment, directly from the Kingdom of Atlas. It was a military partnership as old as Beacon's founding, and one that saw the inner walls of Vale free of criminals, to the public eye anyway. An airship hovered above them, and Ruby found herself only steps away from it as it descended into an open road cleared by the Valiant. Curfew was over, and the residents of many nearby apartments stood behind yellow tape and watched as the ship landed. The wind from the Dust propelled engines pushed against them, the mighty force of Atlas machinery proving itself. In moments, the ship had docked on the street, its engines temporarily shutting down.
"Wow." Ruby exhaled, astonished by the massive exterior of the vessel, Dust powered ballistic turrets mounted at its top and under its hull, the windows glowing blue against the rays of the sunlight.
The shuttle door began to fall open, the hinges creaking as it did so. As it smashed against the concrete, a walkway was formed. Inside, was a crowd Hunters and Huntresses standing with impatience, many of them dressed in the fashion of their Kingdom, with many different personalities, races, and sexes all about. They carried custom weapons of all kinds, the sorts which would see them scorned for use in more appropriate channels of law and order. It was a view into the diversity and open nature of the Hunter's profession, and a testament to the freewill of those given the privilege to join Beacon Academy.
But, among them, only one stood out. A tall and strongly built teenage girl, wearing a tightly pressed bomber jacket, and a draped white skirt at her rear with a brown pleated belt surrounding it, a yellow crop top with an firey, black emblem embroidered into the chest. Her hair was bright yellow, curled with dry tufts at the ends, and she was armed with custom titanium Gun Gloves whose color matched her top. A fierce expression and sharp chin gave her a look that made her stand out among the others.
"Ruby!" the girl screamed, running off of the ship with her arms open and a face of relief.
"Yang!" Ruby squealed, dashing toward her in a full sprint.
The two met with their bodies crashing into one another, Yang holding her sister tightly and lifting her from the ground, spinning her once before placing her back to gravity.
Ruby patted her back, stepping away with a big smile on her face, "I thought I lost you. I'm so happy your here sis!"
Yang scratched her nose with a smirk, fierceness in her lilac eyes, "I got a little worried when we got separated, but I knew you'd make it somehow. Could have told me you'd make the ship come to you, not the other way around. That's just like you, troublemaker."
Ruby looked down for a moment, replying awkwardly, "It's been a heck of a night, sis."
A Hunter on board the airship interrupted, "Get a room already! You're taking up my sweet time."
Yang turned around, her eyes transforming into a red hue and her Gun Gloves blazing with white fire around the wrists, "SHUT IT!"
An enforcer behind Ruby slapped his weapon, "Hey, hey, no ruckus here! Get on board, we all got other things to do."
Yang calmed, her fury subsiding gently, her eyes returning to their natural color. She turned back to her sister, looking at her Crescent Rose, taking note of the scratches on the blade, "Really was a heck of a night for you, huh?"
Ruby looked at Yang's Gun Gloves, observing damage on them as well, "Your Ember Celica been through some fights too I see. It sure was rough getting here."
Yang looked at her weapons, pouting, "Yeah, they do their job. C'mon sis." she grabbed Ruby's wrist, then ran with her back toward the airship. "Our journey's almost over."
They boarded the airship together, the doors slowly shutting behind them as they joined the other students. The airship lifted off into the skies, the citizens of Vale calmly dispersing, and the Valiant pulling the yellow tape from the roadways, leaving the area for other matters.
…
An hour passed, and the airship was mere minutes away from its destination at the center of Vale. It was Beacon Academy, its white tower seemingly overlooking the entire Kingdom. Yang stared blankly out through a large window in the concourse halls of the airship, Beacon visible from the distance, with the sun set just above the tower. It was more than just an academy, but a beacon of hope, earning its name. Suddenly she heard three female students talking behind her, a single word catching her ear.
"The Branwen." one of the girl's said.
"Yeah," another replied, "finally got what they deserved."
The third added, "That whore Raven is probably hurting by now. Maybe the Kingdom might see some peace. Did you hear about those Faunus?"
"How could Ozpin let those things join our academy?"
Yang gritted her teeth, clenching her fists, contemplating sending a knuckle through each of their teeth. Then, Ruby walked behind her, chocolates in her one hand and foil wrappers in the other.
"How's it going?" Ruby stuffed her face with chocolate. "Nice view, huh?"
Yang turned and grinned, "Sis, you always have a way of calming me down. Let's stick together when we get to Beacon okay? No more separating. We only have each other."
Just as Ruby was about to reply, they heard the a young man grumbling from the other end of the hall. They turned, finding a boy with white, hooded armor and blonde hair, holding his stomach with a palm over his lips.
"Oh no, oh no." the boy's stomach grumbled, a burp leaving his mouth as the three chatty girls backed away. "Hey, do any of you maybe, uh, have some medicine?"
He leaned forward, belching one last time before vomiting profusely on one of the girl's clothes. They screamed in disgust, and the young boy walked away with his head held down.
"I'm sorry." he said, stomping down the hall. "I have air sickness. Oh!"
His stomach growled, and he disappeared into the corner of another hall.
Yang chuckled as she watched the girls faces, seeing them frown with brows knitted in discomfort, "I like that guy already. Wonder what his story is?"
Ruby grimaced, "Ew. I hope he's okay."
Yang poked her sister with an elbow, teasing, "I bet you'll meet some cute boys here at the academy, Ruuuuby."
Ruby stepped to the side a bit from the force of Yang's arm, rubbing her shoulder and replying with a chipmunk-like voice, "You know I've never liked boys."
Yang shrugged, turning around and facing the window once more, "Whatever, more for me. We gotta do something around here to fight the boredom."
A television automatically switched on in the hall, several students rushing from other parts of the ship to view the screen. Yang ignored it, but Ruby watched intently as a news report played out.
"Lisa Lavender, reporting in." a woman in a suit with thin purple hair spoke as pictures of riots appeared on screen. "The terrorist group, the White Fang, headed by the infamous Adam Taurus, have increasingly resorted to violence in the past few days. The half-animal humans forming the terrorist group, known colloquially as the Faunus, attacked an Atlas manufacturing company this morning with Dust Bombs, robbing the business of its entire stock of Dust, taking hostages in the process. The Valiant believe the motivation to be another set of retaliations against the Schnee Dust Company, Atlas's leader in the Dust Trade and the Faunus' largest employer. In other news, the price of high heels is skyrocketing as more Huntresses find fashion in… "
Ruby couldn't listen anymore, her heart already beating with anxiety. She turned around, placing a hand on Yang's shoulder.
"It's bad, Yang. Qrow wasn't exaggerating. We have to be careful. The city is so different, I don't know where to start." her blood settled. "I hope we make friends. I always wanted to make friends."
It appeared as if Yang wasn't listening.
"Yang..." she dropped her chocolates on the floor. "Yang!"
"Hey Ruby!" Yang crossed her arms, staring blankly out the window. "Look."
Ruby was dumbfounded for a moment, blinking in confusion. She looked through the window, unsure of what Yang wanted her to see. Then, she spotted it; a raven, its eyes scarlet red, and its wings more brilliant than an ordinary bird. It seemed to be gazing at them, steady in flight. A single feather fell loose from its back, disintegrating in the air.
"Hey..." Ruby winced, making certain that her vision did not deceive her. "Its M -"
Yang placed her hand over her sister's mouth, Ruby muttering through her fingers, her shoulders slumping forward as she looked at Yang with dismay.
"I'll handle it sis."
Ruby pushed Yang's hand away, "Yang! Not right now. C'mon we're in a new place. Can't you calm down already!"
Yang smiled, lifting her left hand up in front her chest, placing her right hand over it. She met eyes with the bird, making sure it saw her hands clearly. In a single motion, she pulled her right hand down, revealing her middle finger raised high on the left.
"YANG!" Ruby smacked her hands against her forehead, grunting in a way to sound angry, but coming off as more cute than threatening. "I'm going to get some more chocolate!"
Ruby stormed through the hall, standing in front of metal door which slid open for her, stepping inside. The door shut behind her, and Yang was left alone.
The raven watched Yang smile. Somehow, it looked as though it grinned in return. Then, a voice distracted Yang from over the loud speakers strewn about the ship. She wasn't used to being surrounded by technology, so she looked around trying to find the origin of the voice.
"Attention, passengers, future Hunters of Beacon. We're set to land in five minutes. Everyone gather at the docking bay immediately. REPEAT. Everyone, gather at the docking bay, IMMEDIATELY."
The the speakers shut off, and Yang turned back to the window. She looked carefully over the cityscape, but the raven was nowhere to be seen. As students from all over the ship marched down the hall, she joined the fray, making her way to the docking bay. It was not long before she found her sister again. Dodging students, stumbling through confusing corridors, they managed to survive the trip to the bay. The room was dark and the crowd was deafening, but it was all silence for the two of them, standing side-by-side, holding each other's hand as the future came ever closer. when the ship finally landed, the shuttle door began to open, the bright light above Beacon Tower greeting them through the cracks of the door.