Somewhere buried in the dark underbelly of Vale, a collection of men in black suits waited for their leader to arrive. It must have been a warehouse, or a storage unit, or perhaps an abandoned factory of some kind. Not even the men who stood and waited patiently were sure. All that mattered was that it was secluded, off the radar, hidden from the authorities and completely ambiguous. As the men in suits held their guns to their sides, smoking, chatting, pacing around the cargo crates that littered the area among the dim lights, they heard the sound of a rusty overhead door sliding up on the rails, the daylight coming through.
"My, my, my, at least one thing can go right today!" Roman walked into the building, spice in his step. "Another exciting night for us, right Fellas!" he raised his black cane above his head, waving his hat around in the other hand.
The hideout erupted with laughter, and the hands began to clap. The smell of tobacco and the energy of their leader filling the surroundings made the commotion spread like wildfire.
"Shut Up!" Roman shouted, the sounds from everywhere slowly settling. "I didn't say celebrate!"
The men watched as he walked up to a dimly lit toolbox at the farthest corner of the hideout, one fashioned into a table with a desk lamp and papers on its surface. He leaned against it, smashing his cane into its side, venting frustration.
One man among his crew raised his voice, "Lord Torchwick, what happened at the heist?"
Roman twisted on his heel, pointing his cane at the man, then firing a single sharpshooter's round into the man's skull, sending him lifeless to the floor. The others stepped away from the blood as it spread below them, able to keep their clothes clean.
"Haven't I told you people not to call me 'Lord' or 'Torchwick?'" he waved his fingers in the air, gesturing a quotation. "It's Mr. Roman, or 'Boss, ' Hell, you can call me Bucko for all I care, but I," he bashed his cane on the ground, the hideout reverberating from the impact, "demand RESPECT! You'd think you people from out East would get that by now."
Suddenly, a flame appeared from nowhere in the darkness, almost like a candlelight. Then a pair of amber eyes, bright like the embers in hot ash, peered out toward Roman from behind the flame, "You should treat your men well, Roman. Loyalty is a treasure. Your mommy mustn't have taught you well."
Cinder Fall stepped out of the shadows, a flame at her fingertip, the pattern of golden lace on her scarlet dress gleaming with blazing light. Roman paused, wearing a scowl on his face as she approached.
"The whole operation blew up in our face!" he kicked the ground, keeping his head held down while still maintaining eye contact. "I think you have some explaining to do, miss. You know that girl, don't you?"
Cinder crossed her arms under her chest, her eyes glancing around the hideout as she smiled coyly with her head tilted to the side, "Oh, she's nothing." She raised a brow, giving Roman a diminishing grin. "Family matters, that's all."
"You know what happens when you mix family matters with business, sweetheart?" Roman grinned mockingly, placing both hands over the handle of his cane and standing straight. "Like oil and water baby. You'll mess up even the tiniest little outings. Now just picture it. What happens when your 'family matters' get in the way of our next snatch, Hm?" he shook his head and raised the pitch of his voice. "How about that?"
Cinder grew angry, raising her hand to eye level, summoning her power. This time, it was not her Semblance, but something much different. Her wrist turned black, the lace patterns on her dress changing in tandem. A mass of Grimmsang, the blood of the dark beasts of Grimm, envlopled her hand, decaying her skin to the bone, then leaving behind a new limb, a hand with fingers as sharp as knives, and skin like molten rock.
"Roman," she said, he pupils dilating, "I think you've forgotten..." she pushed her hand forward, a stream of Grimmsang whipping in the air, pushing against Roman's neck until he was against a wall with tendrils wrapped around his throat. She walked closer to him, her face now visible in the light, still holding him high up as he struggled to breathe. "...just who you're talking to."
Roman kicked and gargled, "Let go...of me!"
Cinder's nostrils flared with a smirk, and she retracted her Grimm arm, her hand slowly returning to form as she positioned her wrists gently against her hips, entertained as Roman fell down onto his rear, his hat falling off.
He smacked his hand on the ground, sighing and patting his clothes clean as he stood, bending over to grab his hat, then placing it back on his head, "I'm sure your Highness wants her Dust, but if we're going to make this work," he pointed at her, turning his chin, "then no secrets. This is a rough operation we got going on here."
"You'll do as your told." Cinder replied, her shoulders raised with a pout on her lips.
Roman shifted his attention to the toolbox table, dragging his feet as her went to it. He leaned forward, his hands on the table, staring at map of Remnant pinned to the wall.
"So...is everything going to be ready for grand act?"
...
At the campus grounds of Beacon Academy, in front of the docking station just in front of the main Boardwalk, a array of students departed the airship for orientation, exhilaration filling their hearts, as many of them had never seen the astonishing site of Vale's most prestigious academic and military institution in such close proximity. This included the two travelling sisters, Yang and Ruby, who waited until most of the students had dispersed before taking their first steps onto the marble walkway.
Ruby's eyes gleamed in awe, and Yang's jaw was open from the shock of such a technical marvel.
"Wow" Ruby squealed. "Wow! Its so much bigger than I thought it would be." she pointed up at the white tower at the top of Beacon, its emerald rooftopsaiming for the sky like a spear to heaven.
The academy was clearly an immense architectural accomplishment. Its must have encompassed enough floors to harbor an entire army. At its base, was a simple stretch of campus, but by tracing over its height, one would meet concave structures, levitating rooms, and bridges to different sections of the school that appeared to be supported by only poles. Giant gears turned at the highest parts, probably a mechanism to keep the schools equipment running. It was like nothing they had ever seen before.
Yang looked around, seeing students - seniors and freshmen alike - roaming the campus, almost all of them in high spirits, "Wow, I didn't think there would be gardens all over the place like this."
As more students bumped shoulders with them, they could not help but observe more. Seemingly endless stretches of grass and flora populated the circular grounds. Above them were white archways over the boardwalk, a guide for welcoming newcomers. There were benches along either side of the boardwalk, and they could see a couple holding hands in one of them from afar.
Yang looked at Ruby, patting her back to distract her from her trance of wonder, "Its impressive, but its going to take some time to get used to." from the corner of her eye, she saw a set of rooftops poking out from behind the academy, a sign of multiple structures extending beyond the school itself. "There must be a whole town here."
As the airship that brought them there lifted off for a new airspace, Yang felt a bump against her back, and she was pushed aside.
"Hey!" she shouted, watching a female student walk by her rudely. "Get back here."
The student ignored her, as if she was not present at all.
Ruby distracted her sister with a tug on her jacket, "Its alright, I'm sure we'll make friends here soon. Then people won't be so mean to us, I think."
Yang jerked her head to the left with a frown, "Well, if everyone here is like this, I don't want to make friends."
"BY THE GODS!" they heard another group of female students behind them, looking back with confused expressions to find three girls with brightly dyed hair and low mid drifts, clasping their hands together and staring at Yang with blushes over their cheeks.
"Is that real?" One asked, her voice cracking as she pointed.
Yang tried to reply, but was interrupted by another, "You're hair isn't dyed?!"
"Uhh..." Ruby uttered.
Yang scratched her head, "Well, no, b - "
"Its so pretty!" the girls said together, rushing toward her and playing with her hair.
"Those curls are natural!"
"And she's got a great build too!"
"She's perfect."
"Perfect."
"PERFECT!"
Yang looked side-to-side, awkwardly, "Uh...perfect for what?"
The girls answered together, "THE BEAUTY CLUB!"
Before Yang could react, she ended up within a gang of excited students, walking away within their circle, taking her toward the entrance of the academy.
"Looks like I've made some friends!" she screamed to Ruby, waving. "I'll come find you! Good luck sis!" she was too far gone, too doomed for a makeover to be heard. "Catch you later!"
Ruby waved, closing her eyes and smiling with a light laugh, "Catch you later. Oh, what I'm going to do now." She loosened her shoulders, Crescent Rose slipping down her back a little. "Orientation starts in a few hours, and I don't even know where it is."
All things around her seemed like nothing more than a haze, the stimulation of everything being too much to bear. She sighed, then walked forward, intent on discovering the majesty of Beacon for herself.
Suddenly, she lost her footing, tossing her arms in the air as she tripped over without paying attention. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, a metal pole above her head; however, it did little to help, and it instead fell down with her, until she crashed on her back. Piles of briefcases fell on top of her, many of them quite heavy. She was dazed, until she heard a girl screaming next to her.
"You idiot!" the mysterious girl said furiously. "Don't you know how to watch where you're going!"
Ruby shook her head, her arms flat against the marble, slowly regaining her consciousness. When she looked up at the origin of the voice, she was met with a student wearing a white and pale blue dress, adorned with snowflake patterns at the skirt, a long sleeved jacket over it. A sash was tied around her waist, giving her skirt a flared pattern. She was slightly taller than her, and she had a scar on her left eye running from the top eyelid to her cheek, her eye squinting as if she had difficult seeing with it. Her hair was tied into a very long tail, as white as her dress, and on top of her head was a silver crown shaped cuff holding it in place. Her eyes were like ice, and her skin was pale like snow.
The mysterious girl threw her arms down and stomped on her high heels, the ends of her sleeves bouncing. "Do you hear me? Get off of my merchandise!"
Ruby looked down at the briefcases weighing on her, finding a luggage cart on its side next to her. She pushed the luggage away with all of her might. When she was free, she jumped up from the ground in a quick motion, startling the girl.
"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it!" Ruby spoke fast, shifting her body left and right. "I didn't mean it! I'm new here. Hey, wanna be friends? I'd like to be friends. I'd like to have some friends. Let me get those for you!"
Ruby picked up a briefcase next to her foot, the latch breaking, and its contents pouring out onto the boardwalk. It was Dust of various types, and a lot of it. The crystals rolled into the girl's heel, and she grunted in annoyance.
"My things! Leave my stuff alone!" she demanded, growing angrier by the second.
Ruby furrowed her brows, embarrassed by her own behavior, "Oh no, let me just..." she bent over and grabbed a crystal .Then, her eyes began to glow with white light. "No, not now!"
"What are you -"
A flash of light appeared, blinding her in an instant. Ruby let go and stepped away. Then, an explosion came, the Dust crystal reacting negatively the aura of her Semblance, sending a wave of fire blowing against the mysterious girl.
Ruby rubbed her eyes, trying to bring her sight back, "I'm so sorry, please don't be mad."
When she glanced back at the girl, she saw her clothes covered with black char at the front, her face blackened with her pale eyes staring angrily at her.
"Uh oh..." Ruby placed her finger on her chin, then bit down on her fingertip with anxiety.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!"
"I'm sorry." Ruby blushed, tossing the hood of her cape over her head to hide her face.
"Do you know who you're talking to!?" yelled the girl.
Another female student interrupted their conversation, stepping in from the side and crossing her arms, "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
Ruby glanced at the new student, guessing that she was about the same age as her sister. Her hair was long, loose, and black, with a large bow tie resting at the top of her head. Her face was sharp, her skin was sienna, and her eyes resembled those of a cat, thin and yellow with long lashes on her lids. On her upper lip were a whiskers protruding far outward, and her nose was slightly sloped upward at the tip. She wore a revealing silk white undershirt with lace trimming, and a thin vest with a single button closing it under her chest, belts dangling from the ends. On her waist was a small dark skirt, covering a tightly worn pair of white shorts. On her legs were stockings that changed from black to lavender, meeting with heeled boots at the feet. Her wrists were covered with several bracelets and cuffs, and on her back was her signature weapon, its intricacies impossible to discern from first glance.
Weiss replied with a smile on her face, "That's right."
The black haired student continued, "The company responsible for the slave-like working conditions and its controversial tactics against its competitors. The same one responsible for the arms deals in the east that caused the Dust Wars."
Weiss placed her hand over her face, eyes showing shock. When she recovered from the insults, she grinned, waving her hand at the other student, "Big words coming from a Faunus. You pretend like you can live among humans, but look what happens. Don't try to pretend like you have good intentions. You're the same as any animal out there, rolling in filth."
The black haired girl gritted her teeth, but kept her composure, turning her head away from the spat and walking away with pride in her stride.
Ruby looked around again, feeling tension in the air so thick that she could almost taste it, "Um...I've got to go now." she ran away from Weiss, her cape flowing in the air as she kept her head low. "I'm really sorry!"
"Hey!" Weiss screamed. "Get back here and clean THIS UP!"
Through her scarred eye, she saw something on the ground that startled her. It was a tiny, beautiful rose set neatly in a crack within the marble, fighting its away through the surface. She picked it up from the boardwalk, surveying it carefully, noticing its oddly perfect bloom.
"What the..."
She dropped the flower, looking back at Ruby as she ran into the mass of students, disappearing from the outer grounds. For whatever reason, Weiss knew that they would meet again soon.