I DO NOT OWN RWBY


Instead of playing a sequence of music just like the trailers played before, upon the click, a new menu appeared. The screen was divided into three parts. The one on the left was the droplist of songs, ended by the 'Back' option. In the middle and the widest part was an empty, black square with no information on what there should be. And on the far right was a rectangle with a white outline separating it from the middle part. It was labelled as 'Lyrics'. At the moment, however, it was empty.

The droplist featured five songs: 'Red Like Roses Pt. 1', 'Mirror Mirror', 'From Shadows', 'Club Mix', and 'I Burn'.

"So, I guess we get to play whichever we want?" Taiyang spoke the first, reaching to take the remote from Summer, but she dodged his grasp.

"No!" the former STRQ leader mildly glared at the man. "My turn."

"You already had the remote before," Qrow pointed out and reached out to her. "So it's my turn now. I promise not to pause much."

While Summer pondered over what to do - and most likely, whether to just press the button and ignore all others - Ghira cleared his throat.

"No pausing mid-song," he reminded them. "And no talking over it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Qrow rolled his eyes and waved his hand impatiently, but then, Summer passed the remote over to Kali, who took it eagerly into her own hands. "Hey!"

"She's closer." Summer shrugged with an innocent smile and Qrow groaned, dropping his hand onto his knee. "Let's go one by one. We didn't really get to hear any of them through all that talking and pausing."

"Fine by me." Kali smiled and let the first song play.

In the middle, a picture appears. It's Ruby Rose, standing over the Summer's memorial with her face hidden under the hood. Underneath, the title of the song, 'Red Like Roses: Part 1', appears. As the music plays, the lyrics can be seen in the box on the right.

"That's it?" Taiyang frowned when the last note was sounded and the picture - and lyrics - disappeared from the view. "I swore there was more to it…"

"It is part one," Willow pointed out thoughtfully. "We're missing at least a half of the song."

"But we don't have it here right now, do we?" Jacques said, shaking his head. "So listening to it was pointless."

"Everything's pointless to you," Summer huffed. "At this point, everything has to be a damn sphere for you."

Jacques merely cocked an eyebrow at the amusement Summer's words brought up, but didn't say anything as she was still speaking.

"I'm just happy to listen to it. It's a nice tune. Not all things require a greater purpose, you know?"

"Actually, I think there's something to it," Kali suddenly spoke up with her ears tilting up. "Let me play the first minute again…"

"What? Why…?!" Jacques tried to make his point, but the Faunus already set up the song and Willow shushed her husband, so he wouldn't distort the music.

"The lyrics!" Kali exclaimed, pausing the song after the singing part of the song was over. "They're about the girls!"

"What are you on about?" Raven cocked an eyebrow at her. "It's just pointless jabber to fill up the silence."

"No, it's not! Look." Kali reversed the recording so that the first verses would show up in the box. "'Brings me to the place you rest' is definitely for Ruby. She was visiting Summer's grave in the trailer, right?"

While others took a double look at the screen, Raven merely shrugged.

"Perhaps. It is her trailer, so that's not this surprising."

"Then what about the next ones? 'White is cold', 'Black the beast', 'Yellow beauty burns'… It's speaking of Weiss, Blake, and Yang!"

Raven merely stared at Kali, unimpressed with her findings, while Willow finally decided to share her own thoughts.

"I agree with Kali. Or, what I think she thinks. Those songs… There might be an actual reason to them being shared with us."

"You're saying there's more to them," Taiyang mused. "It would make sense. Music - at least in shows I've watched - usually is there to add something to the story, not just to be there."

"No offence, but this seems like looking for something that isn't there," Ghira shook his head. "We could listen to another one and then see if this theory holds."

'Mirror Mirror' - This time, the picture shows Weiss standing on the big stage in a spotlight with her eyes closed.

"I don't think this helps us much," Ghira said. "It's a pretty generic song, even with more lyrics."

"It's as I said before," Raven huffed. "A little rich girl singing about how unhappy she is."

"What if it is what Weiss thinks?" Summer suggested, crunching the fabric of her dress under her hands. "What if… that's how she actually feels? Those songs would be giving us hints about the girls and their…"

But Qrow shook his head.

"It's a neat theory, Sum, but Ruby's song tells us absolutely nothing about her. Well, aside from what she was doing in her trailer."

"We don't know that," Willow pointed out with an impatient huff. "We've heard just a half of it. And the other two songs had more lyrics than Ruby's part. At least, Blake's song did. I don't remember much of Yang's."

"Then let's listen to the next one," Taiyang suggested. "Then we can say for sure how it is."

"Oh, a small blessing I can't feel the headache this whole charade gives me," Jacques mumbled as the next song started.

'From Shadows' - The picture shows Blake and Adam standing back to back.

As the song died out, the gazes of all turned towards the only Faunus couple in the room - but neither Ghira or Kali acknowledged them for a long time, staring at the screen in terror. During the trailer, the majority of the lyrics were either drowned under shots, or cut by the pauses and talking over it. Now, set out plain in front of their eyes, there was no mistaking the meaning.

"The White Fang failed," Ghira was the first one to speak up, dropping his gaze. "I thought… I thought it would never come to what it used to be. And yet, it seems that this is exactly what happened."

"The Faunus became terrorists," Willow said before quickly adding: "At least some of them. We've seen that Blake didn't want to go with the plan."

"But she was their acompliance for a time at least," Jacques pointed out mercilessly. "One good deed doesn't erase all the misdeeds."

"You're the one to speak, Gele," Ghira growled before backing down with a sigh. "I just wish I knew what went wrong… What I did wrong…"

"Perhaps it will be shown later on," Summer suggested with a worried look. "At least now we know that those songs are important. This one kinda explains why Adam and Blake jumped the train. It wasn't just a robbery…"

"It was a message," Qrow finished grimly and Summer nodded.

"Or, perhaps, we're all jumping to conclusions too soon," Willow spoke up after a moment. "For all we know, this song was about Adam and Blake. It could be that only a fraction of the White Fang turned to crime."

"It could be…" Kali sighed. "Even now, there are some in White Fang who are… Well. You could say they've lost their hope for a better life."

Suddenly, Taiyang cleared his throat very loudly and nearly fell into a fit of coughs because of that. Still, he did get the attention of the whole room.

"How about we leave gloom and doom for when we'll need it, huh?" he suggested, showcasing his best grin. "We've still got two songs to go. And a whole show."

"This isn't something that…" Ghira started but was cut off by Kali herself.

"You're right," she said, taking in a deep breath. "No point in mopping around."

And without waiting for anyone else to comply, she set on the next song.

'Club Mix' - The picture shows Junior leaning against the bar with his arms folded. Melanie and Miltia stand near him, side by side.

"So it's just a mix of previous songs," Raven shrugged, rapidly losing her interest. "Not even a good music for a club."

"You're too sober to appreciate it," Summer pointed out and the Branwen leader sent her a warning glare. "But yeah, there's not much to talk about here. At least I can't think of anything…"

"Why do you always look for something to analyse?" Jacques groaned. "Not everything has a second meaning, and not everyone have an ulterior motive. Now, can we move on?"

Kali glanced around, but no one voiced any protest and she had nothing to add either.

'I Burn' - The picture of grinning Yang slamming her fists together while her hair catch on fire and her eyes are in a process of turning red.

When the last notes were struck, half of the group was sitting there in mild shock, while the other one was quite amused at the lyrics. Summer, on her part, seemed to have been giggling quietly as her shoulders trembled slightly while she hid her mouth behind her hands. Both Qrow and Kali were doing their best to bite down their smiles, while Raven blatantly stared at the screen with a smirk.

"Did we just…" Jacques sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did we honestly just sat here and listened to a whole song about how that brute likes to beat up people?"

"That's what the song was about?" Ghira huffed with a growing smirk. "I thought it was about how her hair go in flames."

"I mean…" Summer giggled. "It wasn't a bad song."

As she spoke, Taiyang recovered from his shock as the last person in the room and brought back his grin.

"You could almost say that the song's on fire," he wiggled his eyebrows, making Raven groan quietly.

"That was awful, even for you, Tai," Qrow sighed, rolling his eyes at the man. "Bad puns aside, can I get my remote now? 'Cause, no offence, I'm a bit tired of beating around the bush."

"Hold up, Kali should have the remote for at least one more," Summer pointed out. "I had for two parts, Tai had for two, so…"

"He can have it," Kali shrugged, throwing the remote to Qrow, who almost let is slip onto the floor. "That's a bit too much responsibility for me. I'd rather people glared at him."

The man spared a moment to look properly angry at her words before returning his attention to the remote. It took him some fumbling with the buttons before he figured out how to return to the main menu, where a new option had appeared below the 'Trailers OST' section: 'Volume 1 - Opening'.

"Volume 1?" Ghira raised an eyebrow. "Just how long this story is going to be if there are volumes?"

"Two, at least," Taiyang shrugged with a smirk. "Seriously, though, I have a feeling we're going to be sitting here for a longer while at least. I might be reading too much into it, but all that build up? That's gotta lead to something serious. And I'm not that happy about it, considering Yang and Ruby are involved in it."

"I'm still wondering what they could get into for it to be…" Summer trailed off, frowning. "Well, just as we said it thousandths times by now. No point in guessing."

"Qrow," Raven said after a few seconds of silence. "Will you press the damn button or do I have to take the remote for myself?"

Her brother merely glanced at her before allowing the opening to play. Just as before, the lights in the room dim down, leaving the screen as the only source of light.

The opening starts with Ruby Rose kneeling in front of her mother's memorial - as she looks up, there is a phantom of Summer's cloak, slowly disintegrating along with the moon itself.

Summer felt how her mouth opens on its own, but whatever words it wanted to form, they were never born. Instead, she stared at her daughter on the other side of the screen, wondering just what went wrong in the future. What separated her and her little girl. Through all that they have seen so far, one thoguht was bouncing in and out of Summer's head - something was wrong with Ruby. And it wasn't about her not being mentally well, nothing like that. It was about how detached she was during the trailer as there was almost no emotion during her fight with the Grimm. And the song? Cut in half just as if Ruby decided that it wasn't worth to speak up? And now, seeing her kneeling in snow at Summer's grave, Rose felt like an ultimate failure.

She knew that her daughter needed her - and she failed to provide the most basic of needs.

At her side, Taiyang watched the first scene of the opening in discomfort. It was easy for him to hide all his heavy feelings behind the cascade of puns and pointless humour and over the years, joking became his personal safety net. Even though he didn't mean to, he began to jest earlier and the realisation hit him hard. Taiyang was slowly losing it. Seeing both of his daughters entangled into something awful... It was crushing his soul into oblivion.

He needed to see what it was about, yet on the other hand, he wished he could go back on his agreement and return to blissfully unaware life he led before.

After Ruby disappears and the title of the show, RWBY, is presented, the next scene involves Weiss, standing alone in a spotlight.

Their life wasn't perfect. Willow was old enough to know it and experienced enough to admit it, at least to herself. Being rich and important had its perks, but sometimes, when she looked at other people, she felt jealous about all that freedom they had and she could only dream of. While Nicholas was still in charge, he wouldn't bother much with formalities and privileges, doing whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted it, but after going senile and ill, the Schnee family became a staple of aristocracy.

Perhaps this was the first time that Willow thought of what an impact it would have on her children. Although she had noticed it already, she never really analysed why Winter is so cold and aloof, and why Weiss lacks that childish flair Willow had in her age. Was it Jacques fault for bringing the real ice into their family? Or was it hers for not realising those issues sooner?

Those foolish enough would call him a monster, but Jacques had seen the world for its worst and best and decided that he'll never be a victim anymore. In Remnant, there were fish and sharks, the former served as nothing but cannon fodder to destiny. He fought up his way up to the top and he'd be damned if he let it all go to waste because of something as futile as emotions. Joy, sadness, anger, and grief - they would go and come. But success? Real success was eternal.

They could call him out however they wanted. One day, Weiss would thank him for setting her up to survive in the world, just like he did. And that foolish song from before? It was nothing but a futile cry of weakness she had yet to defeat. Jacques had nothing to regret. Maybe with the exception of wasting his money on pointless security...

Then, Blake flashes on the screen while standing on a tree branch in the Forever Fall forest.

When he was but a boy, dreams of being an equal to humans and living a life just as good as they did were nothing but simple dreams that no one would treat seriously. But Ghira rose above the doubts and fears and brought hope into the hearts of thousands of Faunus worldwide. What was once thought as nothing but a foolish notion had become a true goal - his people would gain the rights and respect they deserved!

But... as he had already seen, something went wrong. His own daughter got herself entangled in some messy situation and Ghira couldn't make a head nor tail out of it. What had he done for her to become a petty criminal? Almost a terrorist? Even though he had no answers yet, he felt like he owed Blake an apology. At least one.

Although she shared the same dream as many of her brethren, Kali was disillusioned. She never imagined that the true peace will be achieved in a span of a century, and even less so - in twelve years! She wasn't that shocked to learn that the White Fang has failed and the Faunus lost their way, but what truly hurt her was the realisation that through their failure, they failed their daughter.

Kali helped to form the White Fang. To make it functional. Whatever it become - however it ruined Blake's life - she was responsible for it. She only wished she knew what went wrong...

After Blake, Yang is shown to be first looking at something on her scroll before driving off on her motorcycle.

Over the course of his life, Qrow had a multitude of families. The one he didn't even remember anymore. The tribe that was only to keen to get rid of him. The team that fell apart the moment things got hard. Ozpin's inner circle that didn't hesitate before becoming completely indifferent towards his issues... It seemed like he was stuck with the idea of a family being something unachievable. A fallacy. A fairy tale.

And then - Taiyang and Summer shoved themselves into his life and chained him to their own family. And before he knew, he was sitting on a couch with two little girls on his knees, telling them a story and making up voices for fictional characters.

Seeing those two little girls - those two bundles of endless energy and joy - forced into the real life, the brutal and merciless life, brought sour aftertaste onto his tongue. Seeing Ruby cutting through the Grimm mindlessly as if it was the only thing she was doing for years; seeing Yang act like she didn't have a care in the world anymore... Qrow wanted to call shots and pretend that this whole show was nothing but bullshit someone came up with out of boredom. But he knew better. Not every fairy tale lasted past the childhood. He wasn't even sure if his own ever started.

Did Raven had regrets? Of course she did. Those who didn't were lying to themselves. But seeing her daughter wander around and beat up people in search of her made her wonder why she didn't reach out to Yang. After all, such attitude was enough to be accepted into the tribe and age was no matter at all. But she didn't. So Raven was either going to change, or there was something about her daughter that she wasn't seeing.

Still, there was one question that was bugging her to hell and back - why was Yang looking for her? What was exactly her incentive? Somehow, Raven was certain that the answer to this question would be the answer for her lack of action in future.

Then, the rest of the scenes happen. I suggest you watch the opening. It's quite nostalgic.

As the music died down and the lights returned to the room, and the screen brought back the old menu, the group fell into a silence. Almost all semeed to be lost in their own thoughts, even though the opening itself presented no grand revelations. Nevertheless, it took several moments before one of them spoke up - and it was Qrow.

"So. They're going to Beacon, eh?"

"What?" Ghira blinked, drawn out of his thoughts. "What are you talking about?"

"Beacon. The academy. If we saw Ozpin, who's the headmaster, then the thing must take place in the school."

"Which would make a lot of sense considering how young those girls are," Taiyang added, sighing. "But the Beacon academy is literally the safest place in Remnant... I don't get what could happen there that would be this interesting."

"We did see some... well, unfriendly characters now," Kali hummed. "Villains, maybe?"

"Besides, there is no such thing as the safest place," Ghira added. "A place can be safe, it's not exactly immune from all the dangers. Especially in the future we know nothing about."

"Maybe, but Beacon isn't just..." Taiyang started saying, only to be unexpectantly interrupted by Summer.

"Ruby Rose?" she whispered with her eyes wide open.

"Wha-?" Xiao Long wasn't the only one to glance at her in confusion, but Summer paid him little to no mind, almost climbing over him to reach for the remote - which was kept away from her by Qrow. Raven's brother was now hanging on the edge of the couch as if ready to flee if necessary.

"Gimme that!" Summer demanded when Taiyang managed to drag her back onto her spot on the couch. "Or hit play! I don't care which one!"

"Whoa, hold up, Sum, where's the rush?" Qrow cocked an eyebrow, letting out a small smirk at the woman's suddenly childish behaviour.

"Look at the next... I don't know, episode?!" Summer pointed violently at the screen. There, a new option has appeared, titled 'Ruby Rose'.

"Oh," Willow hummed, nodding in understanding. "I see."

"You didn't have to do all that, though," Taiyang pouted, making sure that Summer wasn't going to bolt from her spot again by tightly wrapping his arm around her. "You could've just spoke up."

"Give me a break!" she huffed. "And hit that play already, or I swear neither of you will see the remote ever again!"

"Let it play before I lose the rest of my sanity," Raven ordered her brother while massaging her temples.

"Fine, sheesh," Qrow rolled his eyes. "Talk about pressure here."

"Told you," Kali chuckled. "Not worth holding it."

But Qrow didn't give it away and faced the responsibility with courage, lifting the remote and letting the first episode of the Volume 1 play.


Yes, this may be an unnecessary chapter to write, but you should know that I must take my time to know how to handle these characters and what they react to because that will take on future reactions. And please, I hope you write longer reviews that express more your opinion about this story beyond "wow, cool chapter" and others. I really need informed opinions. Okay. Already the next chapter officially begins the reaction to the series. And as clarifications, the episodes that are divided into parts will be seen as complete as they are. That's it.