Chapter 2: A New Piece

"Well, red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," Roman says as he throws his cigar to the ground and crushes it with his cane, "and as much as I'd love to stick around." Roman raises his 'Melodic Cudgel' and aims it at Ruby while he finishes saying, "I'm afraid this…is where we part ways." Roman fires his cane, sending a shot straight at Ruby's feet. Ruby leaps into the air with the help of Crescent Rose's recoil to avoid the shot. As she lands, I run up next to her with my dual swords out, and she looks directly at me.

"You ok?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but didn't I tell you to find some cover?" Ruby asked me quizically.

"You did, but that doesn't matter he's getting away, look!" I point in Roman's direction showing him climbing up a ladder on the side of a building.

Ruby looks at the old shopkeeper and says, "Mind if I go after him?" the shopkeeper gives her the go-ahead nod, and Ruby looks back at me only to see that I've vanished. She looked back where Roman was climbing to see me climbing the ladder after him.

I reached the top of the ladder and got onto the roof, seeing Roman running towards the edge of the building, most likely waiting for Cinder to get him out of there. "Hey!" I yelled at the gangster mob-dressed redhead.

The ostentatiously dressed crook turned around to see who pursued him, and his eyes furrowed in confusion. "And who might you be…foxy?" Roman said, seeing my kitsune mask.

"That doesn't concern you, Roman. Now step away from the edge and surrender." I said aggressively

"Oh my, the fox bears his fangs. I'm glad to know my reputation proceeds me. However, I think I'll have to decline." Roman said mockingly before turning back towards the edge, just as Ruby arrived right next to me on the roof.

"What do you think you're doing?! Civilians aren't supposed to get involved!" Ruby hissed at me just as loud airship engines came screeching and filled my ears, causing me to wince. After recovering from the sound, I attached both swords to their dual-sided staff and quickly transformed them into their bow form. I grabbed a fire dust arrow and aimed my shot but was quickly blinded by a bright light. Squinting my eyes, I could see Roman jump into the bullhead and turn to face us. "End of the line!" as he laughed balefully before chucking a fire dust crystal. It landed past me and right next to Ruby. "Move!" I screamed as I sprinted towards her as my body moved before I had a chance to think. I shoved her out of the way as Roman fired his shot at the fire dust crystal.

"Oh, shit!" I cried out of fear. Ruby screamed, and I waited for my fate. I closed my eyes, and the crystal exploded. I expected to be hit with searing and agonizing burns. That didn't happen.

Opening my eyes, I saw none other than Glynda Goodwitch standing in front of me with her giant purple glyph that saved me from the dust explosion. She turned to look at me firmly, which was both more intimidating and beautiful in real life. Now, I understand why so much of the RWBY fandom liked her.

I quickly combined the swords into their dual-staff form and then transformed them into their bow form and quickly started unleashing arrow after arrow at the bullhead, which caused it to start bucking in the air Roman went into the cockpit as a familiar red dress figure came into view. It was none other than Cinder. Shadows still obscured her face, but I knew it was her.

"You two need to leave. Get her back down to the streets while I take care of this," she said as an attack from Cinder crashed into her glyph and onto the floor before the floor started to glow brightly. The next thing I knew, I was flung out of the explosion by Glynda and rolling onto my feet. I watched Glynda levitate shards of debris into the shape of a spear before launching it at the bullhead. Following orders, I rushed over to Ruby, who was watching Glynda fight with awe clearly on her face. I quickly grabbed her and shook her to get her attention.

"Hey, we need to go now!" I said, pulling her towards the ladder. Ruby was still enraptured with the fight going on around us. She really must be obsessed with huntsmen and huntresses.

"Come on, we need to get out of here right now!" I yelled at her over the sound of the chaos of battle. I violently shook her to get her full attention "Get to the Ladder!"

"Umm, Ok!" Ruby yelped, transforming Crescent Rose back to its carry form and onto her back before sliding down the ladder. Another explosion went off, and I rushed down the ladder.

After returning to the streets below, I looked around to see that a crowd of people had gathered to see what all the commotion was about. "It makes sense with all those explosions; people would get curious…" I mumbled.

"Hold on a second, who even are you?" Ruby asked, and I looked at the scarlet speedster before me. She looked at me suspiciously, which made me laugh because it was cute and slightly frightening.

"Isaiah Baldwin," I introduced myself, "and I was walking around the city after I got out of the hospital before I ran into you before all of this started" I saw in the corner of my eye that police officers had arrived to arrest junior's minions. Funny enough, I saw the officer who was in my hospital room. He saw me, and I gave him a shy wave towards him, and he looked confused, just shooked his head, and went back to work. It looked like he could tell it was me, just from my clothes.

"How come you wear that mask and wear that hood?" Ruby asked, clearly still not fully trusting someone hiding what they look like.

"There's…let's just say they're some people who don't like how I look." I cautiously answered. Ruby looked concerned, and I looked away nervously.

"It's ok. I wouldn't judge how you look," she said honestly. I know I should trust her, and I'm just overly paranoid. I'm going to face the villains in the future, so I might as well start trusting the people I know I can.

"Ok, I'll trust you," I said as I lowered my hood and took off my kitsune mask. Ruby stared at me and then noticed my Fox ears twitching. She started squealing and zipping around me with her semblance while looking at my ears.

"Aww! You're a Faunus with cute little fox ears!" she said in a very high-pitched voice which caused me to wince a bit. She then noticed my eyes. "Hey, your eyes are just like mine," she said excitedly, then she noticed my hair "Even your hair is like mine, but it's purple at the ends instead," she said with amusement.

"It seems so," I said sheepishly. Honestly, having this much attention from her is a bit uncomfortable. I know she's a very kind and curious personality, but she does know what personal space is, right?

Thankfully, she was interrupted when Glynda cleared her throat, which startled us both. "Since you two were involved in this, you two will need to come with me," she said demandingly. Even though I know where we're going, still doesn't mean I'm nervous as all hell.

I was very nervous about this.

"Umm, excuse me, miss," Ruby said sheepishly to Glynda. "Can I have your autograph?!"

Oh, for fucks sake, Ruby…

(1 hour later)

"Wow…I am so bored," I whined while resting my head and arms on the table. Glynda brought me and the scarlet speedster to the Vale police station. They separated both Ruby and me into different interrogation rooms.

If I had to guess, by now, Ozpin has talked to Ruby and has allowed her to attend Beacon Academy early. I'm very thankful I wasn't in handcuffs, so I was at least allowed to be comfortable while sitting here and doing nothing. Some officers looked like I should have handcuffs on anyway, most likely not liking my little ears on top of my head. Screw them, to be completely honest.

As I was lost in my thoughts all alone, I was awoken from my thoughts when the door opened. Glynda and Ozpin entered the room, with Ozpin taking a seat across from Glynda, standing to his side.

"Isaiah Baldwin" Ozpin addressed my full name just like he did with Ruby, and if I had to guess what he had to say next. "You…have-"

"Silver eyes," I said, cutting him off by finishing his sentence for him. Ozpin and Glynda both looked at me with bewildered expressions on their faces. They looked at each other, and Glynda gave Ozpin a shrug. He turned back around to address me again.

"Well, I hope your stay has been…enjoyable." the headmaster said.

"Yeah, I'd say it was a day full of excitement and revelations for my first day in the City of Vale," I said with apparent nervousness.

"I see," Ozpin said while crossing his hands as he looked at me patiently. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I feel exhausted, to be completely honest, I didn't expect to get involved in fighting a criminal late at night with help from a Huntress and Huntress in training not that long after I was discharged from the hospital," I said exhaustedly.

"That indeed is an unfortunate scenario," Ozpin said curiously as he was visibly thinking "However, I want to know why a civilian infringed on that altercation?"

Now that's a good question, Oz, and sadly can't tell you the truth just yet. Telling him what I know would be too early, and they'd think I'm insane. "I mean…I saw a crime being committed and had a somewhat means of helping and acted upon it, just like the girl did earlier."

"Excellent points; however, that girl is a huntress in training with a weapon and a functioning aura to protect her from lethal harm," Glynda stated.

"Ok…yes, fair point," I said weakly. "but I just couldn't stand there and watch it happen, and besides, I had this." I pulled out both swords, attached them to their dual-sided staff form, and transformed them into their bow form.

"An interestingly designed weapon. It seems like you and Miss Rose have similar tastes and similar dreams," Ozpain said as I turned my attention to him. "What are the dreams you hope to achieve in your life?" he asked, bringing the topic back to me.

"Well…I always wanted to be a fighter/warrior; anything else never caught my attention," I said truthfully. Life on Earth never allowed you to be a warrior unless it was boxing, wrestling, or MMA. Hand-to-Hand combat isn't my style, so I always felt left wanting.

"I see. So you want to become a huntsman, is that it? A very noble dream. Indeed, you and Miss Rose share the same dream of protecting those who can't protect themselves." Ozpin said.

"I just don't want others' lives ruined by how cruel the world can be to them and the people it can take away in an instant… If I have the chance to make a difference for the better, then I'll gladly do so." I said shakily. Glynda and Ozpin saw the split second of vulnerability but did not comment on it.

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch explained how reckless you were in your pursuit, although your weapon is unique," Ozpin said curiously. "It has three different forms and even has gravity dust integrated into them. The weapon has designs on them that are unique to Menagerie. Makes sense since that is your home." Ozpin said.

"What makes you think I'm from Menagerie?" I asked, even though I slightly knew how he got that information.

"Well, I believe I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy, and with that title comes some perks," Ozpin said with a slight smirk. "I'm allowed to see any police files to see any potential students, and surprisingly I found no files about you…except one hospital record, which was recent. In that hospital record, it was mentioned that you said you were from Menagerie.

"Ok…you got me there," I said until I realized what he had just said and snapped my head back up to look at him. "D-did you just say…potential student?!"

"You didn't mishear me, Mister Baldwin. I can see that you were not lying about wanting to help others. You jumped in front of Miss Rose to save her from the explosion," Ozpin said proudly. "Even though she would've been fine because of her Aura, your action to keep her from harm spoke to your actual character. You jumped into battle without any regard for your own life.

"Which I will remind him how reckless that is to do so!" Glynda shouted. "I also don't appreciate how you are praising that recklessness." I winced while Ozpin continued. "While I agree that it was reckless, I believe you made the right choice," Ozpin finished. "Besides, I think it wouldn't be good to let you go with those reckless tendencies, so I believe it would be good to have those habits quelled, especially with a weapon of that caliber."

"Ozpin…" Glynda growled, only for him to look at her and say, "I know, but trust me, Glynda."

Glynda stood down and gave a heavy sigh. "I hope you attend Beacon academy, not because of where you're from or who you are," he said. "But because I think you can make a difference for the better of all mankind. You are free to decline and walk your own path like you were before, of course."

"I don't believe that. He just wants another silver-eyed warrior in his cards." I thought to myself. However, I need to get into beacon no matter what, and this is an easy way in, so I'm taking it. I wouldn't last long in this world anyways, so it was a win-win in my book.

"I don't have anything or anyone left. I have no other choice but to accept." I said as I lowered my head. Ozpin's smile gave away into a sympathetic frown as he sighed.

"I see that you've been through a lot recently." Ozpin said in a somber tone. "I'm sure you've experienced things that weigh heavily on your mind at the moment, however just know that if there is anything I can do to help, please, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'll remember that, thank you," I said with a smile. I know Ozpin hides a lot of things from people even from those in his inner circle but I can understand why and I know he is a kind person overall. "So…now what?" I ask curiously.

"Now, I believe you don't have a place to stay so I would offer for you to stay in one of Beacon's dormitories for the following week until Initiation day." Ozpin said.

"That sounds nice, I've already accepted your offer to join Beacon so makes sense to accept that as well, I really appreciate this Headmaster," I said with appreciation in my tone.

"You are quite welcome Mister Baldwin, I would be quite heartless not to offer at least this with what you've been through so far," Ozpin said and for some reason, I felt like him saying that told me he knew more than he let on, which is not out the realm of possibility considering its Ozpin we're talking about. "Now, follow us and we'll take you to Beacon Academy and find you a dorm room for you to stay in."

Shortly after, we exited the interrogation room and police station, and Ozpin, Glynda, and myself all boarded a bullhead and were flying up to Beacon Academy. As we got closer I got a good view of the school and to be honest the view was amazing. The school looked so magnificent and the tower looked as iconic as it did in the show. We soon landed on the school landing pads and we got off the bullhead.

"Welcome to Beacon Academy, I expect great things from you, Mister Baldwin," He said with the usual smile. "Now, Glynda may you be so kind as to escort Mister Baldwin to a dorm room please"

"Very well," Glynda said with her usual serious look that she has on, I would never say that aloud because I know I would not like the consequences of that. "Please, follow me" I did as I was told and followed her as we entered the school and walked through the halls, I was amazed at how beautiful the place was, and honestly it was quite weird how I was actually starting to feel like I was at home.

We soon arrived at a room and Glynda turned to face me. "You can stay in this room right here." She gestured to the door in front of her and then pulled out something quite familiar but not at the same time. "We noticed that you don't have a scroll and thought we should give you one considering all students have one and will need them as well. This one is coded to Beacon and will help you keep track of many things. Now that you're settled I will see you once the Opening ceremony begins in a week."

"Thank you for everything Professor Goodwitch," I said with a smile. She looked at me with a slightly shocked expression.

"I'm not your professor yet," Glynda said calmly.

"I know but I still respect you nonetheless, you did save me after all," I said with a smile once more. Her shocked expression then turned into a smile.

"Well then you're very welcome Mister Baldwin, I look forward to seeing what you're capable of. If you do make it past initiation day, however, don't expect me to go easy on you" She said in a serious manner.

"Of Course!" I said nervously

"Good night Mister Baldwin," Glynda said.

"Good night professor" I replied

I then entered my dorm room and it looked just like the dorm rooms looked in the show. Four beds with a table next to the window and a bathroom on the left side of the room. I decided that after this long day I need a shower, especially a hot one considering I really need the sleep. After the shower, I lay on my and tried to sleep, I tried to sleep for 10 minutes but still couldn't. So I did the thing that usually helps me calm myself and helps me clear my head. I began to sing a song from home.

"~Theres a point where it tips

There's a point where it breaks

There's a point where it bends

And a point we just can't take

Anymore~"