Episode 1: Red, White, Black, Yellow
"Legends. Stories scattered through time. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise and resourceful."
The birth of man was depicted.
"But an inevitable darkness – creatures of destruction, the creatures of Grimm – set their sights on man and all of his creations."
Creatures of Grimm began appearing and started attacking humanity and its creations.
"When all seemed lost, and it seemed man's brief existence might return to dust, the smallest spark of hope brought forth a great light."
A man running from the destruction caused by the Grimm discovered the first Dust.
"Once born of dust, man used his passion and ingenuity to discover a new power, appropriately called Dust. Man thus lit their way through the darkness and restored civilization."
Man successfully pushed back the Creatures of Grimm and the Kingdoms were born.
"Most of that was what we already know," Weiss complained.
"A very brief summary," Ozpin said. Though the narrator's voice…
"Was that?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes," Ozpin answered.
RWBY: Ice Queendom.
"Gasp! This is going to be about Weiss, isn't it?" Ruby said.
Weiss will have an important role in this, yes.
"Joy," Weiss said.
"Well, at least it acknowledges your status as ice queen," Yang joked.
In the present day, Ruby was visiting her mother's grave.
"Hey, listen Mom!" Ruby said excitedly. "Yang graduated from Signal Academy and got accepted to Beacon Academy! Isn't that great? Sis always said she wanted to be a Huntress, and it's really happening!"
"Daw! Come here, you," Yang grabbed her sister's head and proceeded to ruffle it.
"Yang, let me go!" Ruby wailed as she flailed about in her sister's iron tight grip.
Ruby clasped her hands in happiness, before turning a little sad. "Which is a little frustrating, too. Of course, I'm happy for her, but I want to be a Huntress too, and my grades at Signal aren't good. What can I do to be more like her?"
"If you start making puns and thrashing bars, we will mutiny," Weiss said in warning.
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a great role model," Yang said.
"What was that about your grades?" Blake asked. While she never had formal schooling, she did read a lot so she had little issue with the written parts of their coursework. She knew Ruby struggled a bit there, especially since she skipped two grades, but they were usually around to help her out. Not to mention Weiss making sure she studied.
Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I've always been better at the combat aspect of school."
"That would be your fault no doubt," Winter said to Qrow.
Qrow merely rolled his eyes. Most of the non-practical coursework wasn't directly useful anyway. Sure, knowing who the general that bungled up this or that military campaign in the past century was useful in not repeating their tactical blunders, but not when you had a giant Nevermore bearing down on you.
Ruby looked at the sky as if her mother would come and provide her with advice, before shaking her head and taking out Crescent Rose. "Anyway, when it comes to handling weapons, I know I'm as good as anyone else. I just got to work harder! Someday, I'll fight to protect people from the Grimm just like you did, Mom!"
"That's a very lovely dream, Ruby," Pyrrha said.
Ruby sniffled a bit. "Thanks."
Predictably, the tombstone didn't reply, but Ruby liked to imagine that her mother heard her. She looked up and she heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching.
Yang parked her motorcycle and got off, taking off her helmet and sunglasses.
"Wait, that didn't happen," Ruby said. "Yang didn't pick me up after that. And there was a pack of Beowolves I dealt with after that."
"Well, our esteemed host did mention that this was a variant of our world," Ozpin said as he sipped his coffee.
"Aww, I wanted to show how awesome I am by slaying all those Beowolves singlehandedly," Ruby sulked.
"There, there," Yang patted her on the back. "We know you're awesome."
In her head, Yang hoped that the other her didn't go and trash Junior's club too. Not with the headmaster and deputy headmaster in here.
"Oh? Yang!" Ruby called out and ran towards her. Yang opened her arms and accepted the hug.
"What were you talking to Mom about?" Yang asked.
"About your acceptance," Ruby said. "I'm so happy!"
"Is that right?" Yang said. "Thanks!" She looked at the grave herself and winked.
Blake and Weiss looked at each other then at the two sisters. With how they acted, they often forgot that they had lost their mother young.
Blake thought about her mother and how it had been literally years since they had last talked. Did she hate her? Was she ill? Healthy? She knew Menagerie still stood under her father, but she had never called them all this time, even after she had abandoned Adam.
Weiss, meanwhile, felt a little bitter at how her relationship with her own mother was. She was alive and well, but rarely sober. Winter had practically taken her place, and she had been busy both training followed by being a newly minted Atlesian Specialist. But at least she had tried and did make time for her.
Outside the courtyard of Schnee Manor, a white-haired girl tapped a rapier to the ground before bringing it up.
"The arrangements have been made, Mistress Weiss," Klein informed her.
Weiss opened her eyes at that and turned to the butler. "Shall we go, Klein?"
"Yes," Klein said.
"Ah, that day," Weiss said as she touched her scar.
"What happened?" Ruby asked.
"Had to 'convince' my father to let me go to Beacon somehow," Weiss said.
The two made their way into the manor, passing the garden where Willow Schnee was drinking.
"You're drinking in the daytime again, Mother?" Weiss said sadly at the sight.
Klein kept silent at the sight, knowing full well that he could do nothing about it.
Winter and Weiss sighed in resignation at their mother.
"Your mom drinks too?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, like your uncle," Winter said with distaste.
"But I don't drink THAT much when the girls are around," Qrow said with a frown. And he never ignored them either.
"Yes, one of your rare good qualities," Winter conceded.
"Uncle Qrow is the best!" Yang said.
Qrow preened at the praise while Weiss and Winter resented the R and Y of Team RWBY for having a functional drunk for an uncle, something their mother evidently was not.
A white-haired boy was leaning against a pillar, having been lying in wait for his sister.
"Who's that?" Nora asked. "It's like Weiss if she was a boy!"
"That would be my brother, Whitley," Weiss said. "I thought that was public knowledge?"
"Yes, but it's not likely anyone outside Atlas would go out of their way to look it up," Ironwood said.
"Are you ready, Weiss?" Whitley asked.
"Whitley," Weiss said. "Do you think you're the one testing me?"
"I wish," Weiss mumbled.
"I'm worried about you," Whitley said. "A test this dangerous isn't normal. I'm sure you would agree, Sister."
"That felt rather fake, didn't it?" Jaune said.
"You don't say?" Yang said sarcastically. "Lovely brother you have there. Makes me want to rearrange his face."
Tellingly, Weiss didn't say a word to object to Yang's statement.
"No," Weiss answered. "This is hardly enough to intimidate me."
She walked past him. "Shut up and watch."
Whitley bowed his head. "I've always watched you, my fearless, foolish sisters."
Winter raised an eyebrow at that. What was her little brother thinking?
Weiss and Klein entered the hall where she would be tested. Standing upon the balcony where they would be overseeing her test, were her father and older sister.
"I am very pleased to see you, Father, Elder Sister," Weiss greeted with a bow. "This is the final test, right?"
"This is utterly pointless," Jacques said in annoyance.
"Wasn't this your choice, Father?" Winter replied to his contempt. "Weiss is prepared to do it."
"Wow, your dad is a dick," Nora said.
"Miss Valkryie!" Glynda warned.
"What?" Nora said. "It's true!"
Ironwood suppressed a chuckle at that description of Jacques Schnee. The girl wasn't wrong after all.
Blake stared impassively at the man on screen. He was as bad as she made him out to be in her head.
Jacques scoffed as Whitley entered to stand by him.
"Well, then, please unleash the Grimm," Weiss asked.
"Fine," Jacques said. "But the instant I decide you can't do this, you fail. And that will be the end of your selfish behaviour."
"Understood," Weiss replied and turned to look at Klein.
Klein obliged and pulled the lever that would bring the test to the hall.
A panel on the floor in front of Weiss opened up and she griped her Myrnaster in preparation as an elevator brought the Arma Gigas to the hall.
The Grimm-possessed armour growled as it stood, giant sword in its grip.
Weiss brought out her rapier and readied herself. The two opponents stood before each other, one literally towering over the other.
"That's what you fought as a test!?" Jaune said.
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "A Geist possessed suit of armour."
"We call these variants Arma Gigas," Ozpin lectured. "The ones more commonly found are called Petra Gigas, which is a Geist possessing rocks. One of the more versatile types of Grimm you can face."
"I presume your father had one captured to possess a suit of armour?" Glynda inquired.
"Oh, it was much worse than that," Winter said. "He had it possess an old mecha prototype. It was at least three times stronger than the mecha it originally was."
"That's pretty tough," Ruby said.
"Was that how?" Yang pointed at where Weiss' scar was.
"You'll see," Weiss said.
The Arma Gigas ran forward and slammed its sword at Weiss, the girl dodging away before launching an attack on the Grimm's head, jumping over it and landing behind it.
The Grimm turned as Weiss launched another attack, dodging the swings from the larger weapon. She made an attempt to attack its head once more, but this time the Grimm anticipated it and managed to slap her away.
Weiss landed on her feet and used her Glyphs to create launching platforms to attack it from separate angles. Winter watched as the fight continued.
"You can do it, Weiss!" Ruby cheered.
"You dolt, I already beat that thing," Weiss said.
"But we're watching past you do that right now," Yang said. "Let us cheer you on."
Blake waved "Team RWBY" flags that she somehow had in her hands.
"Fine," Weiss said. It was… kind of nice to have her friends show their support for the her on screen. She knew her sister had, but she never verbalized it the way her teammates were.
Weiss coated her weapon in fire dust and blocked the Grimm's sword with it, managing to block it and knock it back. Going for an attack, the Grimm used its other hand and punched Weiss in the face, sending her flying where she landed unceremoniously on the floor.
"Aww…" Whitley said, showing no concern at all.
"Now you understand, correct?" Jacques asked. "We're finished here."
"Quick to judge, isn't he?" Qrow said.
"He's a businessman, not a Hunter," Ironwood said. "Man doesn't exactly know how to judge a fight accurately."
"Miss Schnee's fighting style, while technically correct, shows her lack of combat experience compared to the current her," Glynda commented. "It would be accurate to presume all her fights against Grimm were in controlled environments, as opposed to her stepping outside the city to fight stray Grimm?"
"You presume correctly, professor," Winter said.
"No, it isn't over," Winter said, the Atlesian Specialist knowing that the fight wasn't over yet.
Weiss used her weapon to stand up, blood flowing down her left eye from a cut the Grimm managed to inflict on her. She pointed the rapier at the Grimm as she prepared to continue the fight.
"Yeah! You show that hunk of metal!" Yang cheered.
Weiss rolled her eyes in fond amusement. She beat it, didn't she? Otherwise, she wouldn't be here.
In a forest, two figures ran through it as the leaves fell around them.
Blake paled as she recognized that scene.
"Oh, is that you, Blake?" Ruby asked. "Back when you were…"
Ruby stopped as her sister's partner rapidly waved her hands then pointed at the Atlesian general in the room.
"Relax, Miss Belladona," Ironwood said. "I already know."
"And he's not going to arrest you," Ozpin said.
"That's a relief," Yang said.
Winter frowned at the former terrorist her sister was teammates with, but put it aside for now.
"Adam, are we really doing this alone?" Blake asked her partner.
"The only guards will be Atlas toys," Adam said. "The humans fear the White Fang too much to face us. But you… are you scared?"
"Hardly, droids are just more expendable than soldiers," Ironwood growled.
"Easier to deal with too," Qrow pointed out. "Hell, what was the kill count when you pit an experienced Huntsman against your toys?"
"500 destroyed within 15 minutes," Winter helpfully provided. Granted, that tester was her, but most Huntsman in training could deal with dozens of droids with ease.
"But they don't need sleep, food or a salary," Ironwood pointed out. "Which is the whole point."
"And how's that working out for you?" Qrow sarcastically said.
"Do you think I'm the type to scare easily?" Blake asked in return.
"I'm very aware of your bravery," Adam said.
Blake said nothing in reply.
"So…" Yang said. "Old boyfriend?"
"... Sort of," Blake said. "I got out when I could when I saw where that relationship was going."
A train with the Schnee Family emblem sounded its horn as it moved through the cliffs.
"That's the Company's train," Adam said. "The entire cargo of Dust is ours."
The two jumped and landed on the roof of the train.
Opening a hatch, the two dropped down into the train, right where the security drones were stored.
"Where's the crew of that train?" Jaune asked uneasily.
"Standard procedure is to hide in a secure compartment located in the engine," Winter said.
"Also most of these trains run on skeletal crews," Ironwood said.
"Well, this is going to be messy," Adam commented as he and Blake took in the sight of the inactive machines.
That soon changed as the drones activated and began to surround them.
"Try not to have too much fun," Blake said as the two took out their weapons.
Adam began the fight by slicing a drone in half, proceeding to do the same to two more.
Blake, using her Semblance and weapons, made short work of several more in the compartment.
"Truly, the best security the SDC can afford," Qrow said sarcastically.
"You know I've offered my soldiers and Specialist," Ironwood said. "And so has Vale, if I recall correctly."
"But father will have none of it," Winter said. "He does not want to 'owe' you a favour."
"It's like he wants to lose money," Weiss muttered under her breath.
Weiss knelt down in a courtyard as snow fell around her, Mythernaster stabbed in the ground in front of her.
"Your Aura can only take a direct attack once or twice at most," Winter said. "The moment you're hit, you're finished. The powerless return to dust. That is the law of this world."
A drop of blood fell onto the floor as Weiss stood against the Arma Gigas.
"Nice life philosophy you're teaching your sister there, ice queen," Qrow said.
"I'm not wrong though, am I?" Winter shot back.
"No, I suppose you aren't," Qrow said. Though it sounded too much like what his old tribe and sister proscribed to.
The Grimm charged, Weiss yelling as she used Dust to freeze it in its tracks. Covering her blade with fire Dust, she charged it in turn.
The Grimm swung its sword at her, Weiss jumping onto it and running up it. The sword almost hit Klein as it was sent away from the Grimm, the hand holding it covered in fire and melted away.
Weiss used a Glyph to send the Grimm into the air, using several more to hold it there as she jumped towards it.
Runes appeared on her rapier as she ran it through the Grimm, destroying it in one hit.
"Mistress Weiss, you did it!" Klein congratulated.
The R and Y of Team RWBY joined the butler in congratulating Weiss.
"You did it!" Ruby screamed as she hugged her partner. "I always knew you could!"
"Get off me, you dolt!" Weiss said.
"Aww… you didn't break its legs," Nora said.
"She broke more than just its legs," Ren calmly said.
"How would you have taken it down?" Jaune asked his partner.
"I would have gone for the joints," Pyrrha said. "Those are always the weak points." Not to mention her Semblance would have given her a very unfair advantage against a metal opponent.
"You will accept my enrollment in Beacon Academy now, won't you?" Weiss asked her father.
Jacques gritted his teeth at her success.
Winter turned towards him. "Father…"
"Have it your way!" Jacques conceded and walked away.
"Sore loser, isn't he?" Yang said.
"Oh, you have no idea," Ironwood said. How he wished he didn't have to deal with Jacques Schnee on a regular basis.
Weiss turned towards Klein, who nodded. She smiled as she basked in the light coming in from the windows and her victory.
Adam and Blake burst out onto the top of the train, several more drones running to them guns blazing.
Blake used her weapon to take many of them out, missing one coming at her from behind only for Adam to slice it apart. The two fought until the last drone was destroyed.
The two entered the cargo compartment, where crates of Dust were. Adam opened one, looking at the veils of the precious substance inside.
"Perfect," Adam said. "We'll run the train into the ravine."
"It isn't on autopilot," Blake said. "There are human workers riding too."
"Just humans," Adam dismissed. "They aren't Faunus like us."
"That bastard," Winter said, gritting her teeth.
"So this is where the White Fang crosses over entirely to this path," Ozpin said sadly, at how the formerly peaceful group turned to terrorism to spread its message.
"Right…" Blake said, knowing that there was no going back now.
She made her way outside the train car.
"Blake?" Adam asked in confusion.
"Farewell, Adam," Blake said as she separated the car from the train engine.
"You saved them," Ironwood said. "He would have really done it, crash the train into the ravine."
"I know," Blake said quietly at seeing her betrayal play out in front of her again.
"You did the right thing," Yang said as she squeezed her partner's hand.
"Blake!" Adam yelled. "Are you betraying me… betraying the White Fang?"
"I have to find my own path," Blake said as the train moved on, the cars behind it slowing to a stop.
Blake threw away the armband that signified her allegiance to the White Fang into the wind.
"Hey, you have us now!" Ruby said as she hugged her teammate.
"Don't forget us," Jaune said as his team sounded out their agreement.
"Yes, I do, don't I?" Blake said as she looked at her friends.
Other members of the White Fang were soon all over the train cars holding the Dust.
"Should we follow Blake?" one asked Adam.
"Leave her be," Adam ordered. "Once she learns more about the world, she'll know we're in the right."
"The world's a dark place, but it's not all that bad," Ozpin said.
"When you can look at it from a literal tower, perhaps," Blake said bitterly.
In the City of Vale at night, Ruby walked through the streets.
"I forgot the city was so big!" Ruby said as she looked around. "It's so much more fun than Patch Island."
"I can listen to music at scroll shops, visit cafes and weapon stores, and the time just flies by!" Snapshots of Ruby visiting those three places.
"Ah, I remember this night," Ruby said.
"So do I, Miss Rose," Glynda said as she pushed up her glasses. "Vividly."
"Hehehe," Ruby laughed uneasily.
"Oh, what should I do about Yang's present?" Ruby wondered.
Yang gasped. "You didn't get me a present here!"
"But… but… I got into Beacon with you, didn't I?" Ruby said. "Isn't that a good present?"
"Oh, I don't know," Yang said teasingly and gave her sister a noogie. "A new jacket wouldn't be a bad idea."
"Yangggg!" Ruby cried.
Ruby noticed a Dust store with its lights on. "The Dust store is still open!"
Ruby made her way inside the store, where other customers were browsing inside as well.
Ruby noticed the magazine rack. "The latest issue of Weapon Magazine! Awesome!" She flipped it open and began reading. "You can't get it on Patch Island until next week. The city of Vale is so advanced!"
Back in her hotel in Vale, Yang read the letter on her scroll. "We are delighted to accept you into Beacon Academy." She smiled happily before entering her father's room, where Zwei was lying on the floor.
"Dad, did Ruby come home?" Yang asked.
"No, not yet," Taiyang said.
"She said she'd be back in a minute," Yang said. "I wonder what happened."
"She's secretly buying a present to celebrate your acceptance, Yang," her father answered.
"Oh, why did you tell me?" Yang complained. "I was trying so hard to play dumb."
"Yeah, come on, Dad!" Yang complained.
"It's not like you didn't know," Blake said. "Ruby can't hide anything from us."
"I can so hide stuff from you guys," Ruby said.
"Sure you can," Weiss said.
"Sorry, sorry," Taiyang said. "We won't have as many chances to go out as a family now."
"Yeah, you girls are so busy now," Qrow sighed. This also meant he had more time to go on missions for Ozpin, which was important, but not necessarily fun.
Yang squatted down and scratched Zwei. "I wonder if Ruby will do okay with me gone? When she gets excited, she loses sight of everything around her."
"It's about time Ruby became independent," Taiyang said. "It's great that you support each other, but it's not good for Ruby if she's always depending on you."
"Fine, fine, I know," Yang said.
"Tai raises a good point," Qrow said. "You have been coddling Ruby all this time. I can't believe I'm saying this but she could do with a little of ice queen's stern approach towards her little sister."
"What are you implying, drunk?" Winter said between gritted teeth.
"That you're pretty stern on ice queen junior over there," Qrow drawled and pointed a beer bottle at Weiss. "Granted, I think you did a good job raising her to be a Huntress, but she could use a little more affection."
"He does have a point, Yang," Blake said.
"I know, I know," Yang sighed. It wasn't easy not to treat her little sister lightly. Not after what happened when they were kids after Summer died.
They looked at the clock showing it was five past nine.
"She certainly is late, though," Taiyang said.
"Ehhehehe," Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "You know how it is. Lost track of time. And it's not like I asked Roman to rob that store."
Back at the Dust store, Roman Torchwick and his hired goons walked up to it and entered.
"Welc-" the store owner greeted before noticing who it was.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?" Roman asked.
One of the goons pointed his gun at the owner, who surrendered immediately as the customers ran out.
"The bastard, robbing honest working men like that," Yang said.
"Break his legs!" Nora crowed.
"Oh, I want to," Ruby said.
"You can take my money," the shop owner said.
"We're not here for your money," Roman said before ordering the goons. "Help yourselves."
The goons began stealing the Dust.
"Well, we know why he's stealing all that Dust now," Weiss said.
"Yeah! We stopped Roman's plan!" Ruby cheered.
"And he's not in my custody," Ironwood said proudly.
Inside the shop, Ruby was still reading her magazine, unaware of the commotion with her headphones on.
"Situational awareness, Miss Rose," Glynda lectured.
"Hmm… sounds like someone needs a refresher on dodge training," Qrow said, getting his nieces to pale.
Situational awareness training, AKA dodge training under Qrow tended to involve rubber bullets and blindfolds. It sucked, a lot. Yang shuddered. Her bruises had bruises from that training.
"Still, you shouldn't wear those too often," Winter said. "Hurts your hearing."
"The first stage of a weapon's transformation should combine both offensive and defensive capabilities," Ruby read. "Yeah, totally!"
One of the goons noticed Ruby still inside.
"Hey kid, put your hands in the air," the goon ordered as he brandished his sword at her.
When Ruby didn't respond, he put his hand on her shoulder.
Ruby turned around, taking off her hood. "Yes?"
The goon pointed at her headphones.
Ruby took them off. "What is it?"
The goon brandished his sword at her again. "Put your hands up!"
"Are you robbing me?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah!" the goon yelled at her.
Ruby's cloak flared where her weapon was attached to her back, the goon was sent flying into a round table.
The assembled audience could only chuckle in amusement at the poor untrained goon trying to rob a Huntress. Hell, if Roman saw that it was a fully-trained Huntsman rather than one in training, he would have high-tailed it out of there immediately.
"Imagine that idiot doing that to a fully trained Huntsman," Yang said.
"I wish he did," Ozpin said. "Faster arrest that way."
"You punk!" one of the goon's friends said as he ran up to her with a gun.
Ruby turned into a storm of roses and ran past him and Roman.
"A Semblance?" Roman said. "A Beacon Academy student?"
"Not yet!" Ruby said, making a peace sign.
Yang pulled her sister into a hug. "Oh, I finally get to watch how you got in two years early!"
"Yang! Let go!" Ruby cried as she was being suffocated by her sister's bountiful cleavage.
Ruby broke out of the store's glass display and unveiled her weapon. She twirled it around before slamming it, tip first, into the street as the goons came out to face her.
The fight didn't even last five seconds as Ruby dismantled the goons in short order.
Roman looked down at one lying by his feet. "You were worth every cent. Truly, you were."
"Well, that's what you get for contracting to the lowest bidder," Weiss said.
He dropped his cigar as he faced the Huntress in training. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening. And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways."
He pointed his cane at Ruby, a sight popping and he fired a Dust round at her. Smoke covered the area as Ruby blocked it with her scythe. Once the smoke parted, Roman was no longer there.
Ruby looked around and found Roman escaping by using his cane to make it to the top of a building.
"Don't let him escape!" Nora cried.
"I won't!" Ruby said. "Though I dodged that shot here."
"Different worlds, different actions," Pyrrha said.
Roman ran to the top of the building.
"You won't get away!" Ruby yelled as she was already behind him. She pointed the scythe at him. "You thief!"
Roman sighed in amusement as a Bullhead flew up behind him, shining its lights at her.
Once Ruby recovered from the bright light, Roman was already onboard.
"Persistent," Roman said as he took out a container of Dust and threw it at her feet.
Ruby gasped in shock as she recognized the Dust, just as Roman shot it.
"Ruby!" Yang cried.
"It's fine," Ruby said. "I'm here, aren't I? Besides, my Aura could have taken it."
"You really shouldn't test that," Glynda said. "You were lucky I was on the scene."
Elsewhere, Zwei was tracking Ruby while Yang and Taiyang followed. He barked as he found her scent.
"She's nearby," Taiyang said and followed Zwei.
"Ruby, you're all over the place!" Yang complained.
"It's a big city!" Ruby said.
"We know," Yang said as she ruffled her hair.
"Zwei is such a good boy, looking for her mistress," Weiss cooed.
"At least the mutt is good for something," Blake muttered as she glared at the dog in contempt.
They made it to the Dust store, where police were interviewing the store owner and a crowd had gathered.
"What's going on?" Taiyang asked.
"Ruby, what did you do?" Yang asked.
"Oh, nothing big," Ruby said nonchalantly. "Almost got exploded."
"That's a fact of life when you live with Nora," Jaune sighed.
An explosion was seen and heard from the roof of a nearby building.
Back on the roof, Ruby had been protected from the explosion by a glyph shield.
Glynda Goodwitch casually dismissed it with a flick of her crop as she made her way next to Ruby.
A new glyph appeared, this one sending beams at the Bullhead.
"You know, I have to ask," Qrow said. "Why didn't you just hold it there? You can manage that after all."
"I decided that ensuring Miss Rose's safety was more prudent than trying to arrest Roman Torchwick then and there," Glynda said. "And there was the chance the Bullhead might have crashed, causing more damage and perhaps civilian casualties in the city."
"We got a Huntress," Roman informed the pilot. "Let's beat it!"
Glynda formed more glyphs to attack the Bullhead, but her attacks were shot down as it made its escape.
"That's not how it happened," Glynda said with a frown. "I was engaged by an unknown woman with a fire Semblance."
"Must have decided discretion was the better part of valour," Winter said.
Glynda, seeing that it was gone, turned to look at Ruby.
"Wow! You're a Huntress!?" Ruby excitedly asked.
Ruby was soon in an interrogation room inside the Vale City Police Department.
"Miss, did you not stop to think about how your actions put others in great danger?" Glynda asked Ruby sternly. Ruby gasped as she pointed her crop at her. "Is your Aura strong enough to stop every bullet they fired?"
"But they…" Ruby replied.
"Come on, I was helping that Dust store," Ruby complained.
"And you did that without official permission," Glynda said sternly. "While Huntsman are often requested for help in apprehending dangerous criminals, that does not mean we have carte blanche to do so, especially not one in training."
"Let it be, Glynda," Ozpin said. "No harm was done and the store's damage was covered by insurance. Roman was the one blamed anyway, not Miss Rose."
Someone entered the police station, getting the officers there to stand at attention and salute.
"Oh, Professor Ozpin!" one greeted.
"Just stopping by for a quick visit," Ozpin said.
Ruby chuckled. "I sure hope you didn't go out of your way to clear me of any wrongdoing, headmaster."
Ozpin chuckled. "Not to worry, Miss Rose. It was a pretty shut-and-close case anyway. A thief tried to rob the store, and a Huntress in training intervened, stopping the robbery as it happened. It's not uncommon and you would have been let go anyway, especially with the store owner vouching in your favour."
"And besides, Ruby is too cute for jail!" Yang said.
"She would have everyone wrapped under her finger by the end of the day," Blake mumbled.
"That's if Qrow did not break her out first," Glynda sighed.
"Would I do that?" Qrow said, pretending to think about it.
"You would," Yang said without hesitation.
Nearby, Taiyang, Yang and Zwei waited for Ruby's interrogation to be over.
"Good evening, Tai," Ozpin greeted.
"Professor! I…" Taiyang said.
"Don't worry," Ozpin said. "I just want to speak with your daughter a bit."
Yang looked on as he walked passed her, making it clear which daughter he wanted to talk to.
"Hey, was that…" Yang asked her father.
"Yeah," Taiyang said. "The head of Beacon Academy."
Glynda slapped her crop down on the table, getting Ruby to wince.
"There's someone here who would like to meet you," Glynda said.
The door opened and Ozpin walked in with a plate of cookies and a mug.
He sat opposite Ruby after placing the cookies and mug on the table.
"Ruby Rose," Ozpin said. "You have silver eyes."
"That could be taken wrong in so many ways," Ironwood said.
"Well, I had to start the conversation somehow," Ozpin said defensively.
"Um, you are…" Ruby said.
"Do you know who I am?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes, probably," Ruby said as Ozpin drank from the mug. "Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon Academy."
"Nice to meet you," Ozpin said. "Now a question. Do you want to attend my school?"
"Huh?" Ruby said.
"And just like that, Ruby Rose is now going to Beacon!" Ruby said as she cheered.
"Unbelievable! Really?" Yang asked as she pulled Ruby into a hug.
"Yeah," Ruby said. "He said he'd let me skip two grades to get in."
"Amazing!" Yang declared. "Now we can enroll together!"
"And join the best team in all of Vale!" Yang continued!
"I'm sorry, but I didn't realize you were part of our team," Nora said.
"Oh, those are fighting words," Weiss said.
"We can settle this in the Vytal Festival tournament," Jaune said.
Outside, Ozpin and Taiyang talked.
"She's gifted," Ozpin said. "She reminds me of your Team STRQ."
"Before it fell apart at least," Ozpin said.
"Yeah, things really didn't work out for long," Qrow said with some nostalgia. Raven leaving was the first blow to the team.
"Ruby is still a child," Taiyang said.
"Children eventually leave the nest," Ozpin said.
"I never dreamed they'd both leave together," Taiyang said.
"Poor dad," Ruby said, feeling a little bad for him.
"Maybe he'll find someone to keep him company?" Yang suggested. "He only has Qrow and Zwei for company, after all."
"Sorry, squirts," Qrow said. "Your dad isn't looking to replacing your mother at all." He mumbled under his breath. "Not that he would have trouble if he did. Lucky blond bastard has all the luck."
In the Grimm-infested lands outside the city's wall, Blake made her way through the trees. She took refuge for the night in a barn and looked through her belongings when her Scroll beeped.
"Notice of acceptance…" Blake read the message and smiled. "Now I can take a different path."
"That's where you were staying before you got into Beacon?" Yang said.
"Well, it's not like I had a lot of money on me," Blake said. "And I could hunt for it outside the city."
At Schnee Manor, Weiss prepared to leave for Beacon.
"Your remaining luggage has been sent to Beacon," Klein informed Weiss.
"Thanks," Weiss said. "I'd better go."
"Why don't you wait a little longer?" Klein suggested.
"Oh, Klein," Weiss said with fondness. He always did look out for her, more than his obligation as a servant of the Schnee family required of him.
"Winter was too busy to come," Weiss said. "Father and Whitley couldn't be bothered to see me off. Isn't that right?"
Klein looked down sadly at how the family was.
"Geez, when the butler is closer to you than the rest of the family," Yang said.
Winter frowned, wishing she had managed to find time to send her off in person.
"It's fine," Weiss said. "I'm used to it."
"You really shouldn't be," Ruby said, looking at her with those large, imploring silver eyes.
Weiss instantly felt bad about it.
"Those should be classified as a deadly weapon," Qrow mumbled.
"But I'm happy that you came, Klein," Weiss said. "Please be well."
"You too, Mistress," Klein said. "Please take care of yourself. I am certain you will become a fine Huntress and will carry on the legacy of Master Nicolas as a descendent of the great Schnee family. I believe in you."
Weiss smiled happily at the servant's faith in her.
"And there I go, first step to getting out from under my father's shadow," Weiss whispered.
Ruby laid down some flowers at her mother's grave.
"I'm going, Mom," Ruby said.
"First step in my journey to becoming a Huntress," Ruby said.
At the airport, prospective Beacon students got onto the airships taking them to the Academy.
"Phew! I made it," Blake said as she entered the airship. She looked at the glass and smiled at the reflection of herself.
Behind her, Weiss walked by pushing her luggage.
"Phew, I made it in time," Weiss said. She looked at her own reflection and smiled.
"What's in all those bags anyway?" Jaune asked.
"Clothes, Dust for Mythenaster, books, make-up, shoes,..." Weiss began listing them down.
"I didn't have that much stuff when I went to Atlas Academy," Winter said, amused.
Outside, Ruby and Yang were saying their goodbyes to their father.
"Thanks, Dad!" Ruby said. "For you and Mom and Uncle and my teachers… And… I'll be as good as the best Huntsmen! I'll become a super awesome Huntress, and I'll make tons of friends, too!"
"Well, I didn't make a ton, but six is a good number to start with, right?" Ruby said.
"Of course, it is," Yang said, amused. "And vomit boy became your first friend."
"Right back at you, crater face," Jaune said.
Taiyang laughed at his daughter's exuberance. "That's the spirit. But you don't need to overdo it trying to be the best. You two should stay the way you are. Got it?"
"All right, Dad!" Yang said with her hand raised as if she was back in Signal. "We should get going."
"Write to me, okay?" Taiyang requested.
"Yeah!" Ruby said.
"See you later!" Yang said.
The airship took off and was soon on its way to Beacon Academy. Taiyang looked on as Zwei barked at its departure.
"Wish I had been there," Qrow said wistfully.
"And soon, Team RWBY will meet for the first time," Ruby said.
"Granted, our first meeting wasn't under the best circumstances," Blake said.
"Tell me about it," Weiss said.
"Through battle, man won life."
The prospective Beacon Academy students mingled with each other inside the airship.
"But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die."
Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Jaune were also inside the airship, Jaune being air sick.
"And then… darkness will return."
Weiss, Blake, Ruby and Yang also appeared.
"So stay vigilant, guardians of the light, but take heed. There will be no victory in strength."
"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things. Things that are long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul."
"Was that your voice there at the end?" Ironwood asked.
"It would seem so," Ozpin said.
"It was interesting seeing what we were all doing before Beacon," Weiss said.
"I'll say," Yang said. "And you didn't even get to see me kick ass."
"Maybe in the next episode," Ren said.