AN: I really appreciate all the positive feedback this story has received. It really helps keep me motivated. When you guys are excited to see what happens, I get excited to show you. Thank you guys.

So, without further ado, let's get into Volume 1.

Chapter 11

From Dust Til Dawn, huh? Ruby thought as she walked past the store in downtown Vale. There's a shop name Yang would appreciate. The 15-year-old Keyblade wielder had just come back from a very successful run at the arcade, and was heading back to Vale's airport to catch a Bullhead ride back to Patch when she stumbled across this store. I don't really have much of a reason to shop there, she thought. I don't use Dust. Not much use for the harnessed primordial power of nature in crystallized form when you had actual magic at your disposal. As she looked more closely at the shop, she saw that the window said "Dust, Crystals, Books".

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I wonder if they have the new issue of Weapons! I've been looking for that one!" Sure she had her Keyblade, Crescent Rose, which was absolutely the coolest weapon ever, even cooler than Mom's, but that didn't mean she couldn't think other weapons were cool, too. She'd never betray her one true love, after all. Weirdly enough, even thought it was 10 o'clock at night, the place was still open. So, she stepped up to the front door of the shop and strolled right in.

She immediately caught the shopkeeper's eye as she walked in the door. She couldn't blame him. Her outfit was eye-catching, after all. She was wearing a long-sleeved black blouse with a black corset over it with red lace. She was wearing a fairly short puffy black skirt (a combat skirt, she always stressed) with red tulle underneath, a thick belt worn crooked on her hip, using her rose emblem as a belt buckle. Under the skirt, she wore black tights and black combat boots. On her back, she wore her beloved red cloak, her final gift from her mom. Her original mom. Man, that was confusing sometimes. Finally, around her neck on a short leather strap, was her red star-shaped Wayfinder. The elderly man most likely assumed she was a Huntress, or at least a Huntress-in-training, which, while not technically true, was not that far off from what she really was. She liked to think of being a Keybearer as being like a Huntress on steroids.

She walked up to the shopkeeper and gave him a friendly smile. "Where are your magazines kept?" She asked. He pointed to the back of the shop, where she saw a rack covered in books and magazines. "Thank you," she said, and walked to the back. The man seemed nice enough, so she felt a little bad that she was planning to just read the magazine and leave without buying anything. She should probably at least buy the book when she was done reading it. Maybe she could even buy some Dust for Yang. While Ruby herself had absolutely no need for Dust, her sister, who was about to start at Beacon, would probably appreciate having a little extra of the stuff to work with. Plus, it wasn't like Ruby was strapped for cash or anything. For whatever reason, the Heartless tended to drop cold, hard cash whenever she killed them, so her training excursions were really more like a part-time job.

Things were going to get lonely at home without Yang there. It was said often that a girl's sister was her best friend, but Ruby suspected it was more true in her case than most. In regards to friends, Yang really was all she had. And, despite how guilty it made Ruby feel, the same was mostly true for Yang, as well. They really only had each other, Mom, Dad, and Uncle Qrow.

She reached the magazine rack, and to her delight, the issue she was looking for was front-and-center on the display. She picked it up, put on her headphones that Mom got her for her last birthday, pulled up her hood, and flipped it open, practically drooling over the weapons showcased.

Only a few minutes passed before she felt someone roughly grab her shoulder and spin her around, her hood falling off her head in the process.

"Huh?" she asked as she looked at the man in front of her. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, a black fedora, and red sunglasses. She saw he was carrying a short sword with a red blade in his hand, and he was pointing at the side of his head, gesturing at her to take her headphones off. "Yes?" she asked innocently.

"I said put your hands in the air, kid," he said in a voice that he probably thought was intimidating. Ruby's brow furrowed.

"Hold on, are you trying to rob me?" she asked.

"Yes!" he yelled in exasperation.

"Oh," she said. He probably saw a cute young girl standing there unawares and thought she'd be an easy target.

She smirked.

A second later, the goon in front of her was sent flying across the store. After that, another goon was running towards her, pointing a pistol at her face. Without missing a beat, she activated her Semblance, turning herself into a torrent of rose petals, and barreled into him. They both went flying through the front window of the shop, the goon instantly being knocked unconscious. This was gonna be easier than she thought. She turned her headphones off, turned around to face the shop, and summoned her beloved Keyblade, Crescent Rose, to her left hand. There were still three more goons in the shop dressed the same as the last two, while the fourth man was clearly their ringleader.

The head thug was wearing a long white overcoat, black pants, and brown shoes. He was wearing a gray scarf around his neck, and was holding a black hooked cane in his gloved hand and a lit cigar in his mouth. He was wearing a black bowler hat over his orange hair, which fell over one of his eyes. The visible eye she could see was green and...

"Are you wearing mascara?" she asked the man. He froze in the doorway of the shop, allowing Ruby to get a closer look. "Oh my gosh, you are! Ha! You're wearing more makeup than my sister!" She started laughing at the man, who's eye twitched in anger as he chomped down on his cigar.

"I was gonna have the men go easy on you, Red," he said, "but now I'm gonna make sure this hurts."

"Bring it, Guyliner," she said with a smirk. He practically bit the cigar in half.

"That's it, kill her!" he said to the remaining goons, who ran out of the shop to charge at her. Two of them were carrying swords, and one had a pistol and hung back near the building. Before the sword-wielding goons could reach her, she pointed her Keyblade at the gun goon.

"Thorn!" she yelled, and several roses shot out of her Keyblade towards the goon, the stems snagging onto his clothing and pinning him to the wall behind him. One goon tried to swing at her, but it was so slow she didn't have to try to duck under it. She whacked him in the head with her Keyblade, knocking him out instantly. Apparently, even though these guys had their Auras unlocked, they had zero training of how to use them. Most likely to give them an edge against other criminals and gang members, but against trained Huntsmen, or better yet, Keyblade Wielders, they might as well be civilians. The last goon charged at her with his sword raised in the most telegraphed attack ever, so Ruby used her Semblance to give herself a quick burst of speed, slid under his legs, and punched him right in the most sensitive area of the male body. The goon fell to the ground in a heap, and Ruby could see that Guyliner couldn't hide the cringe at her literally low blow. Uncle Qrow did always teach her to use every advantage to win a fight. It wasn't her fault that men had one incredibly exploitable weakness. As Guyliner stepped out of the store, she could hear the distant sounds of police sirens. The man looked down at the defeated goons.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were," he muttered sarcastically. He took his cigar out of his mouth, dropped it on the ground, and extinguished it with his cane. "Well, Red," he said, "As much as I would love to bend you over my knee and teach you a lesson—"

"Ew," Ruby said.

"It looks like I can't stick around, so I'm afraid that this…" he pointed the end of his cane at her, and the bottom flipped up, revealing a scope, "is where we part ways." He pulled the trigger on the head of his cane, and a flare flew out the end. Ruby activated her Semblance to dash to the side, and the area she was previously standing was covered in a thick cloud of smoke. While she was dodging the shot, she quickly used her Form Change ability on her Keyblade, and when she emerged from the dust cloud, she was holding a large red-and-black sniper rifle. She saw that Guyliner was making a run for it, so she aimed down the sight and fired. To her surprise, he quickly spun around, and used his cane to deflect the bullet, before continuing to run towards a ladder on the side of the building in front of him.

Oh, he was good.

He must have had some sort of Huntsman training. If he was leading this robbery, then that meant he clearly must have been a dangerous criminal. Ruby quickly found herself growing excited at the idea of catching someone like that. If she apprehended such a hardened criminal, Mom and Uncle Qrow would be so proud! It would be her first real chance to change the world for the better as a Keyblade wielder! She looked over at the shopkeeper, who was stepping outside to assess the damage to his store.

"Are you okay if I go after him?" She asked. He nodded, and she took off after the criminal.

She quickly followed him up the roof, and saw him reach the other side.

"Hold it right there!" she yelled in a voice she was sure was full of authority. Yeah, she was awesome. He stopped at the edge of the other side of the roof, his back still turned to her.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he mumbled in annoyance. She pointed the rifle at him, and then she heard the roar of an engine. To her surprise, a Bullhead rose up from behind the building, and Guyliner jumped onboard before she could stop him. He turned around to face her, holding a red Burn Dust crystal in his hand. "End of the line, Red!" he shouted before throwing the crystal at her. She turned her Keyblade back into its base form as she saw him point his cane-that's-apparently-also-a-hand-cannon at the crystal. She focused intently, as the world around her darkened, and it seemed almost as if a targeting reticle appeared in her vision. Normally, this was how she used her Shotlock, but she had discovered another use for it.

She "locked on" and used her Semblance to launch herself straight into the Bullhead, taking Guyliner completely off guard. As she landed in the Bullhead, she landed a hit on his stomach with her Keyblade, sending him stumbling back. He was barely able to block her next attack with his cane, but she pressed on the attack, eventually driving him against the wall, pressing her weapon up against his.

"A little help here!" he called, and the Bullhead lurched a little bit. Ruby stumbled back, allowing Guyliner to step off the wall, and she was barely able to avoid a flaming fist headed right towards her face. She couldn't see the face of the person attacking her, save that it was a woman in a short, elegant red dress with black hair, with something colored amber glistening near her chest. Guyliner quickly scrambled to the pilot seat and sat down, meaning that the woman now fighting her was originally the one flying the Bullhead. She swung with her Keyblade, but the woman ducked underneath it and punched Ruby in the gut with another flame-coated fist. Before Ruby could react, the woman grabbed her by the face and lifted her up, holding her in front of the entranceway to the Bullhead. The hand gripping her face suddenly exploded, causing Ruby to feel her Aura take a huge hit and sending her flying out of the Bullhead to the roof below her. She landed on the roof and quickly recovered, looking back up angrily at the woman standing on the edge of the Bullhead. And then she noticed that the woman was staring at something in her right hand. Something bright red.

In a panic, Ruby felt her neck, and realized that she couldn't feel the leather strap that held her Wayfinder. She looked up and the woman was staring at the pendant intently.

"Hey!" Ruby shouted to her. "Give it back!" She crouched down, ready to launch herself back into the Bullhead, when the woman simply tossed the Wayfinder down to her. She caught the pendant in surprise, not expecting her actually just give it back. She looked back up at the woman, who simply stared at her, before the door closed as the airship left. Ruby could only watch the ship leave in confusion. Who was that woman? Why did she just give Ruby back her Wayfinder? Before she could dwell on it anymore, she heard a stern voice from behind her.

"You are in so much trouble, young lady!"

She had decided that the lady that yelled at her, despite being a Huntress, was absolutely not cool. At first she thought she was, but then she practically arrested Ruby and dragged her to the police station, where she was currently sitting in an interrogation room being berated by the mean Huntress. And she didn't even do autographs! How lame was that?

She was an older woman with bright blonde hair pulled into a loose bun, with stern green eyes behind thin-framed glasses. Her outfit was something else, though. It was just screaming "sexy schoolteacher", but in an "I'm trying way too hard to be sexy" kind of way. She was wearing a white frilly blouse with a keyhole cutout that showed off cleavage that would make Yang and Mom jealous (not Ruby, though. No siree). Below that, she wore a pencil skirt that doubled as a form-fitting corset, with black stockings and black, knee-high, high-heeled boots. Completing her outfit was a tattered looking cape that was black on the outside, and purple underneath. The fact that her weapon seemed to be a riding crop of all things, and Ruby wasn't sure if the woman was supposed to be a Huntress, a sexy schoolteacher, or a dominatrix.

Maybe all three.

"I hope you understand that your actions will not be taken lightly, young lady," the maybe-dominatrix continued to lecture the poor 15-year-old while looking at a tablet-sized Scroll. "On top of the property damage caused to the shop, you put yourself and others in great danger."

"Hey, they tried to rob me!" Ruby yelled. "I was defending myself!"

"I know," the woman said, her voice losing some of that fierce disappointment it had earlier. "That's why if it were up to me, you would be sent home with a very stern warning." Ruby looked up at the woman hopefully, wanting to just leave this place already. Couldn't they not hold her without charging her with anything, or something? She knew her rights. Vaguely. "But," Ruby's face dropped. "Someone would like to speak with you." The door opened, and in stepped an older man. She at least assumed he was older if the full head of gray hair was any indication. He was wearing a black suit with a green turtleneck underneath, and small round sunglasses. He was holding a coffee mug in one hand and…

Was that a plate of cookies?

"Ruby Rose," the man said as he stepped into the light, allowing Ruby to see his face. She recognized him. Headmaster Ozpin. He leaned forward, seeming to scrutinize her face. She leaned backwards uncomfortably. "You…" he paused, causing Ruby's discomfort to grow, "have silver eyes."

"U-Um, yeah," she stuttered uncomfortably, "That I do."

"So," he said, straightening up and gesturing to the tablet the dominatrix was holding, which was playing security camera footage of her fight with Guyliner's thugs. "Where did you learn to do this?"

"From my mentor?" she said awkwardly.

"You didn't attend a Combat School?"

"I went to Signal. Didn't stay long, though," she said, looking down sadly. "Stuff happened." Stuff she absolutely did not want to talk about right now, so she desperately hoped he wouldn't press the issue.

"I see," he said, and placed the plate of cookies on the table in front of her. She glared at the plate suspiciously.

This was a trap.

Didn't people use cookies in T.V. shows to lure people into a false sense of security? Well, she wasn't gonna fall for it.

…Unfortunately her hand didn't seem to get the memo, as the traitorous appendage picked one up and shoved it into her mouth. Within a few seconds, she had already devoured five of the delicious treats.

Darn her sweet tooth.

"It's just I've only ever seen one other woman wield a weapon like that before," he said. "A certain Master?"

"Tht's 'r," she said, but she currently had a cookie in her mouth. She quickly swallowed the treat and offered a short apology. "That's her. I've been training with her since I was really little, and now I can kick bad guy butt with the best of them!"

"So I've noticed," Ozpin said, putting down his coffee mug and taking a seat across from her. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing training under such a skilled warrior?"

Adorable? Okay, first he stared deeply into her eyes when he walked in and now he was calling her adorable?

"Are…you coming onto me?" she asked nervously. Oh, no! This was the trap! The cookies were to lure her into letting down her guard while he tried to take her in with his honeyed words and do all manner of unspeakable things to a poor, cute, innocent girl like her! The vile monster! No wonder his assistant was a dominatrix!

"…No," the maybe huge creep said, seeming surprised that she would ask such a thing. She was onto him. "I assure you, my intentions are not what you seem to be thinking. Let me rephrase the question: Why do you learn to fight?"

"Because," she said, visibly relaxing but still eyeing him suspiciously, "We live in a dark world. I want to do my best to make it bright again."

"You want to, what? Save the world?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As much of it as I can. My older sister's going to Beacon this year while I finish my training, and then we're going to go out into the world and help as many people as we can. It's all we've ever wanted. To help people."

"Do you know who I am?" he asked with a smirk.

"You're Professor Ozpin. The Headmaster of Beacon."

"So I am. The question remains: What would say if I offered you the opportunity to go to Beacon this year?"

"I don't think I can," she said.

"But you do want to?" Ozpin asked, eyebrow raised.

"I mean, it would be nice," she said nervously. "If I attend Beacon, then I won't have to be away from my sister. But, it's not really my decision."

"Well, I would very much like to have someone with your talent and ability at my school. Who's decision is it? Maybe we can work something out."

"You'd have to ask my mom," she said, and Ozpin's eyebrows furrowed.

"…I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"My mom," she said, confused at his confusion. "The woman that raised me. A lot of people have them." He recovered from his bewilderment.

"Right," he said, "Well, I would love to have a chat with your mother."

Ozpin was very confused. Who exactly was Miss Rose referring to when she mentioned her mother? It couldn't be Summer. She'd been gone 11 years at that point. He supposed he would have to wait and see.

Since the police had already contacted Miss Rose's family, they didn't have to wait long before this mysterious mother of hers was let into the door of the interrogation room. When he saw who walked in the door, everything made sense.

She was older, and her blue hair was longer and pinned behind her head, but the woman was unmistakably Aqua Eraqus, the mysterious Keyblade Master from another realm he met a decade ago.

Her outfit was different from the one she wore last time. She wore a form fitting black cropped halter top with a piece of black leather armor covering the left side of her stomach, leaving the skin on the right side exposed. She had a metal pauldron on her left shoulder, and her arms were left bare with the exception of thick leather wristbands around each wrist. It didn't escape his notice that she was wearing a golden band on the ring finger of her left hand. She had a single pink strap crossing over her chest, going over her left shoulder and under her right armpit. She had a chain with two star-shaped pendants around her neck. One was made of blue glass, and the other was made of blue and black alternating glass. She was wearing short black shorts and thigh-high stockings, and blue cloths draped over each hip with that were designed to look like cascading waterfalls. Finally, she was wearing those odd silver boots of hers. Her eyes widened when she saw him.

"Ozpin?" she asked.

"Hello, Ms. Eraqus," he said with a slight chuckle. He knew Aqua was Ruby's mentor, but apparently she was the girl's mother now, too. She had certainly been busy the last ten years. Taiyang must have worked his usual magic again. He made a point to look at the ring on her finger. "Although, that's not entirely accurate anymore, is it?" She looked at her ring as well.

"No, it's not," she said with a faint smile.

"So, then I should call you Mrs…?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee…

"Branwen."

And promptly started choking on it. Even Glynda, cold, stern Glynda, had her mouth hanging wide open. He could honestly say he was not expecting that.

"So, then, Qrow…"

"Is my husband, yes."

"Qrow got married?" Glynda asked, finally, if a little inelegantly, voicing his surprise as well.

"Yes," Aqua said in confusion. "Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," Ozpin said, recovering from his shock. "We're just surprised. So, how long have you and Qrow been married?"

"It was a year about two weeks ago." Ozpin felt a little guilty at that. Qrow had been gone helping Ozpin investigate a certain problem for the past few months, and because of that, the man had missed his own first wedding anniversary.

"Well, I suppose congratulations are in order," Ozpin said with a small smile.

"Thank you."

"Now, let's get to the reason why I called you here." He looked at his deputy, still in the corner of the room. "Glynda, if you and Miss Rose could give us a few minutes." Glynda nodded, and escorted Miss Rose out of the room, closing the door behind her. Ozpin and Aqua were left alone in the interrogation room.

"So, what's this about?" Aqua asked, crossing her arms.

"I have invited your daughter to attend Beacon this year." Aqua raised her eyebrow. "I am aware that she is two years younger than the age we typically accept applicants, but there is no denying her extraordinary talent."

"No, there's not," Aqua said proudly.

"However, she has informed me that it is ultimately your decision."

"It is. And my answer is no."

"That's what I was afraid of," Ozpin said with a sigh. "And may I ask why not?"

"She hasn't finished her training."

"Beacon is a school that specializes in training warriors."

"I'm aware of that, but unless there's another Keyblade wielder that I don't know about, she won't be able to finish her training there."

"Is there a particular reason why it's so important that she finish her training that would prevent her from attending Beacon? I would very much like someone of her talents at my school."

"She has an important job to do," Aqua said. "She has a dangerous quest she'll have to go on, and I want her to be a Master before she leaves. Beacon is a boarding school. I can't afford for her to be away from home for four years. It'll set her back too far." Ozpin looked at her thoughtfully for a few minutes. If she didn't want to be away from Miss Rose for four years, then he could make sure she wasn't.

"Well then, Mrs. Branwen, I have a proposition for you."

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me!" Yang yelled happily, pulling Ruby into a bone-crushing hug. "This is the best day ever!"

"Can't breathe," Ruby wheezed through her crushed ribs.

"Oh, I'm just so proud of you!" she exclaimed, backing up to give Ruby a chance to breathe. Yang had certainly…grown.

She wore her brilliant golden hair in a wild mane that reached all the way down her back. She wore a short tan jacket that left her midriff exposed (sure, show off why don't you, Ruby thought), with short puffy sleeves over a yellow low cut crop top, that had her flaming heart emblem over her left breast. She wore black fingerless gloves, and on her wrists were golden bracelets that could unfold into a pair of shotgun-gauntlets, called Ember Celica. She wore incredibly short black shorts with a brown half-skirt behind them, and brown boots that reached her knees. Underneath those, she wore orange socks, with the right one scrunched up and the left one pulled up past her knee. She also wore a purple bandana tied under her left knee. She was also wearing an orange infinity scarf, and completing her outfit was a chain under the scarf that held her yellow Wayfinder. The pendant itself sat in the middle of her chest, and drew attention to her annoyingly large cleavage. With how tight her shirt and jacket were, it looked like those puppies were ready to burst out of her shirt.

Not that Ruby was jealous or anything. Oh, no. Puberty had just been far kinder to her older sister than Ruby, despite Mom's insistence that she'd hit a growth spurt soon. She was just a late bloomer, she had said. Why couldn't she be a now bloomer?

Nope. Not jealous at all.

"It was nothing, sis," Ruby said, banishing her thoughts that totally weren't about her own inadequacy away.

"What are you talking about?" Yang asked. "It was incredible!"

"It really was," Mom chipped in from next to the girls. "You stopped a robbery and managed to impress the Headmaster of the most prestigious Huntsman Academy on Remnant. That's not nothing, sweetie."

"See?" Yang asked. "Listen to Beacon's newest professor," she said with a sly smirk towards Mom. Apparently, Professor Ozpin was, for some reason, so desperate to get Ruby to attend his school that he struck a deal with Mom, hiring her as a professor just so she could keep up Ruby's training. "Everyone at Beacon's gonna think you're the greatest!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ruby said, nervously fidgeting with her Wayfinder. She had gotten a new chain for it, made of metal this time, so hopefully it wouldn't burn away. "I got into Beacon two years early. I don't want people thinking I'm special."

"But you are special," Yang argued.

"I don't want to be singled out like that again!" Ruby practically yelled. "You know what happened the last time people thought I was special." That brought Yang and Mom's moods down.

"Ruby," Mom said sadly, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder while Yang took the other one.

"Sorry, Rubes," Yang said. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just, you're incredible and I want everyone to see how great you are as much as I do."

"Thanks, sis," Ruby said, happy to hear her sister's faith in her. "I'm just not sure I want to go through all that again."

"Listen, honey," Mom said. "Beacon's different than Signal. They won't have time for that petty nonsense. And the ones that do won't last long. All that matters is skill, and trust me, you have plenty of that. So keep your chin up and an open mind. It won't be as bad as you think."

"Thanks, Mom," Ruby said, nuzzling a little bit closer for a second before stepping away.

"Besides," Mom said, "If anyone here should be nervous, it's me. I have to teach a class. With multiple students. I've never done that before."

"Relax, Mom," Yang said. "You taught us just fine. Beacon's lucky to have you on staff."

"I guess," Mom said, letting out a deep breath. "By the way, if you end up in my class, it'll be 'Professor Branwen', got it? Don't want anyone accusing me of favoritism by having two students call me 'Mom'."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "We need to have some semblance of professionalism." She had the dopiest grin her face while Ruby and Mom just groaned. "Eh? Eh?"

"Just stop," Ruby said.

"Why did I even buy you that joke book?" Mom lamented.

"Hey, that was good!" Yang said, offended.

"No it wasn't," the rest of her family said in unison. Their conversation was interrupted by a hologram appearing near the window. They turned around to look at it, and Ruby recognized the person being displayed as the maybe-dominatrix from the police station.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon," the hologram said.

"Who's that?" Yang asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training needed to protect our world." The hologram faded out as the airship was overcome with excited murmuring. Ruby walked near the window, and looked down on the breathtaking view below.

"Hey, I can see Patch," she said. "I guess home's not too far away after all."

"Beacon's our home now," Yang said, putting arm around Ruby's shoulder. They heard a groaning sound, and saw a blond scraggly boy in white armor looking like he was trying to hold down his lunch. He stumbled around the ship, clearly having a lot of trouble.

"I'm gonna see if he needs help," Mom said, leaving them to check on Vomit Boy.

"Guess the view's not for everyone," Yang said, and then the sisters watched in disgust as just when Mom approached him, the boy decided that he couldn't hold his lunch anymore, puking all over her shoes.

"Oh, gross!" Ruby exclaimed.

She really hoped this wasn't a sign of how the next four years were going to go.

AN: And so it begins. Our little golden girl is headed off to Beacon, and Aqua is going with her as a professor just so she can keep training her.

I hope that I was able to get some of the changes across that I wanted to. Your feedback is much appreciated.

We also got to see a new form change for Ruby's Keyblade, a new spell, and a taste of some of her abilities.

So, I've got a question for all of you. Do you guys want me to compile a list of Ruby's spells and abilities? Or do you want to just be surprised as she uses them?

I would also like to state that I will be treating the Heartless a little differently than they are treated in canon. They will not be relentless like in the games for one reason: It would get old really fast if they interrupted every five minutes like in the games. There will be canon moments that pan out differently because the Heartless interrupt them, but I will be selective about it. I don't want to lean on them too much as a narrative device to change canon.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading. I'll see you all next time.