Main theme: Can't Trust Anybody Now by Jeff Williams
Arc Theme: Shadowkeep from the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep soundtrack
Theme: Respite from the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep soundtrack


Sometimes, I dream of you.

I know you, but you don't know me. I dream of you, but you do not dream of me.

Your dreams are occupied by names and places and people that you have never seen yet have always seen before, of twisting and contradicting truths and lies and mysteries and reminders that the truth is as changeable as you wish it to be.

You dream of heaven and hell and the in-between.

Me? I dream of what-have-beens, what-could've-beens, what-ares, what-shall-bes, and what-can-bes. I dream of set yet changing pasts, mouldable presents, and possible futures, all of them reminders that nothing is set in stone, and nothing is as clear as day.

Except for one thing. I know that there is one truth that is solid and told and true in this ugly, messy world.

No matter what, no matter your flaws or faults, you will always stand up for those you love.

It is so clear of a truth to me, that it might as well as a law of the universe in of itself.

I almost fell in love with you for it.

But will you be there for them, Jaune?

Will you be there for my daughters too?


The shuttle hold around them was stark grey, and lit an oppressive crimson red from the lights across the walls. They clung to the hand bars above them, swinging gently from side to side as it flew through the air, the passengers within doing their best not to move against the motion.

(And for one, to not vomit from it.)

Jaune and Ruby stood silently in the ship, not looking at each other, and paying more attention to the walls around them, as silently, one pair of guards stood in front of them, and another to their back, all of them in heavy, bulky looking white armour, with rounded helmets that held T-shaped visors that glowed a luminescent blue, large metal packs affixed to their backs, enlarged pauldrons, and with large, blocky repeating rifles in their free hands.

These were Providence Commandos, highly skilled mercenaries that, until they arrived at their destination, were their assigned bodyguards.

The ship that they were in, the Providence-made Noah-class attack/transport shuttle (At least, that's what he had heard it was called from Ruby during a rambling session when she had listed off the specs of both it and the Commandos that were with them to herself) Swayed from one side to the other once again, and Jaune did his best to take his mind off of it as his stomach churned. Turning his ear to the wall, he tried to listen to whatever was beyond the humming of the shuttle's engines around them, and beyond the walls that kept them tightly packed in.

Outside, he could just gently make out the pitchy whines of the Verity-class interceptors that were flying alongside them, as guard ships for their transport as they flew through...

Flew through the air.

Yeah, Jaune was seriously going to be sick.

He tilted his head to one side and let out a quiet groan, mentally smacking himself for not bringing along any of his motion sickness medication with him-

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO CORRECT IN THE FUTURE

-And then literally slapped himself to stop the voices in his head from trying to mess with him once more, Shut up, he thought to himself- To the voices in his head. They had been growing louder, recently. More coherent and invasive. He didn't know how to make them stop at all.

Ruby looked up at him for a moment, but then immediately looked away when he looked down at her. Neither of them had talked to each other since what happened a week ago, even during their time in the hospital, where they were laying in the beds opposite each other.

Not a word. Nothing at all.

For over a week.

A week.

Oh god, a week had gone by, hadn't it? It had been an entire week since the shooting at Gris Square. A week since he and Ruby had been almost killed by those psychos. A week since the voices in his head had gotten worse and worse for him.

A week since he had met Emerald again.

He really did want to find her, and talk to her proper. He really did. However, he just didn't know where she was to try and find her. Where in the city- In the kingdom- Was he supposed to look? And even then, Emerald had said that she would find him, not the other way around. What did that even mean? What was he supposed to do?

What was he supposed to do?

He sighed, and tried to divert his mind to other things, eventually thinking back to his week long stay in the Greater Valerian Medical Ward, laying in the bed in silence, along with his own thoughts. His own intrusive, invading thoughts, wrapping around his mind, and threatening to drag himself deeper and deeper into the darkness of his own growing insanity.

WE JUST WANT TO HELP

He smacked his head again.

A lot has taken place in Vale since the Gris Square shooting a week ago.

According to the news sources that Ruby had insisted on playing on the television in their room, trust in the Valerian police force had dropped to an all time low, almost nothing in fact, due to corrupt members of the police force assisting those psychos in attacking Jaune and Ruby, not helped at all by the uncovering of evidence in the ruins of the Valerian Central Banking building that suggested that entire swaths of the city police belonged in the pockets of the various criminal organisations running around Vale.

Those same swaths of cops resigned from their posts in mass, and others left the police force and went private. The Valerian police were reduced to a bare fraction of what they were before, the trust in them completely shattered.

Not only that, but because of the fact that all of their funds had been collected in the Valerian Central Banking building, and then subsequently destroyed in the robbery by another group of those terrorist guys, according to the news-

Who had also given those that attacked Jaune and Ruby, and killed so many people, a name.

The Black Hand, a former militia group that turned mercenary-terrorist, and were thought to have died out years ago, or something along those lines.

At least Jaune had a face for his enemy.

-The various criminal groups of Vale began to fracture and fall apart, in part to there being no money to keep their enforcers loyal. Because of this, smaller gangs began to make their moves across the criminal underworld, leading to an escalation in gang violence and criminal activity, of which the now greatly reduced police force was unable to successfully combat, due to both their small size and the lack of trust in them.

This has led to the council, as well as the average Valerian citizen, to trust more in the services of private security contractors, much like Ruby's dad's business, among others, as well as the Huntsmen themselves, but more than that...

They trusted in Providence.

Because of their actions at Gris Square, as well as their handling of the investigations afterwards, the Valerian council had begun to hire Providence mercenaries to fill in roles that originally the police had undertaken, such as patrols, responding to criminal activity, and conducting investigations. Their role in the policing of Vale was still very small compared to the other, more homegrown private security and intelligence companies of Vale, but there were already debates on how much power they should be given. The other companies came up sometimes, but most of the time, the televised debates were about Providence, and how much legal power they should be allotted over the city of Vale, with the debate even drifting to allowing Atlesian military personnel take over security roles rather than Providence forces.

Considering how Valerians tended to be fierce independents thanks to the Great War, this was an incredibly big change in attitude for them, even if it wasn't as big as they made it out to be.

Jaune knew hardly anything about Providence, but he figured that they had to be a really powerful organisation if the debates on TV that Ruby had been watching during their hospital stay were any indication. And considering the response to the Black Hand that they had sent to Gris Square that night, the fact that they could make their own weapons and armour, the fact that they had a personal fleet of ships made of their own design, and the fact that they had high tech mercs in power armour protecting them (At least, he assumed it to be power armour)… Yeah, they seemed like a big deal.

The shuttle shook, and began to lower downwards. He could feel the motion of it in his feet, as his ears picked up the whirling of the shuttle's wings folding upwards, before the ship landed on whatever ground was outside with a soft thud and bounce.

"We have arrived at our destination," said the filtered voice over the intercom. One of the two pilots, most likely, from their elevated position in the cockpit, "Engines are currently on standby-mode, and landing gear has been successfully deployed. Escorts are hovering over us as we speak. All systems are green, and the area around us is secure. Opening the ramp door now."

Around them, the shuttle hold's lights turned from red to white, forcing Jaune and Ruby to wince for a few seconds as their eyes adjusted to the sudden blast of light, just as the door ahead of them lowered itself, falling downwards and becoming a ramp for the passengers within, steam hissing out of the vents on either top side of the exit as the two Providence commandos ahead of Jaune and Ruby walked through in the world outside.

"Move it," said one of the two commandos behind them, and Jaune and Ruby just looked to each other for a moment, before picking up the bags next to them off of the ground, and walking out of the door.

Jaune stumbled on one leg. Though his ankle had fully healed thanks to the wonders of all of that aura junk, he still had a bit of a limp on it. Not to mention his motion sickness was still playing hell with him, even though the ship had stopped moving now.

He hugged his white cloak closer to him. The nurses had been nice enough to wash it clean of blood for him, as well as what little armour he had on him, but apparently everything else was beyond repair when it came to the bloodstains. Even his precious bunny hoodie had to be thrown away, which was a huge loss for him in of itself.

He had really liked that hoodie, thank you very much!

So, in the end, while he still had his cloak and armour, underneath it, all he wore was a tacky maroon-coloured shirt and plain black pair of trousers that had been given to him during his stay at the GVMC. Maybe he should've asked for a better pair of clothes whilst he was at the hospital.

Hell, he should've asked as many questions as he could whilst he was at the CVMC. Stuff about the Grimm, aura, semblances, things like that. But no, he hadn't. Honestly he had been too busy trying to deal with the voices in his head, growing worse and worse over the days as he laid in silence in his bed.

WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE

Please stop...

He stepped through the shuttle exit and down the ramp alongside Ruby, his eyes adjusting himself once more as he looked around the world outside, down the wide avenue surrounded by arching structures, flower gardens, red trees, and lampposts with flags hanging from them, leading up to what looked like an amphitheatre and the larger, much more imposing, massive buildings and estate behind them.

Beacon Academy, with its blocky dorms, asymmetrical architecture of points and edges, bridges in between towers, structures that looked more like churches than school buildings, and a central tower in the middle of it, with a pointed top, two asymmetrical points on either end of it, and glowing green spheres connected to a mass of clockwork just underneath its pointed crown.

It was massive, imposing, and a little bit oppressive.

And Jaune still needed to vomit.

Goddammit...

Jaune groaned in frustration, before shaking it off, and deciding to just head on into Beacon, and just hope that he didn't get lost. Maybe there was somebody around who already knew the place, and could show him around.

Or show him to the door out of here, a treacherous, yet reasonable, voice in his head went. He was saddened at the fact that he couldn't help but agree.

Jaune knew that he didn't belong here, in a place like this. Faking his transcripts into Beacon had been a poorly thought plan. His sister, Saphron, had said as much, and he knew that she was right. No matter how many times he would tell both her and himself that he would be fine- That he was in the clear- He knew that he had only gotten this far because of luck, and luck alone.

That, and possibly taking the place of someone who truly deserved a place at Beacon Academy, and not him.

He winced internally. He knew that it wasn't right that he was here, in a place of the valiant and the brave. He didn't have a fancy weapon- Merely an old sword and shield. He didn't have any training- Merely some practice at swinging and a strange sense of instincts that he had acquired over the years-

(For some strange reason, he had always had a knack for wielding Crocea Mors, knowing how to swing it and how to use it properly. It was strange, how his instincts seem to play perfectly into wielding his family sword. It was almost like he had used it time and time again.

Maybe that had something to do with the VOICES...)

-Did he have the backing of his family? No. They would always treat him like glass, like he was brittle and ready to crack at any moment. And did he have any formal training certificates? According to his transcripts, he did. In reality, not so much.

So what did he have?

He only had his sword, and the will to keep going. To honour his family. To bear their legacy, and to be worthy of them.

For all of the time that he had been with the Arcs, he had been told of the valiant adventures and heroics of his adopted family's ancestors. From the wartime charges of his great-grandfather, Julius Arc, to the awesome power of Reinhart Arc, to the leadership of Jeanne d'Arc, to the very first bearer of the Arc name, Joan of Arc. All of them were some of the greatest heroes of Remnant, and all of them had brought the greatest honours and valiant tributes to the name of Arc.

What had he done to honour this great legacy, that he had been taught and learnt so much about?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

No more.

He wanted to bring honour to his family name. He wanted to live up to the great legacy that they had established. He wanted to know that when he died, his ancestors would be smiling down upon him, pleased with the good work that he had done.

But now, most of all, he wanted to make up for the people that he had failed to save in Gris Square.

And so here he was, prepared to learn how to be a Huntsman, and most of all, how to be a hero.

Because he wanted to be able to look his long-gone family in the eye when he finally met them.

And if he died being a hero?

Then it would be a fine death indeed.

But he still needed to vomit.

MIGHT WANT TO GET ON THAT

Stop it...

He shivered in discomfort, and looked forwards to see three people standing before them. Three people that he hadn't seen in a week.

Headmaster Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, and Baobhan Sith.

Both Ozpin and Glynda seemed to have some sort of apprehension to the sight of the Providence commandos and their parked shuttle, as well as the pair of Verity fighters- With their arrowhead frames and twin pairs of vertical wings stationed on round pods with dual cannons pointing forwards, and twin engine pods that gave a yellow glow on their backs- But Baobhan just held a pleasant smile on her face as her silver eyes glistened in the morning sunlight.

"Thank you for bringing our two esteemed students to us safely," the woman in question gave the mercenaries a little curtsy, lifting up the skirt of her dress for a moment, before rolling her hand to them and going, "I shall transfer your payments over electronically. For now, our business is concluded."

"Yes," Ozpin himself said after a long moment's pause, putting aside his own apprehension as he said this, "Thank you, and... Until next time."

He looked supremely uncomfortable with those last three words.

The four commandos didn't say anything back. They just nodded their heads and walked around Jaune and Ruby, back into their shuttle, and raised the ramp behind them. Within moments, the Noah-class attack shuttle- With its blocky body, pointed rectangular top, twin wings that folded downwards at a forty-five degree angle, and segmented rectangular cockpit that sloped downwards and held twin-barrelled cannons on ball-joints at its ends- Lifted up into the air, folded its wings downwards, and turned itself around back to Vale, the Verity fighters flying alongside it as they soared down to the city below.

Ahead of them, Ozpin began to say something- Mostly to Ruby once again- But Jaune wasn't paying it any mind as he looked around, to the ship that were landing, and had already landed all around them.

The early morning skies of Vale were coated a brilliant orange and blue, the shadows of darkness retreating over the hills as the rested sun began to crest over the side of the world, illuminating the clouds and turning the sky from black to orange to blue. Down below he owls finished their nightly songs, and gave way for the birds of the morning to begin their own verses, creating a kingdom wide song of bird calls as the artificial lights of the city shut off and fell silent, whilst the world around them, in juxtaposition, began to fill with noise and a cacophony of sound, of people going about their lives in the uncertain times to come.

The airships in the sky, on their ways to Beacon, swam through the heavens like fish, their wings twirling in the air as they glided below the clouds, their underbellies reflecting in the glistening lake below as the water sparkled and shone in the morning light of the sun. Inside these airships, what Jaune presumed to be a new generation of hopefuls and aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses would likely be bantering with each other, waiting and hoping and smiling, feeling a heavy mixture of nerves and butterflies in their stomachs as they awaited the inevitable end to their journey, to, what should hopefully be, their new home.

All Jaune felt in his stomach was the need to vomit growing uncontrollably.

With a shakiness to him, he raised up his hand as his face turned green, and quickly interrupted whatever Ozpin was saying by asking, "S-Sir, I don't want to be too much of a bother, but do you know where the nearest bathroom is? Please?"

Ozpin seemed to look at him with... He didn't know what looked was on his face, and even Glynda held a subdued version of whatever it was, but Baobhan just smiled to him, and gestured down to the auditorium-looking structure in the distance, saying, "In that buildings over there- The auditorium- On the left hand side. Ask around if you don't know. I can take you there if you want."

"No, that's- That's fine!" Jaune said as he hurried past them, hand clamping onto his mouth as he began his wobbling run down the main avenue, "Really don't want anyone else to- Ugh!"

He decided to stop talking as he ran towards the auditorium in the distance. It might just make his churning stomach worsen more than it already was.

All the while, he missed the looks that many of those departing from the ships around them sent him and Ruby.

Looks of disbelief.

Looks of superiority.

Looks of anger.

And looks of disgust.

Not just at them...

But at the ship that they were brought in with.

THEN AGAIN, YOU WERE NEVER GOOD AT READING FACES


In that regard, Ruby Rose was quite the opposite.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

She could see the looks that the people around them were shooting her. They saw the ship that she was in. They saw her face from the news reports. They thought themselves better than her. She could see it in their faces.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Why would they think that? Just because she was shot at? Just because she was in a Providence ship? She knew that Providence wasn't a popular organisation amongst the Huntsmen, but still...

To be hated by everyone already, even when she had only just arrived at Beacon... It didn't leave much room for confidence in her future here.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Maybe she deserved their scornful looks. She didn't exactly help during the shooting at Gris Square. She hadn't helped. Her plan to save all of those people had failed... And she hadn't... She hadn't...

More stares. More judging looks. More scorn. More hate.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said as she interrupted Headmaster Ozpin's speech to her, as she raised up a hand for herself, and said, "I would just... Can I just have a few moments to myself? An hour, or something. I need to... I just need to go somewhere. Somewhere to think. By myself. preferably."

Ozpin looked apprehensive, "I am not sure if that would be the wisest option, Miss Rose. Especially with how you were targeted a week ago."

And she still didn't have answers about that.

Ruby faltered at his words, and was ready to acquiesce to his unspoken suggestion of just staying by his side for the time being, before Baobhan came to her rescue.

"Beacon is a safe place, is it not? She will be fine on her own. Her and Jaune Arc."

Ozpin looked to Baobhan with that same apprehension, most likely still unnerved from what happened last week in Gris Square, but let out a sigh, and turned back to Ruby, "Very well then, but remember to be at the auditorium in time for the opening ceremony and speech. And make sure to have someone with you."

Ruby nodded. She wouldn't have to look far for that latter point. Yang would find her easily, no matter how big Beacon Academy was.

But not right now, thankfully. She just... Needed some time to herself. Needed some time to think. Preferably away from the intruding eyes of all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses-to-be around her.

She sped away from the assembled trio of Beacon Academy professors, flying down the avenues and walkways and eventually corridors of Beacon Academy, eventually finding herself in... She wasn't quite sure where she was. Just in the corridors of Beacon Academy, with a trail of rose petals fading away into nothingness behind her.

She didn't know where she was exactly, but she didn't really mind that at the moment.

She had a lot of things to think about.

For instance, who was this Salem woman that had targeted her- Who had ordered the hit on her? The sniper-user leading the group that the media had labelled the Black Hand had told Miss Goodwitch that 'Salem sends her regards', meaning that this woman- This 'Salem' person- Had hired the Black Hand to attack her. They weren't after Jaune, that was for certain. Not with the way that they had treated him. They were explicitly after her.

All of that death was because of her-

But who was Salem? Who was she?

Another important question: Why had Salem ordered the hit on her? Actually, no, it wasn't a hit, was it? It was a capture order. He remembered the sniper-user pulling out a pair of handcuffs and ordering her to surrender. So why had this Salem woman ordered her captured in the first place? Why had so many people had to die for it? For her? Because of her? What was so special about her?

What was with Jaune's friend, Emerald? From how they spoke, it was clear that they hadn't seen each other for a long time, and yet... And yet Emerald had threatened to kill her- Actually properly kill her- When she realised that the Black Hand were after her. Put a hand to her throat and a gun to her chest, in fact. She was so protective of him. Why was that? What had he done for her in the past that demanded that level of loyalty from her- Such a level of devotion that it demanded she kill- Willingly snuff the life out of another- In order to protect the one that she loved?

What was Jaune's connection to Summer Rose? To her mother? Jaune said that he didn't know anything about her mother, but Ruby knew- She just knew- That there had to be more to it than that. More to him than that. Having a white cloak with an exact replica of her and her mother's insignia on it in gold- Exact and completely identical, down to the lines and curves and edges? That was too much. That was too much of a coincidence. Too much at all.

And finally...

Why was everyone still looking at her as if she had committed some great sin against them?

"You okay there, kid?"

Ruby jumped in place, and wheeled around quickly and also nervously, to see an older looking girl looking down at her with kind eyes, and a thick blond mane of- Wait, no, not Yang. This wasn't Yang This girl's outfit was completely different to her sister's, looking more like a nun than Yang's biker outfit.

Actually, that was wrong. It almost... It almost reminded her of a wet nurse, for some reason.

Well, a militaristic wet nurse at least, with kneepads, spaulders, leather boots, kevlar chest armour, and a helmet clamped to her side, tying down her black robes and white velvet silk, and leaving her hood pushed down, revealing her head to the world, and showing her hair, blonde, untamed, like a wild animal, though short, down to the neck, and forest green eyes that shone like a friendly predator.

If Ruby hadn't been paying attention, she wouldn't have noticed the lion's tail swinging behind her. But of course, there it was, distinguishing the stranger as a lion Faunus.

Ruby blinked, and then stuttered out to the woman, "Oh, er- Erm, I'm- I'm fine! I'm good, I'm... I'm okay."

The girl tilted her head to the side, and then offered her a casual smile, and-

Oh good gods, her teeth were sharp! They were like rows of talons in her mouth! Has she never been to the dang dentist before?!

-Said, "Ah, okay then."

Ruby gave an awkward nod to the girl with the very intimidating teeth, and looked back out of the window of the hallway around her, spotting the swinging-winged airships lifting up from the landing pads on Beacon's cliffside, and fluttering in the air, back down towards the city below, their mission complete, their passengers disgorged from their underbellies and leaving them bare once more.

"Anima."

Ruby looked to the girl dressed up like an army nun, and went, "Huh?"

"My name is Anima Senterra."

"...Er, l-like, the continent?"

'Anima Senterra' pouted, "There something wrong with my name?"

"Wha- No! No no no!" Ruby waved her hands in denial at the stranger, "No, I don't- I mean-"

"I know, I'm kidding," Anima smiled again, a teasing grin on her face as Ruby blinked, and then began to pout herself. She already got enough teasing from Yang to begin with. She really didn't need any more.

Actually, now that she thought about it, she did seem a lot like Yang. So much so that she might've mistaken this woman for her older sister from a distance. They were both the same height, had the same figure shape, had the same coloured hair, had a slightly sharper facial structure, had similar voices (They sounded mostly the same, but Anima's was much smoother, cooler, and reserved, whilst Yang sounded wild, untamed, and unrestrained), Heck, they even had the same boob size!-

(She never understood why Uncle Qrow had taught her how to tell a girl's boob size underneath a constraining outfit. Then again, he was drinking a lot from his flask at the time, so that might explain it.)

-In fact, the only differences between her and Yang that she could see were their eye colours, their outfits, their teeth, their hair length, and the fact that one of them had a tail and the other didn't. Everything else, they were practically identical.

The fact that she reminded her so much of Yang, down to the playful teasing, was kind of... It was weird, to say the least.

Anima looked down at her, "Hey, I've got to go, so..." and then looked back down at her, smiling as she then said, "See you later, kiddo", and then turned around and left, walking down the corridor of the airship, sparing one last glance down at Ruby, before moving around the corner.

Ruby found herself smiling. Hey, maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all-

"Oh... My... God..."

-Then again...

Still though, at least she had been right. She had found Ruby easily, no matter where she was.

A pair of muscular, but still gentle, arms grabbed her from behind, whipped her around, and then pulled her into the mother of all bear hugs as Yang Xiao Long, her older sister, seemed to make it her mission to smother her to death as she cooed happily and swung her side to side, "I can't believe it! My little sister is already making new friends! And all without me! Oh, I should break out the scrapbook! Take a picture and put it in a holiday photo!"

"Ugh, Yang, stop!" Ruby called out, though much more muffled than presented as she pulled her head away from Yang's unbearably large chest and scowled at her, "I swear, sometimes I think you're actively trying to kill me by doing that!"

"What? Of course not," Yang chirped as she finally let Ruby go and allowed her save her unfortunate lungs, "I was just happy- No, ecstatic!- At the fact that you were making a new friend all by yourself! Your first day at Beacon Academy, and you're already making a friend!" she then stuck her tongue out and gave her a thumbs up, "Keep this up, and you'll be sure to have a Yanging good time!"

"Ugh, stop. Stop with the puns, please," Ruby sighed, before looking back down the corridor, and going, "She approached me though. Anima Senterra. She approached me. I guess I just... Looked weird," there was a long pause, and then, "Oh gosh, she thought I was a weirdo, didn't she?!"

"Oh, c'mon, sis, I'm sure that she was just admiring how cool you looked!" Yang happily replied as she grabbed Ruby into a one armed hug, "You gotta have a little more self-confidence in yourself, you know! You're attending Beacon Academy now, thanks to old man Ozpin and his lot. That kind of attitude needs to kick the bucket, otherwise you're not going to get anywhere in life!"

"Right, thanks Yang," Ruby smiled, before going, "Honestly, I don't know... I mean, I know why Ozpin let me in. I can guess. I just- I'm not used to all of this. This doesn't feel right at all. Just- I don't know if I'm right for all of this. Ready for all of it. This just- It feels wrong. Feels wrong about how I got in. How people had to... Had to..."

She didn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to, as she looked down at her feet, and faced away from the window in front of her. Beacon Academy looked so peaceful. with the winds moving between its pillars and weaving around and through the rustling red-leaved trees. She didn't want to ruin it with her gaze.

Her sister wasn't having any of it.

"Hey, what did I say about that attitude?" Yang replied by flicking her in the nose-

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That was for that maudlin attitude!"

"I'm not even sure if that word was used in the right context..." Ruby couldn't find any humour in her words, "People have died, Yang. People died to get me in here."

"How many times do I have to say this?" Yang pointed out to her as she looked at her sternly, "What happened in Gris Square wasn't your fault."

"It was."

"No it wasn't. You couldn't have known that Roman Torchwick would rob the same dust store that you were in. You couldn't have known that those Black Hand douches were going to attack him at the same time, and you couldn't have known that they were targeting you specifically. I've said this, Dad and Qrow have said this, and even Winry has said this. You couldn't have known that what happened that night would've happened, and you couldn't have known where you were running to when you were fleeing from them."

I kind of did, though, Ruby thought to herself, remembering how she had been trying to flee to dad's business when the Black Hand were chasing Jaune and herself, before deciding to change the subject, and looking back down the corridor, "That girl. Anima-"

"Your new friend?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "I don't think I've made it that far with her, yet," and then continued with what she was saying previously, "Well, she... She looked a lot like you."

"Hm?"

"Yeah, she did. Got the same figure, same hair colour, same a lot of things, bar a few details. From a distance, I would've probably confused you two as identical."

"Huh," Yang said, "Nice. People are already picking up on my style. Well I like it! More Yang Xiao Longs in the world would just make Remnant such a better place!"

"Oh gods, I'm already thinking about it. So many dang puns..."

"Exactly! Picture it, Ruby!" Yang then made a dramatic sweeping motion with her free hand, "Puns. Puns everywhere!"

"Well, that sounds... Horrifying", Ruby said as she finally wiggled her way out of her sister's hold, and then went, "Ugh, Beacon is going to be a nightmare, I can feel it in my normal knees! I just hope that I can find the right team- Who are hopefully all weapon and cookie lovers as well- And... And..."

She trailed off and looked down the corridor, falling silent and still. Yang, confused, looked to where she was staring, and found her own mind stalling in place as well.

There was Jaune, making his way into the auditorium, Ruby having made her way into the corridors long before him thanks to her semblance. She saw him stumbling, fumble with his white cloak in his hands, and then run into the auditorium, his face as green as the grass around him.

"Jaune..." Ruby muttered to herself as she watched him go.

"That boy..."

"He looks like he's seen better day."

"He has mum's cloak."

Ruby blinked, and looked at Yang, "What was-"

"Get down to the auditoium for Ozpin's speech. I'll see you down there," Yang said as she turned herself around, her expression hidden from her younger sister, "I never got to ask him about that."

"Wait, Yang, what are you-"

But Yang was already gone.


Jaune Arc heaved for one last time into the public toilet, and then let out a queasy groan. From the sounds of it outside the cubicle that he had been occupying, other people had been entering in for the first few minutes of his violent puking, only to immediately leave upon hearing him vomiting his guts out.

He would've liked one of them to have asked if he needed any help, though. It would've been a nice gesture, at least.

Damn motion sickness, why did it have to get him now, of all times? Ugh, this was the worst way to make a first impression to his possible classmates in the future.

Possible... Possible classmates.

Depending on initiation.

Groaning to himself once more, he pulled himself out of the cubicle (Remembering to flush, of course), And then balancing himself against the sink with his own two hands, taking in deep breaths to regain some sense of control over himself, and then washing his face and mouth clean, and spitting it out into the sink and washing it away. Probably wouldn't help that much, but still...

Even so, with all of that done for now, time to get out of the toilets, and into the wider world.

EVEN IF THE WIDER WORLD DOESN'T WANT YOU?

Huffing out a loud breath, he slapped his cheeks for good measure, and decided to just head out and take it as it was (Depending on what 'It' even was, after all). Best to make sure that he was as far away from them as he possibly could be.

However, as he left the men's toilet, bag off of the floor and in hand, through the thin corridors and into the wider hall of the auditorium nearby, with a scant few people already populating it, and growing by the second a dry voice called out to him with, "Ryuzu heard all of that."

He jumped in place, and looked to the side to see a pink haired girl with piercing red eyes, dressed in a... Maid uniform? Yeah, a black and white maid uniform, with a snowflake emblem in the middle, between the upper half of her chest, and a sardonic expression on her face.

"Ryuzu heard all of that," 'Ryuzu' repeated, "Heard you coughing up your stomach like a demon beast."

"Oh..." Jaune muttered awkwardly, before, with a suddenly hopeful note in his voice, he then asked, "Were you... Were you keeping people away from here? For me?"

"No, Ryuzu was listening."

"...Wha-"

"Ryuzu likes to listen to people that she thinks are her lessers in pain."

"...Who do you-"

"Everyone that is not Ryuzu."

"Oh..."

I LIKE HER ALREADY

"There you are, Ryuzu!"

The both of them turned to the side, to see a white themed girl with platinum blonde hair tied into a ponytail (Honestly, probably the prettiest girl that he had ever seen) Marching towards them. Jaune readied a pickup line off the top of his tongue, but was stopped his tracks when the white dressed girl grabbed the maid girl by her arm harshly, and went, "Where have you been!? I've been looking everywhere for you! Do you know what it looks like for a Schnee if one of their own staff goes off on their own little tryst?!"

"Er-"

"Zip it, boy!" the white themed girl pointed a finger up at him, before turning back to presumably her maid, and going, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Ryuzu was listening to barf boy puke his guts out."

"Hey..."

"What?! Why?!"

"Ryuzu likes to listen to people that she thinks are her lessers in pain."

"Who do you think are lesser than you, then?"

"Everyone that is not Ryuzu."

The white themed girl's eyes narrowed.

"Or Miss Schnee."

"Better," the 'Schnee' girl snapped, before grabbing Ryuzu again by the wrist, and dragging her away, "Now come on, we have things to attend to!" Ryuzu spared one last glance down to Jaune as they were leaving, before shaking herself out of the Schnee girl's grasp, and walking with her, to her side.

…Like he said before, that was the worst way to make a first impression.

Sighing to himself, he swung his bag over his shoulder, and moved to zip it closed, when he saw-

"There you are."

Jaune was broken out of his thoughts by a woman with invading his vision, a sharp, angry look on her face, and eyes that had changed from lilac to red, flickers of light lifting off from her mane of hair-

Wait, how was she able to do that, with her eyes and hair? Was it another one of those semblance things-

Wait, he knew this girl. At least, he knew who she was.

"You know who I am?"

Sort of, at least, as he blinked at the woman, and said, "You're- You're Ruby's sister, right? Your- Your name was-"

"Yang Xiao Long."

"Oh, er, o-okay then-"

"I want to know about Summer Rose."

AH... SO IT'S BACK TO THAT, THEN

Jaune swallowed as he looked away from 'Yang's' piercing gaze, and said to her, "I-I already told Ruby, I-"

Without a moment of hesitation, Yang grabbed him by the shoulder, and-

{SLAM}

"Augh!"

-Forced him harshly against the wall.

"Already told her what?" was Yang's question as her eyes stopped flickering and stayed on red, "That you don't know anything about it? Is that what you said?"

"Y-Yes!"

Her eyes narrowed, "You sure you don't know who Summer Rose is? That you're not just playing dumb? I'll be more than happy to jostle a few memories loose, if you'd like," to her sides, her free hand flexed, and then balled into a fist.

"I-"

"Don't give me that 'I have no idea what you're talking about' horseshit", she growled out, showing her teeth and bearing her fangs, "You're wearing the same type of cloak as her, same colour as well. I'd put it down to a coincidence if you didn't have the exact same fucking emblem as her stapled to your back," she walked right up to him, and her eyes invaded his vision, burning so bright red that they were almost glowing, "Ruby's mother... My mum... She's been missing for more than 10 fucking years. She's presumed dead. And yet here you are, with the same fucking getup as her, and the same fucking rose emblem."

Her hand reached over to Jaune's shirt collar, and grabbed hold of it.

"So you tell me, Jaune Arc: Do. You. Know. Summer. Rose?"

There was an even longer pause between them, before Jaune looked at her pleadingly, and said honestly, "I swear, Yang, I've- I've never heard anyone called that before, and I've never met anyone with a white cloak or rose emblem before- I feel like I should. I feel like-" he rapped his knuckles against the side of his head thrice times, and then continued, "-I feel like I should know that name. I feel like deep down, I know that name from somewhere, but I..."

He looked at her with an honest expression of confusion and fear.

"I don't know. I swear, I don't know."

The world around them seemed to freeze, as if time itself had been paused. There was nothing to be hurt except their breathing, which itself was soft and shallow, barely a murmur against the silent wind.

Yang paused, and closed her eyes, tilting her head down, and taking in several breaths.

Her hand shot out to his throat and squeezed, forcing him down onto his knees as her other hand wheeled back for a punch that never came, her knuckles whitening under her glove as her eyes opened up, burning such a crimson red. She was choking him, so much so that he could hardly breathe.

"If you're lying... You die. Remember that."

And with that, Yang let go of Jaune's throat, and let him fall to the floor, gasping for air as he massaged his neck, not having enough time to look at his former captor, before finally looking upwards from the ground, and seeing that Yang Xiao Long had long since strutted away, leaving him all alone in the courtyard.

Just like always.

He tucked his knees to his chest, and sighed to himself.

"Great job, Jaune… You blew it again..."

He pressed his head against the wall, and frowned.

WELCOME TO BEACON, I-

"There you are."

-SUPPOSE

{KICK}

A foot kicked against Jaune's side, and forced him onto the ground with a grunt.

WHAT NOW?

ANOTHER JERK?

Jaune went to hit the side of his head again by instinct, but was stopped as someone grabbed it and lifted it up, revealing itself- Himself- To be a large, bulky boy in steel-coloured armour- Sans any helmet- With golden trimming, the insignia of a bird on his chest, and holding a smug grin on his spiky ginger-haired, indigo-eyed head.

He looked like a jock, and his attitude was definitely lending itself to that look as well.

AH, SO THIS IS THE SCHOOLYARD BULLY

HOW CLICHE

"So, you're the guy who lived through the Gris Square shooting?" the jock guy laughed, "You don't look so tough to me."

…What? Was he... Judging him for surviving a terrorist attack? Mocking him? Sizing him up? Why would he do that? All that he did in that fight was conk himself out trying to save Emerald.

"I-"

{PUNCH}

A line of spittle flew out of Jaune's mouth as he gasped in pain, falling to the floor and holding his stomach as the realisation that the ginger jock boy had just sent a haymaker into his torso came over him. He punched him in the stomach. Why would he-

"Fucking Providence lackey."

"Wha-"

{KICK}

A boot to the head, and this time he was down on the ground, blood dribbling from his nose as his aura moved to heal him in a flame of white light.

He made no move to fight back. He was too dazed. Confused. What the hell was-

"They mock us, Providence does. They mock us Huntsmen. They humiliate us, tarnish our pride, and make mockeries of us, and you have the nerve to fly in on their ships- Parade yourselves with them- And pretend that you're one of us?"

What did that even mean?

"What does that-"

{KICK}

Another kick to his side, whilst he was still on the ground.

"-Augh!"

"They mocked my family! Said that we were nothing! Less than nothing!"

COME ON, GET UP

FIGHT BACK

No one else around them was moving to help. They all just stood around and watched.

Save for one person.

The jock lifted his foot up high again.

"This is what you get, lackey. This is what you-"

{BANG}

A blue-tinted blast of light was shot out, and embedded itself into the ceiling above.

Everyone jumped in place, and turned to see where the shot had come from, and spotting a completely armoured figure- A woman, judging from the posture and how she stood and looked- Dressed in form-fitting, gunmetal black armour with no defining features on it save for a few scuffmarks covering them, and a belt-cape combat skirt around her waist and separating at the front of her crotch, coloured black with a gold outlining, and holding two holsters for handguns. Her legs were covered in armour, as were her arms, though much of it was hidden behind the long trench coat that she wore over her body, though she did wear a blocky set of pauldrons on her shoulders, each one holding a golden insignia of two pistols crossing together with sharp crescents on the outside, saturated by a blue background. Also on her arms and over her sleeves were brown-leather straps for knife holsters, as well as brown leather pouches on her metal belt, and leather pouch straps on her lower legs as well, breaking up the monotonous blank black armour with the occasional dull burst of colour, as even over her chest plate were thin brown straps with ammo pouches threaded into it. The backpack strapped to her back held blinking and still red and blue lights in them, as well as a pair of small, asymmetrical antennas on either side of it, the one on her right bigger than the one on her left, and the helmet on her head was formfitting and just as blank, with a frowning rebreather in the front, a black domed top with a rangefinder built into the side, and a thin visor that glowed a cold blue.

The handgun that she was holding- An ML-17 heavy pistol, from the looks of it- Was still smoking at the barrel as she lowered it from the ceiling above, and held it low as she walked towards the downed Jaune and the jock standing over him.

"Enough," her voice came out slightly tinny and muffled thanks to the filters in her helmet, but the bullet that she had shot into the ceiling caught their attention enough to ignore it as she tapped her gun onto Cardin's chest thrice times, and said, "Go be a jock somewhere else. You're done here."

The jock definitely took offense to that as he pointed to her, "Who the hell do you think you are? Who the hell do you think I am to take orders from-"

The woman didn't care for it.

She flipped her gun around in her hand and-

{THWACK}

"AUGH!"

-Pistol-whipped the jock in the head, blood erupting from his nose as he clutched his head in pain, just as the woman holstered her handgun in its sheath on her waist, and grabbed his arm with both hands, retching his own hand from his face as she swung him around with his arm like he was a sack of meat-

{SLAM}

"UGH!"

-And slammed him into the wall, a splatter of blood left in a large crack in the concrete as the jock dropped to the ground and clutched his face in pain, red liquid dripping between his fingers as he did so.

"Get out of here," the woman said, sweeping her helmeted gaze across both the jock and all of the people around them as she then said, "I trust that no one will be reporting this to anyone, correct?"

No one answered her.

"Good," she said, before picking Jaune up off of the ground, "C'mon," and pulled him away from the writhing jock on the floor.

Once they were on the other side of the auditorium's vast hall, now swelling with more people than before, almost to the brim in fact, Jaune looked to the woman and said, "I, erm, t-thank you?" he didn't mean to phrase it as a question, but considering what she had done to help him out, he wasn't sure if he should even thank her for it or not.

"No problem," the woman said as she pulled her helmet off of her head and clipped it to her belt, revealing herself to indeed be a woman, with a fair-skinned face, piercing blue eyes, and messy ear-length, onyx-coloured hair.

Jaune did think that there was a problem, though, "Wait, wouldn't that jock guy just tell on us and-"

"No, he won't. I know his kind," the woman retorted as she adjusted the sleeves of her trench coat, with her armour underneath and her brown knife holsters over them, "They're prideful creatures. Afraid of weakness. He wouldn't dare admit the fact that he got his ass kicked by anyone, least of all a teacher, in fear of looking weak or incompetent. And the others know when not to interfere in other people's business as well."

"That's not... That's not a reassurance," Jaune said to the woman, "I mean, what's stopping him from just-"

"Beating the crap out of you in secret? Don't worry, I won't let him."

Jaune blinked, "Why?"

"Why not? It's common decency after all."

"'Common decency'? You cracked his face against a wall! There's a giant crack and a bloodstain there! People are going to ask- The teachers are going to notice!"

"Don't worry about it. This kind of roughhousing is a lot more common in the academies than you would think," she shrugged, "And again, the others won't say anything about it to the teachers as well. They may spread a few rumours, but it's not like those don't happen all of the time as well."

The woman smiled, and held up her hand to him.

"I'm Nana. Nana Shaula."

Jaune looked down at the hand, and then gave her a reluctant smile as he took her hand into his, and shook it.

"I'm Jaune Arc."

Up on the stage ahead, Ozpin walked forwards, looked over the crowd with a sweeping gaze, and then began his speech with, "I'll... Keep this brief."

As Ozpin began his speech, 'Nana' looked to Jaune, and smiled.

Jaune could only just sigh to himself.

WELCOME TO BEACON


Reviewer response time:

bosterflaming: Yeah, their connection to the Cult is very... Complicated, to say the least. And Emerald and Mercury are in the worst kind of position when it comes to Cinder. No matter how terrible their attitude is in canon, they really don't deserve the lot that they got in life.

Xealchim: The good guys have no idea how stacked the board is against them, and it is going to hurt.

ReDestrobo: A lot of the political intrigue and ideas that I have here were actually inspired by the Star Wars prequels, as well as the Clone Wars. I always found the politics within that era to be very interesting, and it just translated into this story as well.

VV: Yeah, Emerald and Mercury have to go through some hell in order to get to heaven. And as for the other questions... Well, I can't really give any answers right now. You'll just have to stick around to find out!

Fyr RedNight: Well, here it is! Looking forward to the next one! Hopefully it won't take as long to come out!

firewyrm2: The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all... Though that works the other way around as well.


You know what the best part about having an original script is? I get to reuse a lot of the previous dialogue and descriptions in them, as long as I modify it to fit into the newest draft as well.

Anyways, here is the newest update to the story. The next few chapters will probably have a lot of recycled content in it, so be ready for that, but regardless, here is the beginning of Jaune and Ruby's first day in Beacon.

Not the best start, really, what with Yang, Cardin (Yes, that was Cardin, obviously) And whatever is going on between the Huntsmen and Providence.

All of which will be explained soon, trust me.

But anyways, I will be leaving you for now. So, please leave a review, follow and favourite, and I shall see you all next time!

Titanmaster117 out!