Shattered moon shining brightly, quiet streets eerie and haunting, scattered street lamps, and the gentle glow of light bleeding through the window blinds of houses being some of the only light past sundown keeping people from veritable blindness. That was the sort of night Ruby was used to on Patch. She wasn't in Patch now. She had traveled to Vale, the capital city after which the kingdom was named. Save for the everpresent moon, it was the opposite of her home.
The streets were packed, cars zipping to and fro, with people strolling along the sidewalk, some of them a bit too close for Ruby's liking. She quickly lost count of how many times she almost bumped into someone. Despite how dark it was, the street lights and the businesses were giving off so much light she didn't have any trouble seeing at all. She was desperately searching for somewhere to go to try and get out of the crowded streets. She looked through the window of one of the stores lining the street and her breath caught in her throat. She fought her way through the crowd and pushed her way in.
She had been wearing headphones, and now that she was inside, she took them off. The sound of her music blared throughout the store. The large, muscle bound man behind the counter started and looked right at Ruby. His skin was a pale green and speckled with what looked like scales. She paused it when she realized just how loud she was being.
"Well, good evening to you, miss! Welcome to Cold Steel!" He gestured to his array of weapons, in cases on the floor, and racked on the wall. Ruby's eyes could barely stay in one place for more than a moment or two before flitting over to something else that fascinated her. "Now, um… this place is sort of dangerous for someone so young…"
"Oh, it's fine!" Ruby fished her Scroll out of her pocket. "I'm a student at Signal Academy, so I'm trained and everything!"
"Ooh! Well, the store is yours to explore, then! I hope you like what you see!"
"Oh, I think I will!" Ruby skipped over to the wall of weapons, the sheer size of them mesmerizing.
Lances, javelins, broadswords, halberds, axes, all in different shapes, sizes, and clearly from different parts of the world. They looked so… vintage to Ruby. They were all just wood and metal. No nuts or bolts, or shifting parts like Crescent Rose. To think there was a time when people had no choice but to fight with these regular, melee only weapons. When they had to lug around full sized giant hunks of wood and metal that must've been terrible to travel with or fight through doors of any kind, instead of them being collapsable and so much easier to store. Ruby could barely believe there was a time when people's weapons didn't have guns baked into them!
"These are so cool…" She tried lifting one of them off the wall, but feeling the weight of a broadsword stopped her right in her tracks. "Oh… that is way too heavy… how did people use these things?"
She stepped away from the wall, resting her hand on Crescent Rose. She had made it, so it only made sense it was something she could actually wield. She loved looking around weapon shops, but ready made weapons just weren't as cool as custom made ones. So generic and impersonal! Ruby looked into a nearby case and saw muskets and rifles that looked like really valuable antiques. Then something hit her. She only ever used regular rounds for Crescent Rose.
"Oh, mister, are there any Dust stores around here?"
"From Dust Till Dawn is the closest one. It's a few streets down. Storefront is just poking out into the street. It's pretty hard to miss."
"Thank you!" She ran to the door and waved before stepping out into the street. "I'll come back one of these days!"
Just like the shop owner said, finding the Dust shop wasn't hard at all. The crowds were beginning to thin, which only made it easier. Ruby wandered around for a while, until she passed a glass that read "From Dust Till Dawn'' and looked inside. It was filled with cases of crystallized Dust and dispensers of liquid Dust towards the back of the store. This was exactly the type of place that Ruby was looking for.
Ruby walked in and started trying to find any Dust rounds. Or perhaps empty cartridges that she could fill with that liquid dust? She wandered by a rack of magazines during her search, and froze. Patch Island received issues of Weapons Illustrated magazine, and Ruby collected them. The one she was looking at, though, she had never seen before. How had she missed it?
She snatched it off of the rack and inspected it more closely. It was an old issue. A few months old. A special edition that she hadn't heard of? How was that possible? Now that it was in her hands, she couldn't resist the temptation to read it. She definitely didn't intend to, but she wasn't surprised if she ended up buying it by the time she was done.
Ruby was standing towards the back of the store, eyes focused on the edition of Weapons Illustrated she held. Her headphones were playing her music at full blast, so she was completely lost in her own little world. She was none the wiser to the group of sharply dressed men who forced their way into the shop.
They were all dressed in suits, but only one of them wasn't wearing all black and red. His stark white coat, fiery red hair, and bowler hat all making him stick out like a sore thumb among his fellows. He was smoking a cigar, and blew the smoke right into the face of the old man running the shop.
"Business must be booming, gramps! There aren't many places where night owls like me and the boys can get our Dust fix. They must flock right to you." He gestured towards the other customers in the shop, and his men surrounded them, brandishing guns and large, crimson blades. "If you don't want anyone to get hurt, you'll be a good boy and sit back while we help ourselves. You must be so close to retirement, so it would be a shame if you caused a scene and ended up in permanent retirement, wouldn't it?"
The civilians trembled in fear as the men started shoving dust crystals into bags, briefcases, and filling cylinders. All the while, Ruby was none the wiser. Her music was too loud. She didn't notice them coming in. She didn't notice them taking the Dust, because she wasn't anywhere near it. She didn't notice the armed man calling out to her. She didn't notice him walking up to her. She did notice him grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around.
"Can I help you?" She asked, removing her headphones. Then she saw the blade he was holding. "Oh…"
One moment, Ruby's shoulder was being crushed by the man's hand. The next, she was standing a foot or two back, Crescent Rose's muzzle pointed right at him. She pulled its trigger and the man flew back, crashing into a table. Now she noticed the people looking at her with pleading eyes, silently crying for help. Ruby nodded in their direction then looked ahead.
It was one of her science teachers at Signal who had actually explained her semblance to her this past year. Breaking herself down to her very molecules, Ruby could move at blinding speeds before reassembling herself. She didn't care too much for the science explanation; she just knew it helped her move fast and looked like rose petals. So she called it Petal Burst.
She felt a pleasant weightlessness as she sped towards the windows with the shop's name etched in it. She crashed through it, showering glass on the ground below before taking on a complete form again.
"Can't ignore me now…" she whispered, "they can't risk me getting the police…"
"A semblance?" The red headed man sighed. "Don't tell me we're dealing with a fucking Huntress… What are you idiots waiting for? Go deal with her before she can call for backup!"
The suits filed out of the store and surrounded Ruby as she shifted Crescent Rose into its scythe mode. Six of them. They looked imposing, but were they actually all that strong? Ruby could only hope they were more bark than bite. She was framed by two of them wielding blades. They both went in with wide swings.
Ruby Bursted back and thrust Crescent Rose's tip into the ground, setting its sight on the thief opposite her. She pulled the trigger and the man was thrown back by the force of the bullet hitting him. The two closest to Ruby rushed her. She vaulted over Crescent Rose, kicking one of them square in the jaw. When she landed, she wrenched Crescent Rose from the ground and slammed its heel into the second. Three of them down.
The others began firing on her and she Bursted out of the way of their gunfire. She landed behind one of them and kicked him towards one of his co-conspirators. She lunged forward and hooked Crescent Rose around him, bringing the tip of the blade to his throat. She was so much smaller that she was basically using him as a human shield. She heard no gunfire. She flicked a switch on Crescent Rose and spun, slamming its snath into him, sending him flying. She spun again, letting Crescent Rose slide through her hands, and swung. As it neared the man who had refused to fire on his comrade, the blade turned, giving Ruby just enough distance to catch him in the stomach.
She pointed Crescent Rose downward and fired. The recoil sent her soaring into the air. The final thug's eyes followed her up, and he started firing into the air. Ruby Bursted down and then straight ahead before the man could react. She came out of her Burst into a flying dropkick. She slammed into the man with such velocity that he flew through the hole in the window and crashed into the back wall of the Dust shop.
The man in the white suit was outside at this point, looking at the state Ruby had left his men in.
"Worth every Lien I spent…" He dropped the cigar and put it out with the butt of his cane. "Sorry, Little Red, but I don't have any more time to play. Now, I think it's past your bedtime, so why don't you be a good little girl and go to sleep?"
He lifted his cane and the cap on its butt popped up. Something came flying out and collided with the ground right in front of Ruby, blinding her with purple smoke. She burst out of the smoke, coughing, and began looking around for the man. She saw him ascending a nearby building by a cord attached to his cane. Ruby Burst up onto the roof after him. He looked back at her and smirked. An airship flew by the building, hatch open. He hopped in and the airship began flying away.
"Guess somebody wasn't listening!" He fished a vial of red dust out of his jacket and tossed it onto the roof. It rolled to Ruby's feet, and then her eyes darted back up in panic. "Nighty night, Little Red!"
He fired again with his cane, and Ruby prepared herself to Burst out of the way. There was never a need, though. She felt no blast. No heat. An older woman was standing beside her on the roof now, holding a riding crop before her as if it were a magic wand. A large purple glyph was protecting the two from the blast.
Up on the airship, the man tightened his grip on his cane when he saw the blonde woman standing below. "We've got a Huntress!"
His pilot left her seat and he took over. Ruby was stunned to see a young woman appear in the airship's hatch. It was obvious that there was someone else on the ship, but she wasn't expecting them to show themselves. She wasn't expecting them to be so pretty either. The young woman looking down on them looked like she could only be a few years older than Ruby. Her dark hair covered one of her eyes, but Ruby could still make out the amber in her exposed eye. Her short red dress certainly matched the man's suit, but what were they doing trying to rob a dust store?
When a bow materialized in the air and the young woman grabbed it, Ruby snapped out of her trance. She nocked several arrows, and Ruby fired Crescent Rose into the roof, sending herself shooting upwards. Ruby cocked Crescent Rose and pointed it at the young woman. She fired her arrows at the roof just in time to block the bullets with her bare hands. No, it wasn't her hands. Ruby could've sworn she saw small bursts of light, and smoke. The recoil sent her careening back down towards the roof as the arrows collided and then exploded.
The blonde woman evaded the explosions and then started to wave her riding crop around. The shards of the roof began twisting and turning in the air, enveloped in a purple light. They formed a large, concrete spear, and then flew at the airship. The young woman fired several more arrows into the spear, all of them exploding on impact. Each of its fragments just made their own spears and started snaking around the airship to strike from all sides. The bow disappeared and the young woman drew her arms in, the fabric of her dress glowing a vibrant orange. She threw them out and an orange flash of light burst forth, destroying the spears. Down on the roof, Ruby felt an intense wave of heat. The shards of the roof were flying back towards them, almost like small asteroids. The blonde woman waved her riding crop again, stopping the shards from crashing into them, or the streets down below.
While she was preoccupied, the airship pulled away and sped off. Right before it did, Ruby and the young woman shared a look, as she flashed a smug little grin. Ruby lowered Crescent Rose, now that they were gone. She watched in awe as the woman put the roof back together. She clearly wasn't with the Vale Police. The military, maybe? That pencil skirt and cape definitely wasn't their uniform, though.
"Yo-you must be a Huntress!" Ruby gushed. "I can't believe I got to see one in action so close like that! I-I don't think I've ever seen a semblance like yours before! Can I have your autograph?"
"My autograph?! Young lady, do you have any idea how much damage you could've done to the city?!" The vitriol in her voice made Ruby wilt. The woman grabbed Ruby's arm and started pulling her along. "You're coming with me to the police station right away!"
Ruby felt nauseous, hearing those words. The police station? Was she basically being arrested right now? What would her dad think? What would her dad do? She was sure she'd be grounded for a long, long time…
Ruby sat in an interrogation room in the Vale Police Department headquarters. The room was dark save for the singular lamp hanging above the table at which she sat. The huntress stood by the door, arms crossed, scowling at Ruby. She wanted to ask what they were waiting for, but the look in the woman's eyes robbed Ruby of any words she might have had. She just sat, and waited, feeling terrible.
Finally, the door opened. An older man walked in, a cane cradled under his arm, holding a plate of cookies and a mug. He definitely looked important, in his black and green three piece suit. His full head of gray hair definitely meant he was advanced in years, which just made Ruby more sure that he was a bigwig of some sort.
"Oh?" He asked as she sat down. "You… have silver eyes."
"Yes…" That was the first thing he noticed about her? "Yes, I do."
"And your name is Ruby Rose, Glynda tells me?"
"It is…" Ruby saw the blonde woman's glare and then focused on the man's much softer expression. "Sir."
Then he started to laugh.
"Professor Ozpin?" Asked the blonde woman. She was just as surprised as Ruby at the outburst. "What's so funny?"
"Don't you see, Glynda? Silver eyes… the surname Rose… the scythe…" He leaned forward and linked his fingers together. "You're Summer Rose's daughter, aren't you?"
Her mom's name was the last one Ruby expected to hear tonight. If he knew her, then…
"Y-yes, I am. And you're… Professor Ozpin? The headmaster of Beacon?"
"That I am. To think I'd meet you here of all places. Well, it certainly explains the things I saw in the security footage from the shops near From Dust Till Dawn. You were taught by Qrow Branwen?"
"I was!" Ruby exclaimed. She felt a bit more comfortable, now, for some reason. The plate of cookies still sat in front of her. She reached for one of them, and then started eating when neither of them stopped her. "He taught me everything I know about fighting back when I was young! And he worked with me a lot while I was back at Signal, too!"
"Signal Academy? Now what could you want from there?"
"I want to go to your school someday! My sister's going to be starting there soon, actually! We both want to be huntresses like dad, Uncle Qrow, and mom! And we know Beacon's one of the best schools for that!"
Ozpin took a long drink from his mug. "You know, your mother's Team STRQ was one of Beacon's finest during her time at the school. Summer, Taiyang, Qrow, Raven… they were a pleasure to teach," and then he asked, "Do you believe in fate, Miss Rose?"
"Fate?" Ruby wasn't quite sure what she was being asked.
"Are our lives just a series of happy accidents? The culmination of the consequences of all the actions we ever take? Or is there something grander to it all? Is it merely a coincidence that you, the daughter of some of my finest students, happened to be in that Dust shop right before it was robbed so you could get Glynda's attention? Mere weeks before the start of the school year? Right when your own sister is to be starting at Beacon as well? Or was our meeting tonight meant to be?"
"I… I don't know, sorry."
"No apologies needed." He took another sip. "I, personally, am a firm believer in the concept of fate. A mighty river, unrelenting in its flow, and we mortals simply subject to its whims. Whatever cosmic force runs the universe has been laying the groundwork for our meeting since long before either of us were born. Well, Miss Rose, if you want to go to Beacon so badly, why wait?"
"Professor, what are you saying?!"
"I'm not doing anything wrong, am I, Glynda? Breaking any rules?"
"Well, no, but-"
"I don't get it. I'm too young for Beacon," Ruby said.
"Professor Ozpin, in addition to being Beacon's Headmaster, also serves as Vale's Minister of Education. A single missive from him and your headmaster at Signal will authorize your early graduation straight away."
"See, you're even giving her a civics lesson already. I knew you'd think it was a great idea!"
"I wasn't-!" Glynda stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Of course, the choice is yours, Miss Rose. I will respect your decision, whatever it is you decide to do." He stood up from his seat. "That was all I wanted to discuss. You're free to finish your cookies and then head outside. Your father's been notified of your whereabouts, so he'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready. He'll know how to get in touch with me, if you decide to accelerate your education. Please reach out to me no later than a w-"
"Wait!" Ruby slammed her hands on the table and stood. "There's no need for that. I'll do it."
"Are you sure?" Glynda asked. "Do you think you're ready to skip two entire years of your education?"
"Professor Ozpin thinks I'm ready, doesn't he? And I really, really want to go to Beacon. For the longest time, I've wanted to follow in my mom's footsteps. If this means I can start protecting the people of Remnant two years earlier, then I'm going to put in the work to make sure I don't fall behind!"
"You… are a very determined girl." Glynda breathed. "The very spitting image of Summer."
"Very well," said Professor Ozpin. "I'll do my part, and you'll be receiving your official acceptance to Beacon Academy in a few days. I look forward to seeing you there, Miss Rose."
The two of them left, and Ruby was left with the plate of cookies. What had she just done? What had she just said? Glynda was right. Skipping two entire years? That was a massive decision that she just made on a whim. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but only in part because of the nervousness. The rest was pure excitement and adrenaline. She had achieved her dream, just like that, because of a chance encounter. Ozpin had left her the cookies, and now that she was a shoo-in for Beacon, it was as good a time as any for a little celebration, wasn't it?
Ruby walked out of the interrogation room, having finally finished the cookies. She walked into the lobby of the police station, and found Yang and their dad sitting with Zwei. When the little corgi started barking, the other two looked up. Yang's hug was more akin to a tackle, and their dad was right on her heels.
"Ruby, I was so worried!" Yang said. "What were you thinking?! You didn't have any backup or anything!"
Ruby couldn't bring herself to say anything. Not with the tears in Yang's eyes. She glanced back at Taiyang, hoping he could defuse the situation. He gave her a small thumbs up then wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulder.
"She was protecting people, Yang. The same thing you want to do; the same thing you know Ruby wants to do. The important thing is that she's still in one piece. For a Huntress, that's one of the best outcomes you could hope for after a mission."
"Well, yeah…" Yang sighed and smiled, though Ruby could tell she was still upset. "Then good work, Ruby. Already beat me to your first mission, huh? We ran into a guy dad knows earlier, too. He was the one you were talking to?"
"It's been a while since I saw Professor Ozpin. All he said was that you had some good news for us, but didn't say anything else," Taiyang said.
"Professor Ozpin? He…" Ruby's eyes trailed off for a moment. The two of them were going to find out eventually, so there wasn't any reason for Ruby not to mention it right away, even if it was going to be a major change for all of them. She looked both of them right in the eye, her excitement from earlier surging forth. "He said he'd enroll me in Beacon! Because of how he saw me fight earlier!"
"What?" They both said.
"Ruby, that's great!" Yang crushed Ruby in another hug, but their dad just stared ahead, a stunned look on his face. "Look at you, you little prodigy! You're going to be the talk of the town!"
"Please, no. That's the last thing I'd want."
"Just… be careful, Ruby," Taiyang told her. He gave her a quick hug, saying, "This is a big step. You'll be playing a lot of catch up, so it'll be overwhelming at the start, but don't let it discourage you." Taiyang checked the time on his Scroll, then shrugged. "Well, we're in the city, and this is worth celebrating, I guess. How about we grab some food?"
"I want Mistrali!" Ruby exclaimed.
The three of them left the police station, and Taiyang started leading his daughters around Vale in search of their dinner. Ruby was happy, but still apprehensive. It would take some time until she really processed everything that had happened. When it did set in, would she still be as excited? Or would the gravity of her being the youngest and smallest anywhere on Beacon campus just freeze her in fear?
Author's Note
Five chapters in five days probably isn't the norm for fanfiction by any means, and it definitely isn't going to be here. Like I mentioned in the note for V0.5Ch1, things are going to get a lot slower from here on out. A chapter a week on Fridays, or once every two Fridays, if I'm very busy. I don't want to space things out too much, and neither do I want to burn through my entire backlog before I have a substantial amount of what's to come written, leaving readers with a drought for some unknown period of time.
There probably won't be another note for some time, since what comes next is more or less my recreation of Volume 1, with some changes here and there. I hope everyone enjoys it. There might not be another author's note for some time, but if you want to ask any questions or discuss anything about what I've done, you're more than welcome to. I welcome the discussion and would be glad to engage.
