A/N: Once again remastered.

Disclaimer: I own only Blanc "Silver" Argent. And Red pretty much owns him.

-RWBYS-

-Chapter 2-

-Puns, Pranks, and Pals-

The first thing anyone heard as they exited the airship was the shout of "Go forth, young man, and throw up away from the station!"

Followed almost instantly by a shout of "Silver!" and a solid, metallic sounding thunk.

At the source of the commotion was a short girl in a mid-thigh length red-and-black dress, glaring at a silver-haired boy while rubbing her hand. The boy was doubled over, laughing heavily. Nearby, an older girl with long, curly blonde hair watched with barely concealed amusement.

"What, did you just forget I'm wearing armor there?" Silver managed to ask between gales of laughter. Clutching at his stomach, he did his best to stop laughing.

"Shut up, Silver! You were being a jerk!" Red muttered, her cheeks tinted with her namesake color. It should also be noted that her hands were inching towards the collapsed HCSS on her back.

"You know, Sis, it was actually pretty funny!" cut in the blonde, grinning mischievously.

Glancing away from the other two, Red mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'traitor.' "Well, it was sort of funny, I guess. But in a really mean way!" Red admitted, frowning.

Silver took a deep breath, straightening after picking up his knapsack, which had fallen to the ground when he began laughing. Grinning cheerfully, he walked over to Red. He then proceeded to poke her in the forehead, saying, "I am mean, Red! Haven't you figured that out yet?"

Red glowered at the cheery teenager for a moment, then looked outside.

Silver blinked at the female's abrupt one-eighty in attitude. "Come on, let's go!" Almost floating with excitement, Red scampered out of the open hatch.

Sighing, the lanky silver-haired boy glanced ruefully at Red's sister. "Yang... Is Red always this...er... Bipolar? Excitable?"

Staring after her sister, Yang giggled and replied, "No, she's just, you know, nervous and excited. She'll calm down sometime." Making a gesture for Silver to follow her, she followed her sister's example and rushed outside.

Silver pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, wondering if everyone at Beacon would be so easily excitable. Shifting his knapsack's strap so it rode higher on his back, he ambled after the sisters. Exiting into the bright sunlight, he winced as his pupils shrank. When they did and he could reliably see again, he found the two sisters staring in amazement at the school. Privately, he admitted that it was very impressive.

Grinning evilly, he flickered up behind the two sisters. Silently, he leaned forward until his head was located just outside their peripheral vision. Still undetected, he tapped the two on their shoulders. The two spun, though with very different intentions.

Red, who was more or less used to Silver's rapid and aggravating appearances, or at least knew him well enough to recognize it would be him, squeaked and spun around to glare at the offender. "Silver, will you just cut it out?!" It should be known that she was blushing slightly.

Yang, on the other hand, was unfamiliar with Silver's personal quirks, and assumed that the poke was a precursor to a more serious attack, reacted violently. She did spin, but didn't stop there: she used the momentum of the spin to drive forward in a vicious jab aimed at Silver's chin.

Of course, given Silver's reactions, it never hit. In no hurry to be hit by Yang's superhuman strength, he bent backwards, torso becoming parallel to the ground. Once Yang pulled back for another strike, he threw himself backwards, planting his hands on the ground and launching off of them. He flew back a full eight feet, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees in midair. He landed easily in a kneeling position, one hand on the ground, his coat's long tail flaring dramatically.

"Geez, Yang. Do you always react like that when someone's behind you, or am I just that special?" Silver joked, brushing his messy silver hair out of his face.

"Oh, sorry, Silver! I didn't know it was you." Yang sounded apologetic, if only barely.

"It's your own fault, Blanc!" Ruby scolded, using Silver's real name and trying her hardest to sound stern. All that did was make the slightly suicidal swordsman chuckle. "If you'd stop sneaking up on people, you wouldn't get attacked by accident!"

Silver smiled slightly and did something that nobody expected. He flickered out of existence, reappearing behind Ruby. Bending down so only she could hear him, he whispered, "Ah, but if I did that, I couldn't see that adorable blush of yours anymore!" Grinning smugly, he stepped back to avoid any possible counterattack.

Ruby was trying to figure out what, exactly, had just happened. Though she didn't know it, her face was the exact same shade as Silver's eyes: deep, blood red.

'Okay, Silver, what the Ash was that? Adorable?' the swordsman scolded himself mentally. 'Well, she is, but... saying it to her face like that?! Not acceptable!' Peering more closely at Red, he mumbled, "I think I broke her."

Yang, meanwhile, was watching the exchange with growing delight and barely suppressing squeals of joy. 'Aw... Sis already has a crush!' she thought, observing the expression on Ruby's face: silver eyes open wide, lips slightly parted, and a massive blush staining her pale features. Then she looked at Silver, and the delight quickly turned to suspicion. 'If he hurts her or is just leading her on, I swear I'll rip his balls off and feed them to him!' With that less than pleasant thought, her previous smile became a bloodthirsty grin.

Silver shuddered as he caught a glimpse of Yang's face. Now afraid for his health, he looked around desperately for a way to divert the sisters' attention. Pointing towards the courtyard, he carefully suggested, "So it looks like we need to go that way. See you later." Not waiting, he quickly marched towards the indicated region of the school.

Of course, the two sisters gave chase, catching up at the entrance arch. Silver, having taken the brief respite to regain his typical demeanor, was casually leaning against the aforementioned arch.

Instead of rejoining the two girls, though, he simply watched and listened.

As soon as Ruby saw the people gathered in the courtyard, she became so animated that Silver checked around for a needle. 'Surely, nobody can be that cheerful, at least not without drugs of some sort,'he thought, shaking his head at Ruby's antics. Still, though, he stood on the sidelines.

"Ohmygosh, Sis! Look!" Ruby was clearly on some form of drug, as she had an almost... cartoony look about her. "That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" With a dreamy look on her face, she walked forward with the gait one would normally associate with a sleep walker. Yang sighed, grabbing her sister by the hood and preventing her from going any closer to the weapons. With an ease born of long practice, she reeled her sister with a sharp tug to the captured fabric. "OW!"

'She gets this worked up over weapons?' Silver blinked in surprise. He pulled out the hilts of his own weapons, looking them over. 'Huh... These guys are getting pretty worn out. I need to start on some new blueprints.'

"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons." Yang said in a teasing, yet bored voice. Unless Silver misread the situation entirely, this sort of thing was a fairly common occurrence.

"Just weapons?!" Silver almost broke down in laughter at the level of outrage in Red's voice. 'So, to Red, suggesting a weapon is just a weapon is the same thing as telling me orphans aren't worth anything. Good to know.' Ruby continued her monologue. "They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"

Silver blinked again, staring at his swords. 'A part of myself? I've never thought of these like that; I just made them to fight with.'

Yang sighed wearily and demanded, "Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

Ruby pulled out her scythe-rifle, expanding it and laying a loving hand on the shaft. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones! It's like meeting new people, but better..." She trailed off, glaring defiantly at her sister.

Silver sighed, triggering his twin blades. The parts expanded, unfolded, locked, and in a matter of seconds, he held his familiar single-edged longswords. Sadly, he contemplated the well-worn, little-loved swords. 'These things have saved my life more times than I can count, but I've never really felt any connection to them. I made them for practicality, not so that I'd feel comfortable with them...' Nodding to himself, he stowed the blades. 'Time to make another pair. This time, though... I think I'll go a little overboard. Hell, I made these in one night in a crappy workshop. Beacon's sure to have better facilities. Hm... If these turn out the way I want, they'll need a name...'

For reference, Silver was, is, and forever shall be one of the world's finest micro-mechanical weaponsmiths. For him, creating a unique weapon in a state-of-the-art place like Beacon would be a labor of a few hours. And of course, he was the fastest being alive.

Shaking off his thoughts of weapon designs and resigning himself to a long, sleepless night, Silver turned his attention back to the two sisters, smiling slightly at their antics. Yang was grinning playfully, reaching over to her sister's hood and jerking it down over Red's eyes. "Ruby, come on! Why don't you try to meet some new people, maybe make some new friends? I mean, Silver's your friend, but he's... just...He's too weird to be a normal friend! Go for normal!"

Silver snarled silently in the confines of his own head as his hands twitched. Specifically, twitched towards the hilts of his swords. Eyebrow rising and a rather insane look taking over his face, the swordsman mentally roared, 'So I'm not friend material, is that it?! You stuck-up cheerleader!' Deep in Silver's subconscious mind, something violent began snarling.

Ruby pulled off the hood after a few seconds' struggle, scowling at her sister in a mixture of indignation and actual anger. Retracting Crescent Rose, she replaced it on her lower back. "Yang, Blanc is a bit weird, yeah, but he's a good guy. He's my friend." After a moment, her face became confused. Tilting her head to one side, she asked, "But... why would I need friends when I have you and Blanc?"

Blanc smiled softly at the slightly younger teen's words. Unlike most of his other smiles, which left his eyes untouched, this one reached his eyes. A second later, he had to flatten himself against the arch to avoid being trampled by a stampede of older teenagers. Wincing, he watched as they surrounded Yang, who hurriedly said, "Well... Actually my friends are here now, bye!" The collection of older teens then charged past Ruby, spinning her around rapidly and raising a cloud of dust.

'Wait... We're on top of rocks. Where's the dust coming from?' Silver asked himself, still standing idle. He chuckled as the dust cleared, revealing Ruby. She was stumbling around as if she was drunk. Silver was honestly surprised not to see spirals replace her silver eyes.

"Wait, where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?"

Silver chuckled at Ruby's disoriented questioning of the empty air. The laughter cut off as a blood-curdling thought struck him. 'Sweet Mother of Ashes... I hope that Goodwitch woman isn't in charge of dorm assignments... She'd try to get me killed! Or buried in a coffin! OR BOTH!'

He watched in idle amusement as Ruby comically wailed "I don't know what I'm doing!" She then proceeded to topple over, upsetting the delicate organization of the luggage that just happened to be behind her at that exact moment. At that point, Silver broke down into helpless laughter. 'How can she be so graceful fighting and such a klutz just walking around on a perfectly level street?'

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Silver winced and looked up as he heard the high-pitched scream of outrage. A girl slightly older than he was standing over Ruby, glaring down at the fallen scythe-wielder. Silver blinked, then scowled at the new girl's nearly albino appearance. Something about her just did not seem right to him.

As he watched, Ruby shook her head to clear it and propped herself up on her hands. Blinking, she looked nervously up at the bleached figure standing over her. "Uh... Sorry!"

Silver's opinion of the new girl abruptly took a nosedive, falling from "dislike" to "punch" in the ensuing seconds. Instead of accepting Ruby's apology like a mature human being, she seemed to only grow more pissed off, screaming at the now-standing fifteen year-old. "Sorry!? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

"Probably less than your voice, is my guess." Silver had flickered in to stand behind the albino, pasting on his most annoying smile. "We have this new idea, you see? It's called 'volume control.' Also, there are these things called 'manners.' How is it you manage to possess neither of these, nor pigmentation?" Not waiting for the girl's inevitable reply, he walked to Ruby and asked, "How is it that everything fun happens to you, Red? You can't go five minutes without making a mess, can you?" He shook his head in mock disapproval. "Kids today..."

Setting down his knapsack, he picked up one of the fallen crates that Ruby had scattered. Cracking the lid open, he peeked inside, and quickly shut the lid. 'Dust... Gah...' he thought bitterly. He did not like the stuff, aside from using it to forge weapons. It reacted... poorly with his Aura. As in, 'ceased-to-be-useful-to-anyone-and-changed-material-entirely' poorly.

"Do you have any idea what your idiot friend did?!" Silver's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his fake grin slipped slightly. Somehow, he was growing to be very, very pissed off. "Th- Oh, give me that!" The girl snapped haughtily, snatching the case out of Silver's hands roughly.

"How terribly polite of you! Would you like to know our names, or would you prefer to continue ignoring every single thing we say?" Silver's voice had enough venom in it to melt solid steel, but the albino girl managed to miss it. It also held a rather... dark threat in its tone.

"Silver! I made the mess, alright! Be annoyed with me, not her, okay!" Ruby's voice took on a slight pleading tone as she tried to defuse the situation.

"Maybe, but you had the manners to apologize," was Silver's unapologetic answer. He admitted to himself that she did, in fact, have a point, but he didn't tell her that. As far as his rather perverted sense of justice was concerned, the albino was the wrongdoer in this scenario.

"This is Dust! Mined and purified at the Schnee Quarry!"

Silver and Red turned to look at the angry female with uncomprehending looks on their faces. While both knew about Dust, they only really knew about its uses in micro-mechanical forging. Seeing the two had very little idea of what she was talking about, the girl sighed in exasperation. Glaring hatefully at them, she ground out, "Dust?! Fire, lightning, earth, water, and air?! The power of nature?!" Seeing no appreciable reaction, she opened the case and pulled out a vial of scarlet Dust. Angrily, she began to wave it in their faces. "ARE YOU TWO BRAIN DEAD?!"

So enraged was the albino that she failed to notice the cloud of red powder that made its way to the two early-admit students. The fine particles invaded their noses, tickling them. This began the natural chain reaction that would ultimately lead to a sneeze. The girl continued to rant at the both of them, unaware of their divided attention. Taking a deep breath, she paused and glared at the two offenders with renewed ferocity. "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves? Are you two even listening to me?"

"I really wish I wasn't." Silver winced as he foresaw how the next few words would turn out, regardless of what he said. "I must say, you're a...Ah! ACHOO!" Whatever he was planning on saying was cut off by an immense sneeze that came from both himself and Red. The combined force of the violent motions was enough to set off the cloud of Dust, blowing both it and the ensuing explosion back onto the two early-admittance students' heckler. The pale girl vanished in a massive ball of fire, electricity, and ice. Silver winced yet again as he was hit by a wave of searing heat and the smell of fried ozone.

Of course, Silver wasn't polite enough to check if the girl was okay. Instead, after blinking his eyes to get rid of the afterimage left by the explosion, he stepped in front of the now-charred female. Bowing respectfully, he cheerfully said, "We now see the danger of mishandling Dust. Thank you so very much for that graphic demonstration of human stupidity." Straightening, he smiled beatifically.

Then grunted in pain when Ruby's fist rammed into the back of his head. Rubbing the affected area, he glared at the short girl. "Was that really necessary, Red?"

Red was utterly unamused. "Silver, that was... GAH! She could have DIED! AND YOU'RE MAKING JOKES!"

Silver winced as Ruby's infamous mouse-killing voice made its appearance. 'Well, there's one eardrum shot to Hell. Mother of Ashes...' thought the swordsman ruefully, thumping the side of his head with the heel of his hand. Sighing, he glanced at Ruby, then at the blackened albino, then back at his friend. Hanging his head, he muttered, "Yeah, I know. Still, she was being a complete bitch about it." Looking back up at Red, he smiled slightly and admitted, "But I was being an ass about it. In the future, please repeat your actions if I ever act that way towards a possible ally again."

Red's jaw dropped. "Where's Silver, and who are you?!" Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned her attention to the albino once more. "Sorry about him. Are you okay?"

The girl snarled in rage, shaking off the layer of char. Pointing angrily at Red, she spat, "You complete idiot! How did you even get here?! Are you even old enough to be at Beacon?"

Red flinched at the last comment, and a very unpleasant smirk appeared on the girl's face. "You aren't, are you? Well, this isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and training here. We're here to fight monsters, so... just watch where you're going! Better yet, go back to Signal!"

The girl's words had made Red tear up, her worst doubts about her own abilities coming to the surface. Of course, that was not unnoticed by Silver. His smile vanished, replaced by a dark scowl that was, if anything, expressing a desire to deprive the offender of their head. Instead of their usual veil of fake cheer, his eyes were boiling in rage. Far easier to notice was the fact that he had his swords out, fully extended, and leveled at the albino's throat. The edges gleamed dully, only a half-foot from their target. "If you ever, ever say anything like that again... I swear I will cut you in half."

Silver's voice was chilling, to say the least. Instead of yelling in rage, it was like he was frozen with it. It was dark enough to force the girl to take an involuntary step back. It sounded like a Beowulf speaking through a human's throat.

"Um, Silver? Can you put away the swords? I think you made your point." Red's voice was surprised, and just a bit fearful. It shook her concept of the slightly older teenager to hear him speak in such an evil voice, and to see such an enraged expression on his face made her doubt the amount of trust she had in the swordsman. Glancing at his companion, Silver nodded, returning to his previous relaxed, lazy stance.

Rubbing the back of his head, Silver chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. I tend to get a bit... ah... overprotective of my friends. Didn't mean to scare you, Red."

Red nodded, having noticed that Silver did have a tendency to go overboard when those he considered friends were in any form of distress. Looking over to the shaken rich girl, she nervously said, "Look, I'm sorry about this. We both are!"

"We are?" A few seconds later, Red squashed Silver's toes beneath her heel. "AY mean, of course we are!"

"Gah! What is your problem!"

Red blinked at the girl's annoyed exclamation, then spat, "Look, Princess, we said we were sorry!"

"It's heiress, actually." The three teenagers turned to look towards the source of the new voice. This turned out to be a girl around the albino's age, with long black hair and black-and-white clothing. Sensing the opportunity for a joke, Silver pulled something out of his pocket. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world."

Silver broke down into a fit of giggles at that point. The three grils stared at him with various states of confusion on their faces. For Red, this meant her head tilted slightly to one side. Weiss' face looked more annoyed than anything, and the new girl had raised one eyebrow. Looking up at his audience, Silver grinned hugely. "Well, it explains her attitude, doesn't it?" Grinning even more hugely, he unfolded the object he had taken from his pocket: a pair of sleek sunglasses. "She was just..." He slid the glasses over his eyes, then deadpanned the punch line. "Putting on airs."

No matter their opinion of him, all three girls felt a large sweatdrop form on their necks at Silver's attempt at humor. "Not even amusing. But it's nice to see someone recognizes me," was the Schnee's verdict, raising her chin haughtily.

"The very same company that is infamous for its controversial labor force and questionable business partners." Silver's opinion of the newcomer was now far higher than he had thought possible.

"What? How dare you- The nerve of- UGH!" The heiress mashed her words in her fury.

"Truly stellar language skills, Miss Schnee. Truly astonishing!" Silver taunted, holding back another grin. The jibe had the desired effect, though: After grabbing the vial of Dust off the ground, Weiss stormed off. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Silver called after her. "Nice meeting you too! Don't forget to write!"

Red gave Silver a long-suffering look reminiscent of a kicked puppy before calling after the girl as well. "I'm sorry! I promise I'll make this up to you!" Sighing, she turned back to the other girl, only to find her gone. "I didn't even get to ask her name..." Letting out an exasperated cry, she fell back on the concrete, mumbling, "Welcome to Beacon."

A thump later, and Silver joined her, his head at a right angle to hers. "Yep. Sorry if I screwed things up for you, I just tend to be a bit... outspoken." He had already removed his sunglasses, incidentally.

"Outspoken?"

"Okay, try 'intrusive and offensive.'"

The two lay there for about five minutes, staring up at the clouds until a shadow fell over their heads. Looking at it's owner, they found a familiar figure offering them both a hand. "Hey. I'm Jaune."

Ruby smiled slightly, accepting the offered hand. "Ruby."

Silver smiled then, and also took the older swordsman's hand. "I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III. I don't answer to nicknames."

After laughing at Jaune's bewildered look, Red lightly slapped Silver's shoulder, making sure to hit an unarmored area. "Blanc, don't confuse people."

"What? It's not the worst stunt I've pulled!" Smiling lightheartedly, he looked over their newest companion. Pointing, he slowly said, "Hey- Aren't you the guy who threw up on the way here?"

-Later-

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune protested as the trio walked into a small garden area situated around a fountain. He and Red had been arguing about his motion sickness for about fifteen minutes, with Silver jumping in with occasional puns.

"He's right, actually. I remember the first time I figured out how to use my speed. Not fun." Silver shuddered at the memory: it involved more bleach and soap than he thought was in existence. He then grinned at the blonde teenager. "So, Jaune, do you mind us calling you Vomit Boy?"

Red laughed as Jaune's face turned an interesting mix of red and white. "Look, the name's Jaune d'Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue-" At that point, Silver began to laugh so hard he fell face-first to the ground.

Rolling over, he managed to chuckle, "Since you're known for throwing up, I'd advise you to never say your name 'rolls off the tongue.' Too much potential for jokes." At that, he lost his control and devolved back into laughter. The other two teens stared at him for a few seconds, faces blank.

Clearing her throat in an attempt to change topics, Ruby pulled out her scythe. Deploying it, she stuck it in the ground and said, "Well, I've got this thing."

Jaune flinched as the oversized weapon flashed past his nose, then stared at it in awe. "Is that a scythe?"

Ruby grinned and nodded, patting the haft happily. "It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle."

"Huh?" Jaune asked, looking confused.

Silver took pity on the older swordsman. "It's a scythe with a small cannon built in, and it is not fun to be on the receiving end of. Trust me!" Grinning, he pulled out his twin blades. "I've got these, at least for a bit longer. Dual swords with a merging function."

"Huh?"

"He means they can combine into another weapon. Right?" Ruby nodded knowledgeably at her fellow armaments enthusiast.

Silver nodded at the short girl. "Yeah, they can merge into a claymore. But... I'm retiring them soon. I didn't make them to be mine, you know? I just happen to be their wielder."

"Wow... You two know a lot about weapons..." Jaune trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed. He unsheathed his own sword, gesturing to it. "All I have is this old thing."

Silver gave the blade a careful look, then smirked slightly. "That's old. That's a sword with a bit of history, isn't it?"

Jaune grinned in embarrassment and nodded. "Yeah, my great-great-grandfather used it in the war. It goes with the shield."

Ruby tilted her head slightly and curiously asked, "What shield? You have a shield? Where?"

Silver sighed at his friend's weapon fixation, but he did make a 'go-ahead' gesture towards the blonde teenager.

Smiling nervously, Jaune pulled out his sheath, which expanded into a small kite shield. Silver nodded, saying, "Two object style. I like this guy." Ruby gave him an uncomprehending glance, as did the sword-and-boarder. Sighing, Silver rubbed his forehead and explained his comment. "If I'm fighting anyone that can keep up with me, I use my left hand sword as a defense, and my right hand as an offense. Of course, I'm ambidextrous, so..." He trailed off, making a 'so-so' gesture with his hand.

"Oh! So you can actually fight without that cool teleportation, super speed thing?" Ruby cheered, looking forward to possibly sparring with her friend. Silver winced at the note of surprise in her voice.

"Um... I think I'm missing something here?" Jaune gave them both a lost-kicked-puppy look, replacing his equipment at his waist.

"I'm fast. Most people can't even see me moving when I'm fighting." Shrugging, Silver looked around, then at his two companions. "Um... Do we have any idea where we were going?"

"No, I was following him." Ruby pointed at Jaune.

"What? I was following you two!"

"Just great... Any ideas, guys?"

"Um... look for a landmark or something? Maybe a map or a food court?" Jaune blinked as Silver suddenly grinned at him happily. "Um... Why are you grinning at me like that? Did I say something funny?"

"Red... I like this guy! He has his priorities in order: food, then work!" Silver grinned at his shorter friend as they all walked towards the building's entrance. Ruby laughed at Silver's impulsive behavior, with Jaune joining in a bit sheepishly.

A/N: Whew! So, recap: Silver begins to openly flirt with Ruby, gets along with the Barf-Boy, likes Blake in a nonromantic sense, and has threatened to kill Weiss! And Yellow is already showing her overprotective side! What fun!

Addendum: Has anyone picked up on Silver's luck with odd guesses and the like?

Post-Addendum Addendum: Did anyone get the shout out to one of the greatest anime gunmen of all time?