Chapter 2. A Bright and Shining Beacon

The airship was packed with students, before he could board however he found himself being stopped by a man in a dark hood. He swore he'd seen him before. The man had an unnerving smile.

"I have a delivery for you kid, your father sends his regards." The man said thrusting a case into Ashton's arms. The man slunk off before Ozpin could turn around, when Ashton looked back he found an empty terminal.

"Hurry up Mr. Gray, the airship is leaving." Ozpin called, Ashton nodded and hurried aboard.

The airship took off shortly, Ashton was sitting next to the other inmates. From the crowd he could see a very diverse assortment of characters, from humans to faunus from citizens of Vale to citizens of Mistral. He turned to the other inmates, he figured he might as well try to introduce himself.

"Hey." He said to the woman in the dark dress, she gave him a glare.

"No." She said, she stood up and found another seat.

"Alrighty, nice to meet you." He said with shrug. He heard a giggle behind him, he turned around and saw the mousy girl giggling under her hood.

"What's so funny?" Ashton asked, eyebrow raised.

"You strike out there handsome?" She asked with a toothy grin.

"Wasn't intending anything, I think she may have misunderstood." Ashton said with a shrug. "I'm Ashton Gray by the way."

"Lyra Tawny." She replied timidly. "Nice to meet you."

"Well you seem to be fairly polite for a felon. What were you in for?" Ashton asked.

"Stealing." She mumbled nervously.

"That's not too bad, why'd they send you to Bastion, couldn't your parents pay the fine?" Ashton asked, he saw the look on her face and winced. He said too much.

"I don't really have any." She mumbled. She started burying her face under her hood.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Ashton started rambling. "I mean I didn't know and I wasn't trying to... sorry."

"No problem." She murmured. "I didn't really even get a trial, they sort of just through me into Bastion as soon as I was caught."

"How come?" Ashton asked. There was a moment of silence, she timidly lowered her hood back.

Under her hood she had short beige hair, but more importantly she had two mouse ears. She was a Faunus, Ashton quickly figured out the rest of her story. The cops figured a faunus orphan would have no prospects in life but to grow up a criminal and it would likely be better just to lock her away now before she inevitably joined the White Fang. Happens more often than you'd think.

"Little mouse." Said the big guy in a deep voice, she gave out a squeak and covered herself in her hood again. The big guy laughed slightly.

"What's your name big guy?" Ashton asked, the guy turned his head to him, his eyes seemed off. He just noticed they were different colors, the left was blue, the right was green.

"I'm Billy." He said with a big smile. "Billy Boyd."

"Nice to meet you Billy, you're a rather friendly fellow." Ashton said with a nervous smile.

"Momma said to be nice to strangers, you never know when they could be your friend." Billy said with a loud guffaw.

"Charming." Ashton said nervously. "So any of you get that girls name?"

"I tried to talk to her." Lyra muttered. "All I got was no, not ever, get out of my face."

"Yikes." Ashton replied.

"I said hello." Billy said with a smile. "She asked me if I was stupid. She was a mean lady."

"Sorry to hear that big guy." Ashton said with a shrug. "She's not a people person that's for sure."

"So Beacon is a fighting academy." Lyra said softly. "I don't suppose any of you know how to fight?"

"I know how to fight, I don't really have a weapon though." Ashton said with a shrug.

"I don't really either, I'm also not that much of a fighter." She said with a shrug. He had to admit, he felt pretty bad for her at that point, she was at a considerable disadvantage there.

"Police man officers locked me up for fighting. Mamma always said fighting was bad." Billy said with an overenthusiastic nod. He pulled out great broadsword. "I got my grandpappa's sword from the war."

Ash couldn't help but wonder how long these two would last at this school. He may not know much about Beacon but he knows that they are pretty strict on their students and not everyone makes it out in one piece. Sometimes literally.

"What's that case your holding?" Lyra asked.

"Oh that, that's a..." Ashton began, he looked at the old case. "I don't know..."

"Well, open it!" Lyra squeaked excitedly.

Ashton opened the case. He took a moment to gasp slightly. It was an elegant sword with a revolver built into it. The blade could be adjusted and even folded back so the wielder would have greater dexterity in using the revolver. It was his father's weapon, Silver Faust. He pulled it out of the box and got a feel for it, it was perfectly balanced. He twirled it around in his hands. He could see the absolute awe in the others eyes.

"Well, I guess that's something." Ashton quietly said with a shrug.

"Whoa, that looks like it was expensive." Lyra gasped.

"It's an heirloom, I never thought I'd ever get to hold it." Ashton said, he felt a bit proud just holding it. His father told him he'd give it to him when he considered him a man. He turned his gaze to the television screen, the news was talking about some dust thief.

The news was interrupted by a tall blonde woman, she had a purple cape and a pair of thin rectangular glasses. The students seemed to be turning towards her, clearly she was somebody important around here. Ashton focused on the mystery woman.

"Hello and welcome to beacon." She said clearly before introducing herself. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch, you are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future huntsmen and huntresses it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

Just like that Glynda vanished, the holographic display vanished. Students were gasping excitedly and several were running to the windows to get a view. Ashton turned his head, as did Lyra and Billy. The view was spectacular as the castle that was Beacon Academy came into view.

"Whoa!" Lyra exclaimed excitedly. "I've never seen anything like that in my life!"

"Why is it so tiny?" Billy asked, both Lyra and Ashton simply stared at him. "Oh god it's getting bigger! No wait it's just getting closer. My bad."

"I, I don't know how to react to that." Ashton replied.

A student with blonde hair sprinted by making horrific noises, the rest of the students all shifted out of his way uncomfortably. Somebody didn't appreciate the view. There was a horrible retching sound and the student puked next to a couple of girls who immediately started protested, at this point the entire airship seemed to enter a state of panic.

The airship reached the landing platform and students were stampeding off in a panic. Vomit boy found himself a nice trash can to empty his stomach into. Ashton was about to enter the main plaza when a hand was outstretched in front of his face. Glynda Goodwitch, the woman who gave the speech was standing in front of him, he figured this one was real.

"You are one of the Bastion kids?" She asked, shifting through a notebook.

"Ashton Gray at your service." Ashton replied, maybe it was the hint of sarcasm in his voice but it was now clear she didn't like him. Either from the death glare he was now victim to or the fact her body went rigid.

"Let me set this straight." She said sternly. "Ozpin is vouching for the four of you, he does this every four years. I do not appreciate this concept, I have yet to see a student from Bastion not end up either expelled from this Academy or falling back into their old habits."

"I'm not exactly like other students from Bastion." Ashton tried to interject, he was met with a scowl.

"I don't care." She replied. "You and the others like you are nothing but trouble. If it were up to me you would find yourself on that airship on a return trip straight to Bastion."

"I'm glad it isn't up to you." Ashton replied, the smug look on his face really set her off. She readjusted her glasses, swung herself around and stormed off.

"What was her problem?" A cold voice asked. He turned around and found the dark haired girl was right next to him. He jumped slightly. "What?"

"Don't sneak up on people like that." Ashton replied. She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Ms Goodwitch over there was basically just telling me that she hates me."

"I can't imagine why." She replied, the sarcasm in her voice was practically venomous.

"Hey, she also said she hates you too." Ashton spat back. She gave an odd smirk and turned towards the school.

There was a loud explosion, up ahead two girls were standing in the middle of a crater, one of them was now screaming at the other. It was a rather uncomfortable scene. Ashton decided to try to introduce himself to the dark haired girl.

"Hey, I'm Ashton by the way, Ashton Gray." Ashton said with his hand outstretched.

"Ashton Gray?" She asked slightly tilting her head. "Of the Gray Dust Company?"

"That's the one." Ashton said proudly, she rolled her eyes. There was a brief moment before she looked back at him. She outstretched her hand and shook his.

"Charmed." She replied curtly.

"And what shall I call you?" Ashton asked.

"Whatever you want." She replied. She started walking towards the school leaving Ashton questioning what the hell she meant by that.

"Whatever you want?" He whispered to himself. He shrugged and headed towards the school. This day was looking a little strange.

The main hall was crowded with students, he had no idea where to walk until he heard a distant squeak. Following it to it's source he found Lyra buried under her cloak. A group of jerks were harassing her.

"Hey gutter rat! This is a fighting academy, not a shelter. Find yourself a drainage pipe to sleep in." The man in charge of this motley crew of pricks said as he jabbed her in the shoulder. His friends chuckled as if this was the funniest thing they've ever seen.

"That's not a nice thing to say to a lady." Ashton said with a broad smile. The group turned to him.

"Oh really, what are you going to do about it?" The leader asked, he walked right up to Ashton's face. "You going to stand up to this thing? It's not even human what's it to you?"

"I really don't think you should go down this road." Ashton said with a bigger grin. He had been in this situation numerous times back in Bastion. "Let me guess, you just got out of Signal?"

"Damn right, Cardin Winchester. I was one of the best fighters." He said with a noxious degree of gloating. The guffaws from his fellow students was like listening to someone scratch a blackboard.

"Right, I just got out of Bastion." Ashton said with a half shrug. "I met plenty of rent-a-thugs in there who graduated from Signal, some where good fighters too. Hell most cops have graduated from Signal as well. I never had too much trouble with either. So I want you to ask yourself, do you think this fight is worth having?"

"Mister tough guy from prison!" Cardin exclaimed, he was starting to draw attention his way. Ash had to admit, he really laid the tough guy act a little thick. "You really think you can take me in a fight?"

"Actually I can take all four of you." Ashton said with a sly grin. Cardin seemed to pause for a moment, he regained his composure.

"Really, what makes you say that?" Cardin asked. "What makes you think you can fight four well trained fighters all by your lonesome?"

"Well I could go into depth about that, but I don't think I need to." Ashton said with a shrug. "I'm not going into this fight alone."

"The mouse is going to fight?" Cardin asked with a hearty laugh, his friends continued the cringe worthy guffaws.

"Damn right I am." Lyra said fearsomely, well it came out squeakier than she wanted.

"Actually I was referring to the big guy behind you who doesn't take kindly to your attitude." Ashton said with a derisive laugh, the look on their faces as they turned around was worth it. They found themselves staring at Billy's stomach.

"I don't take kindly to you being mean to the little lady." He said politely. "That's plenty rude. You should apologize"

"You will regret this." Said Cardin backing up, he and his group headed off through the crowd.

"Thanks." Lyra squeaked, she kept her hood on, tightly pulling on it's sides. Billy scratched his head.

"Thanks Billy, you're a good person to stand up for her like that." Ashton said to him, Billy simply smiled his enthusiastic smile.

"You stood up for her too." He said back happily. "You're a good person too."

"No, I admit I did that for mostly selfish reasons." Ashton replied. "You see, I learned that when you're in a new environment, you need to assert yourself fast. It's all about who's on top of the food chain. I figured to look at the most unified and aggressive group of students, the ones who want to put themselves above the others and then take them down a peg."

"So all that was just because you want to be alpha dog?" Lyra asked.

"Don't take it too hard mouse, when I reach that status I'll make sure you get a few perks heading your way." Ashton replied with a shrug, Lyra scowled from under her hood.

"You're kind of a jerk." Lyra squeaked.

"So I've been told." Ashton said with a smile, he slapped Billy's arm playfully and found his place. Ozpin was on a stage holding a cup of coffee. The feedback from his microphone gathered everyone's attention.

"I'll keep this brief." He said calmly pushing his sunglasses up his nose. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, hone your craft and acquire new skills and when you have finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people, yet when I look amongst you all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, however your time at this school will prove to only carry you so far."

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Glynda said as Ozpin quietly exited the stage.

The room cleared into the ballroom, plenty of makeshift beds were set up all across the floor. The room was divided with girls on one side and guys on the other. Ashton found a nice corner and leaned comfortably against the wall. He drew Silver Faust and examined his reflection in the blade. His silver hair was in a rather messy mane. He put the weapon back in it's case and carefully removed his jacket. He didn't exactly have any pajamas and had only a few changes of clothes at the moment. He'd have to head to Vale as soon as he could to go shopping.

"Hey Ashton!" Billy said with a big toothy smile. He was wearing long johns covered in ducks. He was like a seven foot tall child. He had that innocent charm to him. Ashton sort of missed when he could say the same about himself.

"Hey Billy, you looking for a place to sleep?" Ashton asked, Billy nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, you can sleep here too."

"I miss my home." Billy said scratching his head. "I haven't seen it in a while."

"How long were you in Bastion?" Ashton asked. Billy hesitated in his answer.

"Three months." Billy said quietly. "They kept me in iso-iso-isola..."

"Isolation." Ashton finished for him. He felt bad for the guy, he went in isolation for a week and felt like clawing his own eyes out. "How come?"

"A bully was being mean, I punched him in the face. He didn't get back up." Billy said timidly. "I didn't mean to hurt him so badly, he kept slapping me. I didn't like that."

"That sucks." Ashton said. He genuinely felt bad for the guy, he didn't deserve to end up in Bastion. "Well, you happy to be in Beacon?"

"Mamma used to read me stories about huntsmen and huntresses, fighting grimm and saving people." Billy said with a big toothy grin. "I'm going to be just like the huntsmen in my stories!"

"So you're in this to be a hero?" Ashton asked. It was an ambitious goal, especially for someone with his background.

"You could be a hero too!" Billy said with his usual grin. "You'd be a great hero!"

"I'd be a terrible hero." Ashton said with shrug. His mind flashed to that warehouse. "That ship sailed a long time ago."

"How come?" Billy asked. He was a bit naive, but he had a good heart. Ashton smiled limply.

"Another time." Ashton said scanning the ballroom. He could see a small pile of rags in a corner across the room. A good distance away was the mystery dark haired girl, she slept in clothes just as expensive looking as her usual dress.

"Well I think I need to have my sleep." Billy said, he curled into an enormously big ball and shut his eyes.

Across the room Ashton could see a fight break out in the girls side followed by a heated argument, he figured that was his cue to sleep. He slumped back against the wall and shut his eyes. It took a moment but he felt himself drifting asleep.