Ruby felt equal parts disappointed and angry. Both feelings had the same root cause – her encounter with that blonde Huntress had led to a trip to the local police department and into an interrogation room. Not what Ruby had hoped would result from her first meeting with a Huntress that wasn't family, or Signal faculty.

The Huntress in question paced back and forth behind where Ruby sat. "I hope you realize the consequences of your actions, young lady." If the Huntress was feeling any fear from Ruby's Zone, it was obviously outweighed by her irritation. "You're lucky that neither you nor anyone else were seriously hurt."

"It wasn't my fault!" Ruby turned around in her seat to better confront her interrogator. "They were-" Her words died in her throat as the Huntress fixed her bright green, acidic gaze on her.

After a moment's silence, the Huntress spoke again, circling around to the front of the room. "Be that as it may... there is someone here who would like to speak with you." She stepped to the side, as the door opposite Ruby opened and a familiar face stepped into the room.

"Professor Ozpin?" Ruby asked, amazed to see the headmaster once again.

"Ruby Rose," Ozpin replied, setting a plate of cookies in front of Ruby and a mug of coffee in front of himself. "You seem to keep drawing my attention."

Ruby didn't answer immediately – her focus was on the cookies. She glanced up at Ozpin and, after a reassuring nod from him, began to rapidly shovel cookies into her mouth. Meanwhile, Ozpin went on, "Your father and uncle spoke highly of your abilities, but I never imagined you'd fight like this..." he took a screen from the Huntress, on which played a recording of Ruby's battle with the goons.

Ruby stopped deleting cookies for a moment. "Oh… that was nothing." It was true. She'd had more impressive battles in her nightmares.

Ozpin gave her a wry smile. "You non-lethally dealt with four armed men, without even taking a scratch." He looked to the screen. "Quite efficient and professional. I could hardly have asked for better from one of my Huntsmen."

Ruby felt her cheeks warm a little. "Thank you, professor. That means a lot to me." She shook her head. "But if I'd been better, their leader wouldn't have gotten away."

"You need not concern yourself with that." Ozpin tilted his head. "There were... factors beyond your control at play. For now, simply take pride in the fact that you can wield a scythe better than almost anyone else I've seen." A moment passed, during which he sat down in a seat opposite Ruby, before he asked, "Do you still wish to become a Huntress?"

Ruby smiled. "More than anything."

Ozpin glanced to the side at the blonde Huntress, who gave him an unreadable look in return. Then he looked back at Ruby. "How would you like to train at my school?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "You mean-"

"This year."

Ruby's eyes widened even further.

Ozpin smiled. "Keeping you at Signal would be holding you back, I think. A waste of your talents. I believe you're ready to attend Beacon as it is."

Ruby smiled, feeling happier than she had in a long time. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, Professor."

"I have an idea." Ozpin chuckled.

Ruby let out a soft giggle. "Well, I'll do my best not to let you down!"

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" Yang said, wrapping her arms around her little sister in a bear hug. "I can't believe you're going to Beacon already!"

"Please stop," was all Ruby was able to say with her lungs being compressed. She was grateful that Yang was feeling pride rather than fear, but only to a point.

Yang released Ruby and smiled at her. "It's just… attending Beacon early is such an honor!"

"Yeah…" Ruby sighed. "People are going to think I'm even more of a freak than I already am."

Yang's smile faltered. "You're not a freak, you just… have a lot of things you can do!"

Ruby turned to face the airship's window. "I'd give all that up if it meant being normal." If it meant not having the nightmares, she thought. If it meant people weren't afraid of me.

"Don't say that, Ruby." Yang put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Your powers… your everything… they're what make you you. If you took that away, you'd be someone completely different." Yang smiled. "And I happen to like my little sister the way she is."

"Even though I make you afraid?" Ruby looked over her shoulder at Yang.

"I'm not gonna say it's been easy…" Yang bit her lip before smiling again. "But I wouldn't trade you for anything, Ruby."

After a moment, Ruby matched her smile.

A short while later, the two siblings stepped off the transport and onto Beacon's grounds for the first time. Ruby cast a glance around the open courtyard, but her attention was drawn to the weapons that some of the other trainees were bringing. "Look! That boy's got a collapsible staff! A-and that girl's got a fire sword!"

Yang just smiled, letting Ruby go on for a moment, before finally interjecting. "You know, you should go talk to some of these people instead of just ogling their weapons. You could even use their weapons as a conversation starter!"

Ruby turned to her sister. "I'd rather just talk to their weapons. They aren't afraid of me."

Yang rolled her eyes. "There you go again."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying, you could stand to come out of your shell a little bit."

"This again?" Ruby sighed in exasperation. "You're sounding like a broken record, Yang."

"It's true!" Yang frowned, folding her arms. "We're going to be assigned into teams, you know. You'll have to interact with other people."

Ruby's face contorted into a pout. The concept of being on a team with strangers was not one that appealed to her. That was partly because she wasn't looking forward to meeting new people, but she also didn't like the thought of subjecting such people to her Zone all the time. "Can't I just be on a team with you?"

"That still leaves two people you'll need to be friends with. Teams of four, remember?" Yang held up an equal number of fingers for emphasis.

Ruby sighed. "I guess."

"Anyway, I've got to meet up with my friends. See you later!"

"Wait, what?" But Yang was already moving away. Ruby considered chasing her for a moment, but then decided against it. She sighed, taking a step back – straight into someone's trolley.

Weiss had felt fear before. In combat, of course, but she'd also felt fear towards people, as well. When her father came home in a rage, he was terrifying, and she'd learned to stay out of his way. Otherwise, there were consequences.

Now, Weiss felt that fear again. Not of her father, but of some stupid girl. She hated that fear, hated feeling so vulnerable and helpless, and right now she hated this girl and whatever she was doing to cause that fear to well up in her again.

She also hated that this girl had just sneezed, ignited some loose dust, and nearly blown them both up.

For a long moment, Weiss was silent, too enraged and, frankly, surprised to react. Finally, a single word came out: "Unbelievable!"

The red-cloaked girl at least had the decency to apologize as Weiss chewed her out. Weiss made it absolutely clear what she thought of the girl's intelligence and ability to attend Beacon. What was a girl this young doing here, anyway?

"...S-So, watch where you're going!" She folded her arms and looked away.

"I said I was sorry, princess!" The girl finally snapped at her. It took all of Weiss' composure to not recoil. Her fear of the girl made the outburst more threatening than it otherwise would have been.

"It's heiress, actually," a third voice interjected.

Blake tried her best to be brave. But that girl… something about her just made Blake afraid of her, made her want to turn tail and run… again. But she wouldn't. She couldn't, not if she was going to become a Huntress. She had come here to train, to be strong on her own. She couldn't just flee at the first sign of danger. Not even danger – a girl with a fear Semblance.

Besides, she had words for the Schnee.

"…The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

"What-!? How dare-!?" Weiss spluttered, while the other girl giggled softly. "The nerve of-" She reached out and swiped the vial of dust from Blake's hand. "Ugh!" And with that, she stormed off.

The girl in black and red called after her, "I promise I'll make this up to you!"

Meanwhile, Blake turned and left – putting a little too much effort into her paces as she went.

Jaune had been drawn by the sound of an explosion, but by the time he arrived, there was just a girl, lying on her back on the ground. What's up with her? he thought, striding towards her. Maybe I should-

Then he felt it – a creeping feeling of fear that grew worse as he approached the darkly-clad girl. He faltered, stopping in his tracks for a moment before he told himself, come on, Jaune. She's just an adorable girl. No need to be that nervous! He resumed his approach, finally coming up alongside her.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He leaned over her and extended his hand. "Hi," he said. "I-I'm Jaune." He couldn't keep his voice from wavering slightly.

She smiled at him, and the fear of her lessened. "Ruby," she said as she took his hand and stood up. After a moment's silence, she snickered. "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

Ruby'll be just fine, Yang told herself. Besides, she can't just be sticking to me like fleas on a dog. She needs to go out and meet people. And I need to spend time with my friends!"

"Good to see you, Yang!" Said a perky brunette with shoulder-length hair and a cheeky smirk. Beside her, a boy with the same shade of hair nodded and grinned. Both of them were dressed in various shades of browns, the girl tending towards brighter shades, while the boy's clothes were the opposite.

"Evelyn, Thomas." Yang returned their various smiles with one of her own. "Good to see you two made it into Beacon!"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Evelyn's grin grew wider. "Okay, maybe I doubted Thomas a little-"

"Hey!"

"-But he pulled through!"

Thomas rolled his eyes. "As if my twin sister would get in without me!"

Yang couldn't help but laugh at the pair's words. The two certainly had an interesting dynamic.

"Speaking of sisters-" Evelyn turned from her brother to Yang. "-Where's yours? Wasn't she on the ship with you just a little while ago?"

Yang's laughter died away. "I… split with her back in the courtyard. Told her to make some new friends."

"Ooh, cold." Evelyn smirked. "But at least we have you to ourselves for a bit!"

"Yeah…" Yang trailed off, now thinking of Ruby again.

"You know," Thomas added, "I didn't expect her to go to Beacon with you. You two really do stick together, huh?"

Evelyn nodded. "Even so, I bet you were probably hoping for some time alone, huh?"

A sharp reply formed in Yang's head, but it died away before it could reach her mouth. Was I? she thought. Maybe. She hadn't really thought about it, but going a few months without dealing with the Zone might have been nice. At the same time, she knew she would have missed her sister – and she definitely would have worried about how she was doing at Signal.

Finally, Yang settled on a response. "Eh, it's got its ups and downs. I actually think it's cool, her being at Beacon with me."

Thomas smiled. "You're pretty brave, Yang, to be able to be around her so much."

Yang chuckled. "Yeah, that's me. Fearless big sister."

The rest of the conversation passed by quickly. They were joined by other mutual friends from Signal, and the group discussed everything from current events to the upcoming initiation. But, for Yang at least, Ruby was still lurking at the back of her mind.

"It's just like a big slumber party!" Yang flopped down on her sleeping bag, grinning.

Ruby, already lying down, didn't look up from her book. "I wouldn't know."

Yang frowned for just a moment. "Well, you'd find out what it's like if you took your nose out of that book! Seriously, I can't believe you brought a book to read."

"Hey!" Ruby finally looked up, but only to glare at Yang. "It was either that or leave it unfinished!" Her gaze returned to her book. "Besides, it's not like my last try at making friends went so well."

"That's not true. You met that Jaune fellow, didn't you? That's a new friend made!"

"And an enemy. Remember Weiss?" Ruby set the book down. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get a lot of reading done at this rate.

"Well, you'll just have to make more friends!" Yang sat up, casting her gaze around the hall. It didn't take long for her eyes to fall on Jacob. Ruby's zone had cleared out a space around the sisters, of course, but Jacob was, as before, camped in the middle of No Man's Land. He seemed to be trying to get some sleep, however.

Ruby, meanwhile, was looking elsewhere. "Looks like I'm not the only one who brought a book." Her eyes were focused on a monochromatically-dressed student sitting against a wall, reading a book. A black bow was barely visable atop her black hair.

Yang took a moment to follow her sister's gaze. She smirked. "Maybe you should talk to her."

Ruby's brow furrowed. "I actually met her in the courtyard, kind of. She showed up while Weiss was yelling at me, but she left before we could talk."

"Well, no time like the present." Yang stood up, dragging Ruby to her feet before pulling her along to the bow-wearing girl.

"Hey!" Ruby tried her best to pull away, to no avail. "You weren't this hands-on when I met Jacob!"

The black-clad girl looked up from her book, alerted either by the Zone or the sounds of Ruby struggling. She said nothing as the pair approached, merely observing them impassively – though her eyes did show a hint of fear.

At last, Yang released Ruby and waved to the stranger. "Hello~! I believe you two are acquainted?"

Ruby extended her hand. "Uh, hi. My name's Ruby."

"Blake." The girl said, and offered nothing more.

For an awkward moment, Ruby stood there, trying to think of something more to say. Yang spared her the trouble. "Nice night we're having, huh?" Oh, come on, Ruby thought.

"Yes," Blake said. "Almost as nice as this book."

For a moment, Ruby considered taking the hint, but curiosity got the better of her. "What's it about?"

"Huh?" The question seemed to catch Blake off-guard, but she quickly recovered. "It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control."

"Neat." Ruby smiled faintly. "I love books. Yang – my older sister-" she nodded towards Yang, "-used to read to me when I was little. Then when I was older I just... kept reading. I always wanted to be like the heroes in stories."

"Why's that?" Blake smiled faintly. "Hoping you'll get your happy ending?"

"I'm hoping we all will. But also... I want people to feel something other than fear when they look at me. And..." For a moment, Ruby recalled her nightmares, and phantom pain flashed through her midsection – memories of wounds suffered in those dreams. "...I don't want bad things to happen to people, like being hurt or killed by monsters."

Yang stepped towards Ruby and laid a reassuring hand on her back, smiling. Perhaps she sensed Ruby's moment of remembrance.

If Blake sensed the weight of the moment that passed between the two sisters, she gave no sign of it. "Well, those sound like good reasons to be a Huntress." Her smile faded. "Unfortunately, life isn't always like the stories."

"Yeah... Ruby folded her arms. "Well, hopefully we can do something about that."

"Hopefully," Blake echoed. "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's getting late. We should probably get some rest."

"All right." Ruby smiled. "Good night. And... good to meet you, Blake." With that, the two sisters turned and walked back to their sleeping bags.

Yang clapped her sister on the back. "Now that's how it's done!"

"Yeah..." Ruby sighed. "Assuming she didn't just say that to get rid of me."

"Don't be pessimistic, Ruby. You've just got to keep it up and you'll have friends in no time!"

Ruby smiled back at her sister. "I hope you're right."

Author's Notes:

I live! Sorry about the absence. I don't have a good excuse for it, so have a chapter as compensation.

Allegedly, Yang has friends at Beacon. One of the minor goals of this fic is to address that. Yes, more OCs, hopefully they're not too bad, at least for the short time they'll be relevant.

I had written up a version of Torchwick's robbery, but, on the advice of certain reviewers, I decided not to publish it, because it frankly wasn't any different from canon, except for Ruby's Zone of Terror, and getting to show her thoughts. Shame about the work that went into it, but sometimes you shoot more pictures than you keep. The highlight of the sequence was really one of the goons going up to Ruby while she has her hood up and, unbeknownst to him, has her headphones on. Her Zone of Terror turns that straight into a scene from a horror movie from his perspective!

So, instead of novelization, we're doing the next worst thing – taking canon scenes and rewriting the dialogue. And not even that, in the case of the middle sections of this chapter. ...Yeah, this isn't my favorite chapter. In any event, I'm going to see how well this goes over before I continue. On the one hand, it'd be nice to not have to write certain scenes, but on the other hand... I'm having trouble filling the void.

Let me know how I'm doing! Your comments fuel me with energy! And they might just give me the muse I need!