On the following day, Ruby found herself aboard one of many airships heading for Beacon Academy. She happened to be on the same airship as her sister, one Yang Xiao Long, a blond-haired girl two years older than her. Upon learning of Ruby's enrollment at Beacon, Yang excitedly embraced her sister in a nearly-bone-crushing hug as she expressed joy at this development. Ruby, however, tried to downplay it, since she was not the kind of girl to attract undue praise to herself, which was already hard for her due to being moved ahead two years, placing her in Yang's year. As this conversation transpired, the holo-TV inside the airship's cabin was displaying the morning news as the channel wrapped up a report on Roman Torchwick's latest robbery attempt that previous night.
As the news segued into a report on a Faunus protest gone wrong, the TV's feed disappeared, replaced by the image of Glynda Goodwitch, who delivered a welcoming message to everyone on board. Ruby went up to the window, awed at the sights of Signal Academy below and the airships around theirs, all of them carrying students and Mobile Suits. During this, one airsick boy, sporting short, blond hair and wearing a hoodie, began groaning before he staggered around, inadvertently splashing some vomit on Yang's shoes.
After touching down, Ruby, Yang, and all the other new students walked off the airship's ramp and onto the wide, tiled pathway to the school. The blond-haired boy from earlier, nicknamed "Vomit Boy," had also stopped to empty more puke into a nearby garbage can. The school, a large tower surrounded by a concentric array of shorter turrets, large double doors in the distance along with courtyards and walkways lined with banner-adorned lampposts, stood in the distance, a castle of study and the path to certain greatness. The magnificence of the towering building in the distance was not lost on the two sisters, the both of them stopping to admire the beauty of the school-or, at least, Yang did, as Ruby was suddenly taken in by the array of Mobile Suits being transported around the circumference of the school grounds by multiple flatbeds, some of them followed by students wanting to make sure they were handled safely.
Ruby gasped in delight as her voice took on an excited squeakiness again. "Ooh, ooh, Sis, that kid's got a Gelgoog Jager, oh, she's got a GM II!" Almost quite literally pulling her sister back to reality, Yang stated that they were just weapons. "Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves, they're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!" replied Ruby, beaming. "Well, why can't you swoon over your own MS? Aren't you happy with it?" "Of course I'm happy with the Gaia Wulfen, I just really like seeing many different ones! It's like meeting new people, but better." "Ruby, come on," replied Yang, teasing her sister by pulling her hood over her face, "why don't you try to make friends of your own?" "Why would I need friends when I have you?" "Well, actually, my friends are here now, gotta go catch up, bye!" said Yang as several other students caught up to her. With that, Yang and her posse took off, leaving Ruby behind, dazed and confused. Exasperated, she collapsed backwards onto a luggage cart she didn't notice, falling on several white suitcases, knocking them onto the ground.
"What are you doing?!" asked the stern, annoyed voice of another girl. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!" "Uh..." Ruby mumbled out. The girl, shorter than Ruby, with white hair that terminated in a long ponytail, also dressed in a white dress that came down to mid-thigh length, possessing a scar over her left eye. Grabbing a suitcase, the girl began lecturing to Ruby about the Dust inside the case, Ruby unable to get a word in edgewise, while the girl produced a red vial of Dust, shaking it at Ruby, causing some of the powder to fly into the air, particulate going into Ruby's nostrils. As the white-haired girl berated Ruby and questioned her attention span, Ruby sneezed, causing a burst of fire to violently spray onto the girl, followed by a few aftershocks of ice and lightning inside the cloud caused by other Dust types. The original vial was flung into the air during this, landing on the ground at the feet of another girl, black-haired, black-clothed, wearing a ribbon on her head and holding a book in her hands. The second newcomer picked up the snowflake-marked vial, regarding it as she looked over at the white girl, who, surprisingly unmarred, continued to upbraid Ruby, who barely got any word in other than a fervent "Sorry, sorry!" "I said I was sorry, Princess!" Ruby irritatedly snapped back at the girl who had just verbally berated her so relentlessly.
"It's Heiress, actually," said the approaching black-haired girl. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." "Finally, some recognition!" said Weiss, right before the other girl continued: "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The newcomer was alluding, with that last item, to the Schnee Dust Company's associations with a few less-than-reputable Dust distributors, a couple private security companies, and, most alarmingly, a Mobile Suit manufacturer. Shocked at this, Weiss stammered, "Wha-how dare-th-the nerve of-" Weiss said nothing else, grabbing the Dust vial from the black-clothed girl's hand and stomping away while two retainers recollected the suitcases and the cart. "I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby shouted after Weiss. Deflated, Ruby then turned to strike up a conversation with the other girl, who was already walking away at that point as well.
Alone again, Ruby collapsed to her knees, then backwards again, lying on the ground for a single, solitary moment until a shadow loomed over her-it was "Vomit Boy," who extended a helping hand towards her. "Hey...I'm Jaune," said the blond boy, with a slight awkwardness. "Ruby."
Walking down one of the circular thoroughfares, Jaune explained, "All I'm saying is that motion-sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" "I'm sorry, Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind!" Ruby replied. "Oh, yeah? Well, what if I called you Crater-Face?" "Hey, that explosion was an accident!" "Well, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." After a small question about whether they did, Ruby pulled out her small, personal datapad, bringing up her Gaia Gundam while she pointed to the actual MS as it was being trucked in. Jaune, looking between the image of the Gundam with its long-box weapon generating a particle-beam scythe blade and the physical Suit, exclaimed, "Whoa, is that a beam scythe?!" "It's also a customizable, high-energy beam rifle!" "A wha?" "It's also a gun." "Oh. That's cool!"
"So what do you got?" asked Ruby. Jaune pulled out his own datapad, found the imagery of his own Mobile Suit that he was memorizing for later during the ride, also happened to spot it being wheeled around, and said, "Oh, uh...mine's got a sword," pointing out the long, solid sword blade attached to what could be a shield, the whole thing itself attached to what also looked somewhat like a Gundam. Ruby also noticed the text around the rendering of the MS, which said "NG-001, CODENAME 'EXIA,' FOR YOUR EYES ONLY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."
Ruby's suspicion of what the sword was connected to was confirmed by Jaune, who said, "Yeah, it's got a shield, too!" "So, what do they do?" Ruby asked, as she grabbed Jaune's wrist to bring the datapad closer to her face. Jaune, after that initial surprise, continued, "The sword folds back into the shield, so when it gets in the way, I can just put it away." He used his free hand to swipe the image, bringing up a picture of the sword-and-shield combo, the blade swiveled backwards. "But, wouldn't it still be out?" "Yes, it would," replied Jaune, defeated.
After she mentioned that not only did she make "Crescent Rose" and modify the Gaia herself, but also that all students at Signal did much of the same, Jaune mentioned that his was based on older tech and given to him. Ruby said that she liked it anyways, because of the dedication towards an older kind of weapon and because of the surprisingly futuristic design of his certainly-had-to-be-a Gundam. "So, why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard?" she asked. "Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'" "Hm. Hey, where're going?" "I dunno, I was just following you! You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark?" Ruby's snickering led Jaune to guess "No."
Inside the ceremony hall, Ruby rejoined her sister. As she explained the explosion incident to Yang, it turned out that Weiss happened to be standing behind her, which was revealed to Ruby when she shouted "You!" Hopping into Yang's arms, Ruby dreaded this second encounter, getting back on her feet while trying to explain herself. Weiss' reply was to whip out a pamphlet about Dust use and present it to Ruby, running off a standard liability disclaimer that almost became too much for Ruby to process: "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company productalthoughnotmandatorytheSchneefamily highlyencouragesourcustomerstoreadandfamiliarizethemselveswiththiseasytofollowguidetoDustapplicationanduseinthefield" "Uhm..." "You really wanna start making things up to me?" "Absolutely?" "Read this and don't ever speak to me again." Yang tried to patch things up between the two of them, thus, Ruby tried to introduce herself properly, mentioning the possibility of going out shopping. Weiss' reply (mentioning typical "girly" activities) carried a current of sarcasm not obvious to Ruby, which led her to reply to Ruby's "Really?!" with a flat "No."
However, this line of conversation was cut off by the speaker system inside the hall whining to life as Professor Ozpin cleared his throat. Standing on the stage with Glynda off to the side, he began: "I'll keep this brief. You have traveled today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and aquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look among you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowedge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." As he walked away, Glynda stepped up to the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. You are dismissed."
Later that night, all the students about to undergo initiation were dressed in nightwear, their sleeping bags, blankets, and such set up in the ballroom. Ruby, wearing a black top, a face mask perched on her head, and rose-patterned pajama pants, was busy writing a letter to her friends back in Signal Academy when Yang flopped onto the bag next to her sister's. A discussion on friends, which involved a pillow or two being flung into Yang's head, shifted when the sound of a match being struck drew the sisters' attention to the black-haired girl from earlier, now dressed in a black bathrobe. Seeing an opportunity for Ruby to make a new friend, Yang grabbed her reluctant sister by the arm and dragged her over to the girl, who sat by a freshly-lit candelabra, reading a book.
Deciding to go along with it, Ruby introduced herself after being reminded of the explosion incident. Receiving no handshake, Ruby almost invited the "Crater-Face" nickname, but awkwardly stuck to her name. After asked by Yang, the girl, still buried in her book, gave her name: "Blake." After Yang's own introduction, Blake strongly hinted that they should leave her alone, as she was far more interested in the book. Ruby's inquiry about the book briefly took Blake by surprise, and the conversation shifted to Ruby's exposure to stories of heroes and monsters, which ignited her desire to become a Huntress. Ruby's altruistic statement of wanting to protect the weak then got Blake to momentarily lower the book, remarking on the sheer optimism of it. This, in turn, led Yang to pick up her baby sister, embracing her in another tight hug which devolved into a fight between the two, which in turn garnered Weiss' attention, breaking up the fight to berate them about the noise they made. As the back-and-forth arguing began, Blake blew out the candles, ready to sleep.
Excerpt from "Thaddeus Quav's Almanac of Early History and Legends:"
For centuries, since the invention of Dust, Human and Faunus alike could afford protection from the creatures of Grimm. Walls were established, hunters became the norm, and, for a great amount of time, it seemed as though people had to fear the incursion of Grimm less than wars between each other. Technology improved and improved, keeping ahead and abreast of any threats presented by the monsters. It almost seemed as if life could be lived without nearly any thought paid to the creatures.
However, 132 years ago to the day of these words being written, the balance of things changed suddenly. One day, a quite massive Grimm rose up from the sea, almost reptilian in appearance, its dread visage towering over coastal citizens in the continent of Vale. Try as they might, the military's weaponry seemed to only stun it at first, until the hunters and soldiers of Vale redoubled their efforts to destroy the beast while simultaneously receiving assistance from other countries. At the end of a 23-hour battle, the giant Grimm, nicknamed "The Tyrant," was finally felled. Little did many know, however, that it would be the first of many other such giants.
Days later, another kingdom reported the presence of a massive bull-like Grimm roaming the forest outskirts, seemingly docile, but clearly tremendously powerful. Action clearly had to be taken, it was decided. Scientists, engineers, artificers, and more volunteers from all the empires in Remnant gathered together to ruminate on a solution, studying the remains of the Tyrant, as acid-eaten and toxic as they were. By learning how so great a creature could exist, they concluded that the most effective way to meet such giants was to create giants of their own. The scientific committee then split up, devising a few different solutions.
One group created a gigantic vehicle, a hovercraft of great size which became the Land Battleship. Another created a large aerial vehicle of almost comparable stature, later called a Mobile Armor. Another created a prototype of a mechanical beast similar to the Tyrant, but it met with some hostility and the concept was abandoned. The idea that won out, however, was similar: a giant humanoid robot, called a Mobile Suit. Having decided on the Mobile Suit, a great deal of effort went into creating the first prototype version. I will not write of it in detail here, but, suffice to say, it succeeded, despite the technological hurdles of the time. Proving its worth by defeating the great bull, the Mobile Suit became highly-demanded, and the manufacturers created a company with branches all over the world to satisfy demands.
As giant Grimm continued to appear, the increasing threat was met by a response in the form of an increasing number of the first completed Mobile Suit, named the Zaku. This development managed to cement itself in the global culture, and Mobile Suits became the new standard of combat in many aspects, even being used in wars when not fighting back titans. Over the years, combat slowly moved from the infantry-and-tanks level to MS-to-MS combat as technology improved.