It was a very classy café. There were small crystal chandeliers hanging above each table, and all of the cutlery was pure silverware. Each table was covered in a thin, white tablecloth, all perfectly bleached and unstained. The other patrons were dressed in suits, dresses, and all sort of fashionable attire; there for business meetings and—very high class—family lunches. The whole café had stopped when Ruby and Weiss walked in to applaud a couple getting engaged in the far corner of the room.

Ruby had never felt more out of place in her life.

A waitress led Ruby and Weiss to a table on the raised terrace outside that Weiss had requested. Ruby followed Weiss, leaving her bottom jaw where it had dropped near the door.

Despite the café's extravagance, or perhaps because of it, Ruby found herself wondering why it had been built where it was. They walked out onto the terrace and could see a park off to the left, the light of the sun reflecting off the surface of a lake near its edge. In front of them, and to the right, was simply a view of the streets, people milling back and forth, going about their business. It looked like the kind of place that should've been built on top of a hill, overlooking the ocean, but instead it was in the middle of the commercial district of Vale.

"There's a reason it's called The Oasis," Weiss said as they sat down.

Ruby looked up in surprise; it was the first thing Weiss has said to her since they left the shop. Weiss took menus from the waitress and told her they'd call when they were ready to order. The waitress bobbed her head in a small bow and walked back inside.

"This café," Weiss continued as she turned back to Ruby and saw her confused expression. "It's called The Oasis. It's like a small taste of upper class, in the middle of the… not-so-upper-class section of the city."

Ruby looked off towards the park. "Oh… Well that makes sense… I guess."

"So you've been here before?" Ruby asked, looking at Weiss.

Weiss shrugged and looked out at the streets below them. "A couple of times; I don't get to this part of the city very often."

Ruby leant forward, resting her elbows on the table. "So you're from around here, then?"

Weiss didn't say anything. She looked out at the streets, watching people walking past them, in utter silence. The sounds of cars driving past and aircraft flying overhead seemed to get louder as seconds dragged by. Ruby folded up as Weiss continued to say nothing, hunching over in her chair. She dropped her gaze to the table and frowned. Weiss was often reluctant to talk about herself, but this was the first time she'd cut Ruby out completely.

Ruby looked down at the table cloth as the silence dragged on and noticed an embossed pattern, zig-zagging across the fabric. A moment after noticing its existence—having nothing else to do—she found herself tracing it with her eyes, back and forth across the table. She followed the pattern further and further, towards Weiss' side of the table. She almost flinched when her gaze passed over Weiss' hand, then furrowed her brow in concern when she noticed Weiss' hand was closed in a trembling fist.

Weiss suddenly shot to her feet, her chair scraping against the floor. Ruby's head whipped upwards as she shot Weiss a worried look. Weiss didn't even notice; she was staring intently into the street. Ruby tried to follow Weiss' gaze, to see what she was staring at, but couldn't see anything that stood out.

"Wait here," Weiss said. She didn't even look at Ruby as she spoke; she was still staring into the street below. "I'll be back in a minute."

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but Weiss stormed back inside before she could get a word out. Ruby slumped back into her seat with a sigh as she watched Weiss weave through the interior of the café and out through the front door. When Weiss disappeared from view, Ruby dropped her gaze back to the table and frowned.

"Great job, Ruby," she muttered miserably. She poked at her fork, idly rocking it back and forth on its curved handle.

She sighed. "Now what?"

The sun passed behind one of the massive buildings across the road, casting Ruby's table in shadow. She glanced up towards the building in question, feeling a little annoyed at it for blocking her sunlight, just as a holographic screen blinked into existence on the side of it.

A young, attractive woman was sitting behind a news desk, wearing a snugly fitting suit. There wasn't any sound, but Ruby could read the headline of the news bulletin.

Winter Schnee arrested in police raid.

Subtitles ran along the bottom of the screen as the woman began talking.

Winter Schnee, member of the infamous Schnee crime family, has been arrested today in a police raid in downtown Atlas. Police received an anonymous tip to the address of a large Dust shipment on its way out of Atlas, reportedly bound for Vale. Upon arrival the officers found a large number of Schnee family employees, who were quick to open fire. An assault team was sent in quickly, and quickly ended the hostilities.

Upon entering the loaded ship, officers found over a tonne of Dust, making this the largest seizure of the narcotic to date. Hidden amongst the ship's cargo, the officers found Winter Schnee stowed away, presumably hiding from authorities. She is reported to have put up little resistance.

The Schnee crime family came into the limelight twenty years ago and have become infamous for the manufacture and distribution of Dust—a highly addictive stimulant. While the identities of many of the Schnee family members have been known for years, and some members have been arrested in the past, the courts have yet to be able to successfully convict due to lack of evidence. Authorities believe that this raid will provide sufficient evidence to convict Winter Schnee, and will present an opportunity to gain more evidence against the syndicate.

The screen suddenly went dark and blinked off. Looking at the side of the building now, it was impossible to tell there had even been a screen there moments before.

Ruby slumped, resting her head on the table and closing her eyes. Weiss hadn't come back yet. Ruby had sat through a whole boring, pointless news broadcast—even payed attention to it—and Weiss still wasn't back.

Ruby opened her eyes and shot to feet. She wasn't going to just sit here, bored to death. If Weiss was taking too long, then Ruby would go find her.

She blinked in surprise as she realised Weiss standing across from her, frozen in the middle of sitting down. She was blinking at Ruby in shock. Ruby stared back.

"Oh… You're back."

They both stared at each other for a moment longer, then slowly sat down.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Weiss said. She gave Ruby what looked like a genuinely apologetic smile. "I saw my friend and thought I'd better run out and catch him before he left."

"Oh… okay." Ruby glanced out into the street, then realised that it was pointless; she wouldn't know who Weiss' friend was even if he was still there. She looked back at Weiss and gave her a smile. "That's alright. You could have let me know, though. I was starting to get worried."

Weiss smiled apologetically again. "I know, I know. Sorry. I just… you know…"

"Aren't feeling well today?"

"Yeah," Weiss' smile changed to one of gratitude. "Yeah, wasn't thinking straight."

Ruby smiled back. "Don't worry about it. Are you feeling any better? You look less pale than you did before."

"A little better; I'm sure getting something to eat would help settle my stomach."

Ruby grinned. "Sounds good." She picked up a menu and skimmed through it. Everything sounded so fancy and exotic. She had no idea where to even begin. She peeked at Weiss over the top of her menu. "Do you, uh, have any recommendations?"

Weiss smiled over the top of her menu. She looked back down for a few seconds, browsing, then suggested a few simple sounding dishes. Once Ruby had decided on something, Weiss called the waitress over and placed both of their orders, as well as ordering each of them an iced coffee.

"There's nothing like one of their iced coffees on a warm day," Weiss said with a smile. "They're amazing!"

Ruby smiled back, eager to try one. She felt a wave of relief wash through her: Weiss seemed to be back to normal—maybe in an even better mood than normal. But, after Weiss' purposeful ignorance of Ruby before her abrupt exit, Ruby was just grateful that they were talking again; she barely noticed that Weiss' happiness seemed a little… out of character.

She did notice however that Weiss' colour—as little as the strangely pale girl normally had—had returned. Apparently finally meeting her friend had been enough to return Weiss to normal. Though Ruby was growing ever more curious as to whom this mysterious friend was, she was couldn't help but smile at Weiss' renewed happiness.

They chatted amicably as the sun drifted out from behind the building across the road and caressed them with its warmth. Weiss was happy to talk about the city and other places they could visit. In particular she mentioned a spot on the edge of the city, near Beacon, that overlooked the ocean. Weiss suggested walking through the city to get there. It would take them a while longer than the train, but it would give Ruby a chance to see more of the city and would probably get them there in time to watch the sunset.

Ruby agreed. She hadn't spent anywhere near enough time in the city to suggest anything different and was eager to see as much of it as she could, even if it was just to mark out other places to visit on a later trip.

The waitress' return cut off their conversation. She carried a large, silver tray, with their meals and drinks on top of it. She gently placed plates of food in front of Ruby and Weiss, followed by their iced coffees. The meals looked as elegant as the rest of the café; the iced coffees were pure decadence, with a more than generous dollop of cream on top with a stick of chocolate sticking out.

Ruby looked at her meal eagerly, but she almost drooled on the table at the sight of the coffee. Weiss picked up a small spoon and gave Ruby a lascivious smile as she scooped up a small amount of cream into her mouth, closing her eyes as she slowly pulled the spoon from between her lips.

They both giggled quietly as Ruby scooped off her own spoonful of cream. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as it hit her tongue: it was the best tasting cream she'd ever had. They'd even managed to flavour it with a hint of coffee.

Ruby realised that they were getting strange looks from people around them and blushed. Weiss noticed the blush and glanced around. Her own cheeks were just as quick to turn red once she noticed the onlookers. The girls looked down at their plates and ate in embarrassed silence. It wasn't until they were halfway through their meals that they looked up again but, when they did, they burst into a fit of giggles, as quiet as they could make them.

Ruby smiled again as she looked back down at her plate. She was glad she had Weiss as a friend.

They'd finished their meals quickly—though they stayed longer than necessary to savour the coffees—and were now walking away from The Oasis will full stomachs, following the sun towards the coast. Ruby looked around the city as they walked, absorbing everything she saw and noting in folder in her brain titled 'PLACES TO EXPLORE'.

The shops and restaurants thinned out as they walked, until they were surrounded by offices and banks. Vale was apparently built so that everything was in sections. Commercial, industrial, business, they rarely mixed and an office in the commercial district was often the only one on the street.

They continued their friendly conversation as they walked through crowds of smartly dressed business men and women—all on their way home—though the topics of discussion had been reduced to whatever new sight caught Ruby's curiosity. Weiss seemed to know everything about Vale, even about all the businesses—which Ruby found odd. She knew so much that Ruby was almost certain now that Weiss was from Vale, and from a successful, upper-class family, though she was too scared to ask and confirm, not after Weiss' complete emotional shut-down the last time Ruby had asked about it.

Their long walk continued. The sun began to sink behind the buildings, and the sky slowly turned red. The buildings around them changed from office buildings to apartment complexes and all of a sudden they were on the edge of the city. There was a park in front of them. It was mostly grass with a few trees, there was a large playground—Ruby fought the temptation—and barbecue areas. On the other side of the park, she could see a beach, pure, white sand and crystal clear water.

Weiss led Ruby up a hill to their left. Ruby noticed a train station at the top of the hill and idly wondered when the trains back to Beacon stopped running.

Weiss turned right down a small pathway leading through a small corridor of trees. Ruby started wondering where they were going when—ocean.

It stretched out before her endlessly. Waves lapped at the shore below them, unheard under the sound of a wind that picked up and blew past them, mussing Ruby's hair. She grabbed the errant locks and held them down by her neck so she could see clearly.

People said that sunsets were red, but that wasn't true. Ruby looked up at the sky as the sun hit the horizon and the entire sky was changing. The horizon was red; that much was true. All around the sinking sun, now thankfully dim enough to look at, was a vibrant crimson. But the higher Ruby looked, the lighter the sky looked. It changed from that deep red to a smooth orange, to yellow, then green, blue and violet. The entire sky was alive; an enormous, awe-inspiring rainbow.

"You noticed the rainbow, huh?" Weiss asked. "I've always loved coming here to look at it. It's pretty interesting how it works too; the light from the sun hits the atmosphere at an angle and refracts off in all different—" Ruby could hear Weiss' voice keep talking, but she couldn't hear the words themselves anymore. She was lost somewhere else.

"Isn't it pretty, Ruby?"

Ruby gazed upwards, losing herself in the sight, and couldn't help but nod.

"It's like normal rainbows but, instead of light bouncing off water, it hits the air instead. Isn't it funny how the world works? During the day the sun gets all hot and burns you if stay out too long, but if you come out at the right time… You see this."

Ruby felt tears welling up in her eyes and quickly dashed them away. She hoped Weiss hadn't seen the motion. Now she fought back the tears. No. Don't get sad. Not for her.

Anger welled up in Ruby's chest, holding the tears at bay. Anger was good. She could deal with anger.

"No, sweetie, I haven't shown Yang. Ha ha why? I don't know… I wasn't sure if she'd like it, you know how she is. You can bring her along with you if you'd like, if you ever want to come and see it again."

Anger, Ruby, anger. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes as tears spilled over. Weiss was still talking, but even that was a barely audible murmur in the background now.

"Come on, it's getting late. We should head back. Shall we grab an ice-cream on the way back? Ha ha, silly question, huh?"

Ruby turned away, turned her back on the sunset, on the memories. But that didn't stop them.

"Here you go, sweetie, one cookies and cream ice-cream. Now you have to promise to keep this our little secret. What would Daddy say if he knew I'd bought you an ice-cream before dinner? Ha ha."

Ruby heard Weiss' voice in the background, filled with concern, but still couldn't understand what she was saying.

"Are you sure you aren't just saying that because I just bought you an ice-cream? No? Well I love you too, Ruby. More than anything. Don't you ever forget that."

Ruby pressed her arm against a tree and leant forward, fighting the urge to throw up. Tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto the ground. She watched them fall, sparkling in the diminishing sunlight before splattering against the ground, like stars vanishing in the darkness.

"I'll always love you, Ruby."

Ruby pushed away from the tree and staggered down the path, away from the lookout. She needed to get out of the light; hide in the shadows.

"I'll always be here for you, Ruby."

She dry-retched, falling to her knees.

"I love you more than anything."

She punched the ground, her fist thudding painfully into the ground.

"I'll always take care of you, whenever you need me."

A hand grabbed Ruby's shoulder. Ruby flinched and spun around, falling onto her back.

Weiss was kneeling down, her face full of concern and confusion. Her mouth moved, but all Ruby heard was a muffled hum. Ruby looked past Weiss, past the canopy of trees that danced in the wind, to the sky, which was now beginning to lose its colour.

"I love you, Ruby."

"Ruby!" Weiss' voice cut through the haze that Ruby had been lost in. "Ruby!"

Ruby blinked and her eyes focussed on Weiss. Weiss stopped calling her name but was still eyeing her with concern, and now a trace of fear.

Ruby sat up, rubbing at the back of her head. She brushed away a small collection of twigs and dead leaves that had gotten stuck in her hair and smiled reassuringly up at Weiss.

"Sorry about that."

Weiss just gaped at her.

"Sorry!?" Weiss took a step back, straightening up, and a hint of indignance crossed her face. "Ruby, you started crying, for no reason! I was freaking out! What the hell happened?"

Ruby floundered for words, unsure of what to say. "I… I don't know. I just… I felt sick all of a sudden."

Weiss' eyebrows nearly shot off her face. "Sick? You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes," Ruby said firmly. "I must have caught whatever you had earlier today."

Weiss' mouth, already open to reply, snapped shut. She eyed Ruby suspiciously for a moment, then relaxed—though she still looked concerned. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Much." Ruby gave her a smile as proof.

Weiss raised an eyebrow but smiled and rolled her eyes a moment later. "Well okay then. Shall we go back? Or do you want to stay and watch the sun set?"

Ruby didn't even need to think about it. "Let's go."

Weiss nodded and held out a hand to help Ruby up. Ruby got to her feet and dusted herself off before following Weiss back down the path and out onto the street. She caught up to Weiss quickly. As they turned to head towards the train station at the top of the hill, Weiss placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, just for a second, and then let it fall back to her side.

That touch seemed to spark something else. Another memory. Yang's voice, young, confused and sad.

"Ruby… Mom's dead."

Ruby shivered. She felt an ember of anger welling in her chest once again. She looked back through the memories that had haunted her at the lookout, coaxing the fire.

Unseen to the pair, the sun sank below the horizon with a flash of green and the rainbow painted across the sky began to fade into darkness.

A/N: And here we are, where the story really starts. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I certainly had a lot of fun writing it. As ever, reviews are most appreciated, I love hearing from readers. :)

Anywho, see y'all next time!