A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long, my beta's been getting a bit crammed as far as her schedule goes, so I've had to wait a bit to get my chapters proofread (so as to ensure I don't make any errors, which she caught several in this chapter). On the plus side, I have everything up to Episode 7 written down, and my beta is reading over them right now. I'll be able to post the next few chapters at fairly frequent intervals, so no more waiting for the better part of a month! Also, just a heads up, I'm writing the 'Episode 8 massive Grimm fight' at the moment, and I have a feeling you'll like it once it's done. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the Chapter!
After quite a while, the six teens found their way to the main hall with the rest of their future classmates. Luxia and Chamele saw one of their friends from Sanctum and after saying a hurried goodbye, they dashed off to meet her. Nick noticed that it was the same pretty redhead he had seen earlier after disembarking from the airship. He was about to follow when he, Ruby and Victor saw Yang calling out to them.
"Hey, guys! I saved you all a spot!" She called out over the crowd, waving her hands frantically.
"Oh, there's Yang! Hey, nice meeting you Jaune, see you later!" Victor said, clapping Jaune on the shoulder and walking over to Yang.
"We gotta go too, hope to see you later!" Nick said, following Victor with Ruby right behind.
"Hey, wait!" Jaune called out, trying to catch up. He sighed. "Great, where am I going to find another nice, quirky girl... and... wait, that doesn't sound right. ...I feel weird." He said to himself. He walked away, trying in vain to find someone. The pretty redhead that Chamele and Luxia had run off to was staring at the now-alone Jaune with interest, but couldn't break away from the excited girls now speaking to her.
Meanwhile, Ruby and the boys reached Yang, the former with her arms crossed.
"How's your first day going, little sister?" Asked Yang, oblivious to the events that had transpired in the courtyard.
"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" Ruby said, with some displeasure in her voice.
"Yikes! Meltdown already?"
"No, she literally exploded a hole in front of the school." Victor said, chuckling slightly.
"Yeah! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?" Ruby said, ignoring Victor's chuckling.
"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked, smiling broadly.
"I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" About halfway through her panicked explanation, Weiss had walked up behind Ruby. Victor and Nick frantically signaled to Ruby from behind Yang, trying to alert her to the situation, but to no avail.
"YOU!" Weiss snapped, scaring Ruby.
"Oh god, it's happening again!" she said frantically, jumping into Yang's arms.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss scolded.
"Oh my god, you really exploded..." Yang said, disbelieving.
"It was an accident!" Said Ruby quickly, scrambling out of Yang's arms. "It was an accident" she repeated nervously.
Weiss just held up a pamphlet titled, 'DUST for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals.'
"What's that?" Ruby said.
Weiss took a deep breath and started listing off 'the-company-is-not-liable' statements in a rapid-fire, commercial/announcer-esque voice.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field."
"Ummm...?" Ruby said, confused.
"You really wanna start making things up to me?" Weiss said, still holding the pamphlet.
"Absolutely?" Ruby said, slightly anxious.
"Read this and don't ever speak to me again." Weiss handed Ruby the pamphlet.
"Hey, you guys just got off on the wrong foot. It was a simple misunderstanding, so why don't you guys just start over?" Victor suggested.
"Great idea!" Ruby put the pamphlet away, cleared her throat, and held out her hand. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"
"Yeah! And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde and scraggly over there!" Weiss said, voice dripping with sarcasm as she jabbed her thumb in the general direction of Jaune, who noticed.
"Wow, really?" Ruby said, the very picture of hopeful innocence.
Weiss glared silently for a second, then deadpanned, "No."
Nick, Victor and Yang stepped forward and all three started to defend Ruby but were cut off by the noise of a microphone being turned on, immediately followed by the ear-splitting noise of microphone feedback. Victor winced and covered his ears, his enhanced Faunus hearing definitely not an advantage now. Everyone turned to the stage to see the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, preparing to speak.
"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose... direction."
There were murmurs at this, and Nick looked at Victor and Ruby with raised eyebrows.
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." With that, Ozpin walked away and exited the back of the hall. As Ozpin left, Goodwitch stepped up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." She then followed Ozpin out of the hall.
Nick looked at Yang and Victor. "Anyone else think that he seemed a little... distant?"
"Yeah, it was almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby said.
"Well, every time I've seen Ozpin, he's always drinking coffee. He didn't have any with him." Victor said.
"Maybe he missed his hourly fix." Yang joked.
"I can just imagine Glynda holding an intervention for Ozpin." Victor said, laughing.
Nick laughed, stood up straight, and gave his best impersonation of Ozpin. "Glynda, let's not be drastic. I only inject five and a half ounces of unfiltered coffee into my system, not six, and I only do it once every 2 hours. I don't have a problem." he deadpanned.
Everyone burst out laughing at that, except for Weiss, who rolled her eyes condescendingly. Further adding to the hilarity, Jaune walked up to Weiss and said with a tone that clearly said that she should be impressed, "I'm a natural blonde, you know."
Weiss gave an 'I-am-surrounded-by-idiots' sigh and facepalmed. The group of teens laughed even harder.
Meanwhile, in Ozpin's Office...
Ozpin walked into his office and sat down behind his desk with a sigh, Glynda close behind. "I am not giving another speech without my coffee mug." Ozpin said tiredly.
"It's not like you have a choice. We were all out." Glynda replied.
"I suppose not..." Ozpin started tilting his head backwards in exhaustion. Halfway through, he stopped. "Glynda? What is that on top of the bookcase?"
"What are you talking about, sir? There's nothing over there." Glynda replied quickly, panic in her eyes. Ozpin stood up, walked over, and took down a large container, full of a dark, powdery substance.
"Why is there a large container of black coffee here?" Ozpin asked, giving Glynda an accusing look.
"I don't know, sir. Maybe you mis-" Glynda started, red faced.
Ozpin interrupted, "Glynda, if I find out you hid my coffee from me again, you will be dismissed."
"But sir-"
"No buts! I will drink my coffee and you will not stop me. It's mine," he said, hugging the container. "Mine."
Back with the main characters...
After Ozpin and Glynda's speech, everyone had gotten their locker numbers and combos and gone to their lockers. They changed into their pajamas and got their sleeping bags and headed to the ballroom. Victor changed in the bathroom stall to shave his fur and change without anyone seeing it. He cursed when he realized he'd forgotten to pack a razor. After several minutes, he concluded that he had no alternative other than to wear warmer clothes and sweat through the night. He knew he had skill deploying Hellfang's swords, but he wasn't quite confident he could shave himself with a sword blade without losing his arm. After changing and re-applying the makeup over his scars, he walked back out wearing a long-sleeved brown shirt, his fingerless gloves, some black pajama bottoms, and socks. He walked over to the ballroom with all the other students and there he met up with Nick, Yang and Ruby.
"Dude, you're gonna be hot as hell when you go to sleep." Nick told him.
"I usually am, aren't I?" Victor replied, earning him a laugh. "But seriously, I'll be fine. I get cold damn easily."
"If you say so." Nick said with a shrug.
"Let's go set our stuff down," Ruby said.
"Yeah, I wanna sit down." Yang agreed.
So they found a spot, spread out their sleeping bags and settled in. When they had gotten in their sleeping bags, Nick turned to Victor. "Hey, what do you think about initiation?" Nick asked him.
"I'm pretty excited. Personally, it's been too long since I've cracked some skulls."
"Yeah, same here. Hey, when we land, we need to find each other. We don't want to be separated on different teams."
Victor nodded. "That's for damn sure. I know how you fight, and you know how I fight. We know what to keep an eye on for each other, we know how to follow up... We compliment each other in combat."
"I guess that's what five years of competition and co-training does. Who else would you want on your team, anyways? Personally, I'd like Ruby and Luxia. You're the brawler on our team, so you and Yang wouldn't be great strategically on a team. Luxia seems like she would be a powerful and massively diverse fighter, and with Springsting she could fight in so many different ways. Besides that, Ruby would be fun to have on the team."
Victor nodded again. "I agree Yang wouldn't be great strategically. She'd be a great personality to have on the team, but you need diversity in your fighters. To be honest though, Ruby wouldn't do well without having her sister there for at least a little guidance from time to time. It wouldn't be a good idea to separate Yang and Ruby. I think Luxia and Chamele would be good teammates. They were obviously close friends, and I could see them complimenting each other the same way we do. Besides that, Chamele is probably pretty skilled with Backslash if she got in here. Remember the twin-dagger guy back at Signal?"
"Which one? There were like eight. I mean, Xavier and all those guys were absolute demons with those things, but Gavin and Daniel and Sadie were super clumsy."
"My point precisely. Xavier got accepted at that school in Atlas, right? And Gavin, Daniel and Sadie had to find different dream jobs because they weren't accepted anywhere."
"Yeah, Xavier and the others left to Orion Academy. But what's your point?"
"If you have a weapon like a dagger, you have to be damn good at using them if you want to get anywhere. There were tons of dagger users at Signal, and they were all either unbelievably amazing or absolutely crappy at using them. If Chamele got in here, I'll bet you she's at least as skilled as Xavier and the others. Especially considering the fact that none of them got accepted here."
Nick thought for a second. "I guess that's true. I'd still like to have Ruby on the team, though. She's fun to have around and to be honest we don't know much about Luxia or Chamele."
"Yeah, that was just-" He was interrupted by a small commotion in Ruby and Yang's direction, a few feet away.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" Ruby asked frantically as Yang dragged her towards a familiar looking girl sitting against the wall.
"Okay, what the hell now?! That's the third time today!" Victor asked incredulously as Nick burst out laughing. "Wait, isn't that the girl from before? The one that insulted Weiss and just vanished?" Victor said, recognizing the bow.
"Oh, yeah! Let's go with 'em." Nick said, climbing out of his sleeping bag and walking over. Victor followed. The girl had her nose in a book, with a lit candle next to her.
They walked up in time to hear Yang ask, "So... What's your name?"
"Blake." The girl replied with a sigh. It seemed as though she had no interest in conversation.
"Hey Yang, hey Ruby." Nick said as they came up next to them.
"Hey guys! This is Blake. Blake, this is Nick and Victor, and I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister!" Yang said enthusiastically.
"Nice to meet you, Blake." Victor said with a smile. Blake continued ignoring them.
"Um... I like your bow!" Yang said, continuing her attempts to start a conversation with Blake.
"Thanks." She replied, sounding slightly irritated, still not looking up from her book.
"It goes great with your... Pajamas!"
"Right..."
Ruby gave an uneasy laugh.
"Nice night, don't you think?" Yang persisted.
"Yes - it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book." Blake deadpanned.
The four of them stood there in silence.
"That I will continue to read."
They stayed.
"As soon as you leave."
Yang whispered to Ruby, "Yeah, this girl is a lost cause."
Ruby ignored her and asked Blake, "What's it about?"
"Huh?" Blake finally looked up, surprised. You could tell that nobody usually cared enough to ask her.
"Your book. What's it about?" Ruby repeated, genuinely interested.
"Well... I-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake answered, still a little surprised.
"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang said sarcastically. Victor nudged her in the ribs. "What was that for?!" Yang whispered.
"Be nice, Ruby's actually making progress." Victor whispered back.
"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!" Ruby continued, not noticing the exchange.
"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked, laughing a little.
"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"
Victor looked at Ruby, mildly surprised. That was the exact vow he took when his parents died. He had known about Ruby's aspirations to be a Huntress since he'd met her, but she'd never explained it like that.
"That's... very ambitious for a child," Blake said with a smile. However, she frowned again as she continued, "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."
"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." Ruby replied, with a serious look on her face.
"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang exclaimed, pulling Ruby into a bone-crushing hug and lifting her into the air.
"Cut it out!" Ruby said, kicking out at Yang. The hug quickly devolved into a mass of flailing limbs as the girls began fighting.
"Don't mind them. They tend to do that. By the way, two souls in one body? Are you reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" Victor asked, wanting to be friendly. Blake seemed nice once you got through her shell.
"Yes, actually. How did you know?" Blake answered, again surprised.
"I'm into books myself. Jekyll and Hyde was a great book."
Blake gave another small smile. "Yes, I'm enjoying it a lot. Anyways, I actually want to continue reading this, so maybe we can talk another time. Nick, Victor, Ruby, Yang, its a pleasure to ha-"
Suddenly, Weiss stormed towards them in her white pajamas, cutting Blake off. As she always seemed to be, she was very unhappy. Yang and Ruby stopped where they were, with Ruby trapping Yang's leg.
"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"
Then, Weiss, Ruby and Yang saw and recognized each other. "Oh, not you again!" Yang and Weiss said simultaneously, exasperated.
"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby said quickly.
"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss shot back.
"She's always been on your side!" Nick retorted.
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang agreed.
"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss replied.
"It was an accident! Seriously, get over it!" Victor said, now annoyed at Weiss.
"It was only a few hours ago! I could've been hurt!"
"I apologized, and you're fine!"
Blake rolled her eyes, closed her book, reached over to grab her candle, and blew it out, turning the room black and ending the fight.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next few will be posted soon. Not all at once, and I can't say exactly how soon. Could be a week or less, but not more than two weeks. Oh, and bonus points if you got the Achievement Hunter reference. And before you wonder about what Atlas is, it's on the RWBY wiki; it is a location on Remnant, but it is as of yet unclear if it is the name of the continent it is on or if it is a city-state similar to Vale. Anyways, please review or comment, I could use constructive criticism! It'd be at least nice to know if I'm doing well or not, I can't tell because not one person has reviewed. As always, I hope you have a great day, I'll see you all next chapter!
~VA
P.S. Forgot to mention, I've actually drawn the symbols for all of my OC's in a fit of boredom. If you want to see, let me know and I'll upload them to DeviantART and provide the link. I also recently drew Backslash (Chamele's dagger/gun, in case any of you forgot) and I am beginning to draw Springsting (Luxia's Zweihander/Crossbow/Dual sword). If you want to see any of these, you have to let me know! I'm not claiming they're masterpieces, but I've been told the symbols are pretty good, and I think Backslash was a pretty good drawing. Anyways, for real this time, see ya!