(Update: 7/4/22, Happy 4th of July everyone! I made the decision to remove chapters labeled as part 1 and part 2 and just merged them together to make one chapter this is to help save time and have less awkward endings anyways, I hope you enjoy the longer chapter.)

Several ships carry the incoming students, docking at the entrance of their new Academy. As soon as one lands, Jaune emerges and rushes over to the nearest trash can, hunching over it and hurling.

Ruby and Yang, alongside several other students, walk out of the ship and head down the paved path to the front of the school.

Yang looked up in amazement but Ruby's eyes were more focused on the same majestic girl in white.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!"

Ruby's attention suddenly turns to the new weapons and somehow turns into a two dimensional floating chibi.

"Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" she tries to get a closer look, but Yang pulls her sister by the hood back into her three dimensional form.

"Ow! Ooww!"

"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons!"

"'Just weapons'? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

Ruby transforms her weapon into its scythe form

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."

Yang playfully pulls down her sister's hood down over her face.

"Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

Ruby takes off her hood off. "But... why would I need friends if I have you?"

"Well... Actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. 'Kay, see ya, bye!"

In a flash, a group of other students surround Yang and they all dash down the road.

Ruby was left spinning and her eyes now swirls.

"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms? ...I don't know what I'm doing..."

Ruby falls backwards into a luggage cart, sending cases flying. Someone is standing over her.

Weiss: "What are you doing?!"

Ruby gasps noticing this is the same beautiful girl who caught her attention earlier. "Uh, sorry!"

Weiss: "Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

Ruby blushes in complete humiliation "Uuhhh..."

An angry Weiss snatches the luggage from Ruby. "Give me that!" She opens it revealing bottles of dust.

"This is Dust - mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"

Ruby being lost for words just gave an "Uuuhhhh..."

"What are you, brain-dead?" Ruby grasped her heart while the Ice Queen held out a vial of red Dust and shutting the case. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"

"I... I know..."

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Ruby, who had been receiving more and more Dust to her face, finally sneezes, which erupts into a huge explosion of fire, snowflakes, and electricity right onto Weiss. The bottle she was holding flew over the courtyard and to the feet of Blake Belladonna, who picks it up and notices the Schnee Dust Company logo on the side as she reads from a book and looks over at the scene.

Weiss is now covered in debris which only pisses her off more. "Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Ruby was now a combination of apologetic embarrassed and heartbroken. She tried her best to hold her tears back as she get her throat tighten. "I'm really, really sorry!"

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I..."

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!"

"I said I was sorry, princess! Just please stop yelling" She muttered with her eyes shut.

"It's heiress, actually." (Ruby and Weiss look over to see a woman in black walking in their direction. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Weiss smiles smugly "Finally! Some recognition!"

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

"Wha- How dare- The nerve of... Ugh!" Weiss gives up and gets up in Blake's face before taking the bottle of dust from her. She then storms off in a huff as her assistant gathers the luggage and follows her.

"I-I promise I'll make this up to you!" *sighs* "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day..." She looks over to Blake only to see that she's gone too leaving her alone. She collapses to the ground on her back "Welcome to Beacon..." She allows the tears to finally stream down her cheeks. That is until someone approaches her.

"Hey... I'm Jaune." He reaches his hand out and helps her up.

"Ruby." She says standing up.

"Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Beacon inside the walls are filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river, down which Ruby and Jaune are walking.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune says.

Ruby chuckles, "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh, yeah? 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!"

"Do they?" Ruby asks skeptically.

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind."

Awkward silence follows.

Ruby tries to break the silence by flexing her weapon "So... I got this thing!" she pulls out Crescent Rose and stabs the tip into the ground.

Jaune is caught off guard and takes a few steps back. "Whoa! Is that a scythe?"

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"

"A-wha...?"

Ruby cocks it, "It's also a gun."

"Oh. That's cool!"

"So what've you got?"

Oh! I, uh..." he unsheathes a sword "I got this sword!"

"Ooooohh!"

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" he gets his scabbard, raises his arm and expands the metal into his defense.

Ruby touches the shield. "So, what do they do?"

Jaune fumbled with the shield as it retracts off his arm, expands, and retracts again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, placing it on his belt.

"The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..."

"But... wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does..." He says dejectedly

""Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it."

"Wait - you made that?!"

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me! Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Jaune sheathes his sword. "Yeah, the classics..."

The two start walking again.

"So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?"

"Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'"

"Hmm. Hey, where are we going?" She asks looking around.

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you. Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... Is that a 'no'?"

"Nope"

Ruby and Jaune enter Beacon Academy's massive auditorium, filled to the brim with incoming students. Ruby looks over when she hears Yang's voice.

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

Ruby turns to her new friend. "Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" She then walks away to join

"Hey, wait!" *sighs* "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!" he moves on to reveal unaware that another beautiful girl was standing behind, watching him the whole time.

We now return to Yang and Ruby.

"How's your first day going, little sister?" Yang asks with her arms crossed.

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded??" Ruby corrected.

"Yikes! Meltdown already?"

"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?"

Yang broadly grins. "Are you being sarcastic?"

Ruby scoffs, "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, because she was just so pretty and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

As Ruby continued to vent she is completely unaware that the drama Queen was standing right beside her

"You!"A startled Ruby quickly jumps into her sister's arms "Oh, God, it's happening again!"

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

Yang was deadpanned upon realizing she was telling the truth. "Oh my God, you really exploded."

"It was an accident. I swear I didn't mean to!" Weiss holds up a pamphlet titled DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals to Ruby. "What's this?"

Weiss started listing off policies to a clueless and horrified Ruby.

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product..."

Once again, Ruby stopped paying attention and focused on just how beautiful she was. Her minty breath, her beautiful blue eyes, her smooth skin. She was just perfect. That's the only way she could describe her. Sure she was quite the bitch but surely she could do something about it.

Ruby suddenly snaps back into reality. "Uuhhh...?"

"You really wanna start making things up to me?"

"Absolutely?"

Weiss hands the pamphlet to Ruby. "Read this, and don't ever speak to me again." Ruby gasps softly and Yang sees this so she steps in to try and defuse the situation.

"Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" She holds out her hand and clears her throat. "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, blond, and scraggly over there!" Weiss responds with sarcasm.

Jaune hears this and pops his head up.

Ruby gasps in delight, convinced she still had a chance "Wow, really?!"

Weiss however crushes those dreams with dead silence under her glare. "No."

The girls' attention is drawn to the stage, where Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone, with Glynda beside him.

"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. 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."

As Ozpin steps away Glynda steps up to the stage.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"He seemed kind of... off."

Ruby sighs, "Let's just go."

Jaune suddenly approaches Weiss from the side. "I'm a natural blond, you know!"

Weiss puts her hand to her face in exasperation.

The first night at Beacon, students are splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and with a sleeping mask around her head, is writing in a journal when Yang crashes next to her, similarly dressed.

"It's like a big slumber party!"

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby comments without looking up.

"I know I do!" Yang purrs as she watches several muscular, shirtless guys... and Jaune, dressed in feetie pajamas, waving to her, which makes her groan before she returns her attention to Ruby. "What's that?"

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" She's knocked back when a pillow is launched at her face in response.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!"

"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

Ruby rolls on her back. "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."

"There's no such things as negative friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!" Ruby growls and throws another pillow her way. This one was looked like a dog. "It's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

The two sisters notice a candle being lit nearby, and a mysterious girl dressed in all black is seen leaning against a wall, reading her book.

"That girl..."

"You know her?"

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang grabs Ruby's arm and pulls her up.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

Blake looks over her book to see Ruby unsuccessfully struggling against Yang's superior grip as she leads her sister over to Blake's spot before letting go.

"Hel-looooo! I believe you two may know each other?"

"Aren't you... that girl that exploded?"

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater... Actually, you can just call me Ruby. She smiles in embarrassment

Okay...

"What are you doing?" Yang whispers to Ruby

"I don't know - help me!" She whispers back

"So... What's your name?" Yang asks

A distracted Blake sighs. "Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!"

"Thanks!" She says clearly irritated

"It goes great with your... pajamas!"

"Right..."

Ruby laughs uncomfortably, "Nice night, don't you think?" Yang follows up

Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book...! That I will continue to read... As soon as you leave!"

Yang turns back to Ruby. "Yeah, this girl's a lost cause."

Ruby turns to Blake. "What's it about?"

"Huh?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang comments with sarcasm.

"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!"

Blake laughs a little "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"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!"

"That's... very ambitious for a child." Her smile turns into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better.

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang hugs Ruby into the air crushing her in her arms.

Ruby begins struggling "Cut it out!" The forced sisterly bonding evolves into a dust cloud of fighting limbs and flying stars.

Blake once again laughs a little "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"

Weiss suddenly storms to the storming onto the scene in her own nightgown as Ruby traps Yang's leg. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Weiss and Yang shout in unison Oh, not you again!

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!l

"Oh, now you're on my side!"

"I was always on your side!"

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!"

Blake, who rolls her eyes at the fight, simply closes her book, reaches over to grab her candle, and blows it out.

As Ruby made her her to her sleeping bag she just couldn't get Weiss off her mind. Seeing her with her hair down like that... she was just... breathtaking! But how could she ever come back from this. Weiss hates her and it's clear she's not gonna get over what happened anytime soon. These thoughts danced around in her head as she slowly fell asleep.