Twin Roses

by MoravianCrusader

Ruby was a little sad. Here her sister was, one of the main guiding lights of her life, going off to Beacon Academy to begin her training as a Huntress! Sure, she only had two years left at Signal Academy before she would join her, but still... she felt as if things would be a little different now that she was gone. Oh, well. At least she had her twin brother with her!

Chapter 1: Prologue

Ruby Rose had always been interested in weapons. Always. Well, perhaps "interested" isn't the right word for it. Most of her family and… friends… would call it an obsession. She didn't think so, though. She was sure it was perfectly healthy to find big guns and explosives super cool, interesting, fun, nice… and lovable… and sexy… and… hm. Okay, maybe she had a bit of a problem with guns, but she couldn't help it! They were just so cool, especially Crescent Rose! Her beauty… that massive scythe and high-impact sniper rifle that had never failed her… she loved it. More than almost anything in the world, second only to the members of her family. Her family…

Right… Yang Xiao Long was going to Beacon Academy very soon. Too soon, really. To have the sister who had been with her through thick and thin ever since she was born suddenly become absent from her immediate proximity was… alarming. Was she going to be okay? Going to Beacon Academy all alone to meet people she's never seen before was a terrifying thought to Ruby, and that was still two years away! And here Yang was… going off into some far-off land to… okay, it wasn't that far, but still! She was leaving off her friends and family behind to become a Huntress… leaving Ruby all, all alone…

At least, that's how it would have been if she didn't have Crimson. Being a twin definitely had its perks, and she was glad that she would have some suitable company for the following two years until they also went to Beacon. Good thing he was as much of a weapon nut as her, or she might have had to worry about making… friends.

She didn't realize she was lost in her thoughts until someone nudged her on the shoulder and caused her red hood to fall onto her shoulders. She lowered the magazine about weapons she was supposed to be reading (THE FINEST OF THEM ALL, BABY!) and turned to face whoever had decided to try and get her attention. He was a taller man wearing a black fedora, suit, gloves, pants, and shoes, alongside a red tie and shades. He seemed to be holding some kind of curved, red-tinted blade in his right hand, which was lowered to the side at the moment. His left hand was raised to his head, and he was tapping his ear impatiently as an irritated expression adorned his face.

Realizing he was gesturing for her to take the headphones off, she quickly obliged, reaching toward the headphones encasing her head (which happened to be playing some unnecessarily loud rock music into her earlobes) and pulling them back and onto her neck.

"Yes?" she asked as she regained her sense of sound, a curious expression coming to her face as she stared at the man before her.

"I said…" he began saying, leaning forward and making a threatening glare worm its way onto his face, "…put your hands in the air, now!"

Ruby simply stared at the man for a moment, her gaze shifting over his features one more time, especially at that sword in his hands, before making its way back to his face.

"Are you… robbing me?" she asked in a tone that was laced with more genuine curiosity than fear.

The man stepped forward, attempting to take on a more imposing presence before the young girl in front of him as he leaned closer to her and raised his voice, "Yes!"

With her suspicions confirmed, Ruby's face contorted into a confident and menacing smile that made the man begin to regret trying to threaten her. Unfortunately for him, his regret did nothing to prevent the inevitable.

"Oh…" she said as she stared at the man for a second longer. In the next second, the man was flying across the store.

—

Right outside From Dust Till Dawn, leaning back on a wooden bench, was a boy of approximately fifteen years of age. He was most definitely on the shorter side, standing at about five feet and five inches, but still sported a slightly more masculine appearance than his sister inside the shop. He had broader shoulders, slightly shorter hair, and a stronger jawline, though his hair was still fairly long for being a male and his chin did not give off an air of being "hyper-masculine". Like Ruby, his hair was black but subtly faded to a dark shade of red as it went further down. He was dressed in his casual clothing, wearing a black zip-up jacket that was colored red on the inside, gray pants, and a pair of red-colored tennis shoes. His headphones, which were the same model as Ruby's (and also currently playing the exact kind of music she usually listened to), were placed firmly on his head, blocking out the sounds of the city with overwhelming rock and metal. Strapped to his back, a massive red sword rested, with a broad blade that curved upwards the further down it was, the edge of which was serrated and had small barrels between the teeth. On the left side of his hip, a massive, Desert Eagle-style hand cannon rested, it's red barrel and grip adorned with intricate patterns while its black receiver had a rose engraving on it. While the safety switch was obviously there, there was also another switch that seemed to differentiate between types of Dust. On his face, the black shades he was wearing as well as the jacket's hood covering most of his head slightly helped to hide his baby face, but anyone could tell upon looking at him that he was still a boy. The shades helped hide the fact that he was trying his absolute hardest to sleep.

Yang… - he thought to himself - Why did you have to go to some stupid nightclub?

He seriously didn't get it. Sure, Yang was going to Beacon soon, sure, it was a celebration-worthy occasion, and sure, she deserved to have some fun before going off to engage in intense and grueling training. But did she really have to go to a nightclub? The one place that he and Ruby couldn't go…? It wasn't like she was allowed in nightclubs anyway. She was still a seventeen-year-old girl! Dad would probably be pissed. Probably. For all he knew, Dad might've got rowdy during his Huntsman-in-training years and would sympathize with Yang. Crimson had never asked.

Crimson let out an audible groan and slumped further into the bench as he kept his eyes closed. Despite having gotten little sleep last night, he was finding it hard to fall asleep here. The sounds of the city were blocked out by the music blasting in his ears, but the bench he was sitting on was still uncomfortable, and the massive sword on his back certainly did not help. He always slept on some kind of bed, so trying to compensate for this hard, wooden surface was extremely difficult. In truth, he didn't really have to sleep, but he always hated feeling like he wasn't making the most of his time, and wandering about in the shops while they waited for Yang to get done with her stupid nightclub festivities seemed too much like a waste of time for him to partake in. So, he decided to make the most of the time given to him to try and get some rest, the key word being try.

Despite how loud the music in his ears was, he could still hear the sound of glass shattering very near to him very clearly. He finally opened his eyes and sat up into an upright position, pulling both the hood and headphones covering his head back with his prosthetic arm, which had replaced his right arm right up to his elbow. The hand of the prosthetic, metal arm was colored a deep shade of crimson, while the rest of the replacement arm was nearly pitch black in color. Crimson shifted his gaze over to the source of the noise, to find that the right window of the From Dust Till Dawn had been completely shattered, a large object apparently having been smashed through it. Looking a short distance in front of the Dust shop, it was obvious what that object was: a man wearing a black suit and a fedora. The man wasn't the object of his gaze, however. Instead, he had fixated his stare on the familiar figure standing atop the man and spinning a massive scythe in her hand, stabbing it into the ground as she aimed the barrel of the weapon's built-in rifle toward the front of the store.

Crimson smiled.

Finally, something to concern myself with.

With a small grunt, he sat up from the bench and jogged over to Ruby, who turned her head to look at him with a mischievous grin. As he finally approached where she stood, he and Ruby simultaneously muted the headphones playing the loud music.

"So, Ruby…" Crimson asked with a voice that middled between deep and high-pitched, though leaned ever-so-slightly slightly toward the latter side, "…any reason you're beating up some dudes in suits? Trying to get us in trouble?"

Ruby let out a small giggle as she tilted her head toward the shop before them, her gaze still fixated on Crimson as he turned his head to look toward the store. He noticed that more men in similar black suits were now peering out of the window with irritated expressions on their faces, alongside a taller man in a white coat and a bowler hat, who happened to be holding a walking cane in his hands and had a cigar in his mouth. Given the fact that the black suits surrounding the man were all holding red-tinted blades and lightweight submachine guns in their hands, it was easy to put together their intentions for the small Dust shop.

"Actually, I'm trying to stop these people from making some trouble. Wanna help out?" Ruby asked Crimson as she looked toward the group of goons in front of them. The question was rhetorical, of course.

"Sure. Wouldn't want to miss out on some good old-fashioned fun, the Rose way," replied Crimson as he reached toward his back and drew out the massive, red-colored sword that was strapped to it. He pulled the weapon in front of his body and rested it on his shoulder with his right hand, his left hand reaching toward a large hand cannon on the left side of his hip. He pulled the gun out of the strap and twirled it excitedly in his hands, using his right hand to slightly pull a trigger poking out of the hilt of his sword, which caused scorching hot flames to temporarily shoot out of the barrels between the blade's serrated teeth.

"Let's get started," he said simply as he lowered his stance, with Ruby doing the same. The man in the bowler hat took a moment to look with annoyance at the pair.

"Okay…" he said, impatience lacing his voice as he stared toward the goons surrounding him. He then pointed his cane toward the red duo and spoke in a tone that made it sound like this was simply an inconvenience to him.

"Get them…"

Without a moment's hesitation, the goons ran toward the door of the Dust shop and spilled out of it, running toward the pair of fighters with malicious intent as they bared their blades. There were about seven of them in total, Crimson noted. Four were headed for Ruby, and three were headed for him.

Unwise. - He thought as he waited for the first of the goons to approach him, a red blade in his hand. The goon let out a yell as he jumped into the air and attempted to perform an overhead slash to Crimson.

Crimson quickly sidestepped the attack and crouched down low as he spun his body, swinging his leg in a wide arc and sweeping the man right off his feet. The goon let out a yell as he began to fall to the ground, but was quickly silenced as Crimson shot the man right in the body with his hand cannon, causing the man to slide across the pavement. Crimson then turned his attention toward the two other combat-capable goons, one of which was quickly approaching with a red-tinted machete and the other of which was standing at a distance and raising a submachine up to begin firing upon him. Acting quickly, Crimson aimed his hand cannon at the ground right behind him and flipped a switch on the weapon. An explosion erupted on the ground behind him as he was launched forward, sliding along the ground at high speed and smashing right through the feet of the goon who was wielding the machete. He continued sliding right toward the goon with the submachine gun as he reached out with his right hand and adjusted his grip on the sword, holding it so that the blade was facing to the side instead of in front of him. As the goon with the submachine gun begin firing at a rapid rate right at him, Crimson's prosthetic hand began to spin at an insane speed, his weapon ultimately becoming a blur of red as each low-caliber shot was easily deflected. Sliding right up to the man, Crimson jumped high into the air and reared his right arm above his head, halting the rapid spin of his blade as the goon below him widened his eyes behind his shades.

With the second goon planted firmly into the pavement, Crimson turned his attention back to the one with the machete, who was still trying to get to his feet. He took a slight moment to look toward Ruby, who was busy obliterating the four goons who had gone to chase her and allowed a smile to come to his face. Turning back to the goon with the machete, Crimson decided to go out in style. He placed a single explosive shot right toward the feet of the man, causing him to fall to the ground once more and let out a yelp. Crimson immediately ran forward at blinding speed and leaped into the air, rotating his body so that he was parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the goon lying on the pavement. As he began to fall, a rocket booster built into the side of his arm began to push hard against it, causing his entire body to begin spinning at a very, very fast speed as he continued to hold the crimson blade in his hands.

The criminal didn't even have time to widen his eyes as Crimson's blade slammed right onto him, causing a small crater to form in the pavement as both he and the sword were sent upward by the counteracting force. Crimson maintained hold of the blade as he landed safely on the ground, while the goon flew upward in the air and yelled uncontrollably. With a grin, Crimson calmly raised his hand cannon and aimed it forward, right into the path where the goon would fall.

"Jackpot," he stated simply as the man crossed his line of sight.

With a press of the trigger, an explosive round shot right into the side of the goon falling before Crimson. The man was sent flying by the explosion, letting out a yell as he soared through the air and right toward a brick wall. He slammed into it with the force of a train, almost completely destroying it and causing him to fly right through it. Crimson let out a small wince as he watched the scene before him, not from concern for the man's safety, but concern with the consequences of the property damage.

Eh, I'm sure they'd understand - He thought to himself.

Crimson let out a chuckle as he turned back to face the man in the bowler hat, who had attention turned to one of the goons Ruby had launched right at his feet. As the man stared at the unconscious criminal, Crimson walked up behind Ruby and patted her gently on the shoulder. The girl turned her head toward the boy, a confident expression resting on her face as silver eyes met silver eyes. For a moment, the two smiled, looking into each other's faces with an affectionate and loving look. Then, the two shared a chuckle, laughing softly as they both reached out their fists for a small fist bump. They quickly turned to look back to the seeming leader of this group of goons as he began speaking.

"You were worth every cent… truly, you were," the man spoke in a disappointed tone as he stared downward at the goon at his feet, before finally turning his attention to the two warriors in front of him.

"Well, Red and… Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening!" he said as he pulled the cigar from his mouth and dropped it onto the street, stuffing the burning end with his cane, "…And as much as I'd love to stick around…"

He trailed off, pulling his cane up and aiming it at Ruby and Crimson, who both visibly tensed at the movement.

"…I'm afraid this," he said as the end of the cane popped out and turned into the now-revealed weapon's iron sights, "is where we part ways."

The man fired the cane-turned weapon at Ruby and Crimson, causing a bright projectile to launch itself out of the cane, emitting a whistling noise as it did so. Not missing a beat, Crimson executed a tactical roll, narrowly avoiding the explosive as it blew up the ground where he once was. A look of worry crossed over his face for a brief moment as he saw no sign of Ruby before she landed on the ground where the explosion took place, having used the rifle of Crescent Rose to launch herself into the air. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw that she was okay before he turned to look at the man who had fired the projectile. He narrowed his eyes as he saw that the man had completely vanished, and both he and Ruby began to look around for any sign of the criminal. They quickly found it as they looked toward a building nearby and saw that he was climbing the ladder to its roof, obviously attempting his escape. Without missing a beat, Crimson charged forward, withdrawing his blade and hand cannon to their respective places on his body and grabbing onto his prosthetic arm with his left hand. He quickly detached the arm and activated the arm's back-thruster, causing it to begin pulling him forward. He diverted the arm's force away from in front of him and instead to the air as Crimson hopped onto the arm with his two feet and maintained control of its direction with his left hand, flying up and onto the roof of the building. Ruby stayed behind for a moment as she looked to the Dust shop and saw the old cashier peering out from the door.

"You okay if we go after him?" She asked with a determined expression on her face. The man quickly gave his reply in the form of a shocked and flabbergasted "Uh-huh". Following behind Crimson, Ruby ran forward and aimed the barrel of Crescent Rose at her feet, firing once as she was lifted into the air and right onto the roof of the building Crimson had flown on. The twins ran forward as the criminal in the bowler hat made his way toward the edge of the roof, Ruby yelling out to him as she narrowed her eyes.

"Hey!"

The man came to a stop right at the edge as he continued to look forward, his voice becoming even more annoyed as he spoke to himself.

"…Persistent…" he commented as both Ruby and Crimson took on combative stances, with Crimson unholstering his two weapons and holding them tightly in his hands. They both paused, however, as a Bullhead rose up from in front of the edge of the roof, hovering a short height above it. It quickly activated its floodlights and aimed it right at the red duo, both being momentarily blinded by the bright light as the wind produced by the aircraft blew against their clothes.

As the pair's vision returned to them, they found that the man in the bowler hat had made his way into the Bullhead and was now looking back at them with a smug expression on his face, clearly feeling that he had won. Crimson clenched his jaw as he witnessed the man's condescending behavior. He never could stand people like that.

His attention was drawn to the red Dust crystal the man had pulled out of his pocket as he raised it in front of him and displayed it to the duo.

"End of the line, red-ettes!" taunted the criminal as he lobbed the Dust crystal right toward Ruby and Crimson. Both of them took a step backward as the object hit the ground and bounced toward them, with the man raising his cane up and firing an explosive shot toward them. Crimson and Ruby's eyes widened as they saw that there was no way to dodge or block the ensuing explosive, with both bracing themselves by preparing their auras and raising their weapons in front of them.

Crimson thought it was the end of the confrontation for sure, and so did the man in the Bullhead, who let out a hearty whoop at the spectacle before him. His celebration was cut short, however, when he saw that the smoke was clearing and there were still people standing there. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes as he peered through the remaining smoke. Three people, in fact, were now standing there, with the one in front holding out a black riding crop and producing a purple glyph that seemingly blocked the dangerous blast of the explosion. He took particular note of the outfit of the - now he could see clearly - woman with blonde hair, which made her look like an instructor of some sort. He most likely would have made an inappropriate comment about her in his head were he not in a dangerous situation already.

Crimson and Ruby, meanwhile, looked on in awe as the Huntress before them readjusted her eyeglasses and reared back her riding crop before thrusting it forward, unleashing a torrent of projectiles on the Bullhead as it shook violently, forcing the man in the bowler hat to steady himself as he yelped. Finally having regained his footing, he let out a growl and quickly made his way over to the cockpit, where a woman in a strangely seductive red dress sat, attempting to control the aircraft.

"We've got a Huntress!" the man said to the woman in an urgent voice as he held himself up. Without a word, the woman stood up and made her way further into the Bullhead, the man quickly taking her place in attempting to control the aircraft.

The Huntress, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes as the aircraft begin to drift away. Not wanting to let it escape so easily, she cast out another projectile which erupted above the aircraft, creating a large storm cloud that encircled the Bullhead from above. The Huntress then thrust her riding crop downward, unleashing a torrent of sharp ice crystals upon the aircraft that pierced into its armor, even forcing the man in the cockpit to dodge out of the way of one of the projectiles. The Huntress paused and narrowed her eyes as she watched a woman in a red dress and heels walk toward the open side of the Bullhead. After a moment of simply staring at each other, the woman in red began to glow as an ember moved up her body and toward her hand. She then thrust her hand forward, launching the ember toward the Huntress, who quickly blocked the attack with another glyph. Not one to be deterred, the woman in red raised her hand up, causing a ring of orange around the Huntress' feet, prompting the woman to backflip out of the way as the ring erupted upwards into a pillar of flame. As the flames dissipated and transformed into tiny shards, Crimson looked over to Ruby, who was just as stunned and in disbelief as he was at the situation.

"Uh… what did we get ourselves into, Ruby?" he asked as the girl looked over to him and gave him an unsure shrug, equally as confused as he was.

"I, uh… dunno," was all she could give him, along with a small smile.

They quickly turned back to the battle before them to find the Huntress had transformed the small shards into a massive spike and flung it at the Bullhead. The woman in red quickly fired three bursts of flame at the incoming projectile as it once again fell to pieces, only for the Huntress to regain control of the shards and launch them toward the Bullhead once again. The man in the cockpit gritted his teeth as he tilted the aircraft to the side, letting the shards deflect off the Bullhead's armor as the woman in red nearly lost her footing. With another wave of her riding crop, the Huntress transformed the shards into several long spears that arced around the Bullhead and traveled toward it. The woman in red glanced at the approaching projectiles for a moment before gathering herself, several glyphs forming around her body, and exploding the energy contained within her outward, obliterating all the makeshift spears.

The Huntress watched as the aircraft then began to retreat, attempting to escape the situation once and for all. Finally snapped out of their stupors, Ruby and Crimson aimed their guns at the Bullhead, with Ruby transforming Crescent Rose into its gun form and Crimson raising up his hand cannon, and began to fire rapidly at the woman in red. The woman moved her hands into the paths of each shot, effortlessly dispelling their energy before waving her hands in front of her and summoning a group of rings beneath the feet of the Huntress and the red twins. Noticing this, the Huntress quickly waved her riding crop forward, causing both Ruby and Crimson to be thrust forward and out of the way, before performing a flip forward and landing smoothly on her feet, avoiding the dangers of the flames behind her. She looked up with a stoic expression as the side of the Bullhead closed and it began to speed off into the night, finally achieving its goal of escape. She then promptly looked over to the troubling pair as they made their way to their feet.

Crimson looked on for a moment at the distant form of the Bullhead before turning his attention to Ruby. He let out another sigh of relief at seeing she was unharmed before turning his head to the Huntress, who did not seem to be in the best of moods judging by her expression.

He had to say, though. That whole… thing… was super cool.

"You're… a Huntress?" asked Ruby in disbelief and wonder as she looked to the Huntress in question, who looked back with a much more stern and displeased look.

"…Can I have your autograph?" asked Ruby in a breathless voice as she stared at the Huntress with hopeful eyes.

"And can you get one for me, too? That was super… duper... truper cool!" asked Crimson, who could not hide the hopeful expression from his own face as he grinned widely.

That grin was not present as he later sat next to Ruby in some kind of dark and dinky interrogation room. Instead, he had a small frown on his face as he rested his head on his prosthetic hand, while his shoulder itself rested on the table. He looked completely disinterested, with a hint of disdain creeping its way onto his face at the older woman circling them, who he now knew as Glynda Goodwitch. Ruby, meanwhile, looked incredibly downcast, disappointed that one: she could not get Glynda's autograph, and that two: she was going to have to explain all of this to her family, who would most likely be very, very displeased.

"I hope you realize your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young man and young lady. You put yourselves and others in great danger!" Glynda stated as she chastised the two, her usual sternness on full display as she continued to pace between the two adolescents, with both audibly protesting.

"They started it!" yelled out Ruby as she looked at the woman.

"Right! And… committed crimes! Y'know… the stuff you're not supposed to do. Which we stopped!" Protested Crimson as he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at the woman and slamming his fists on the desk.

"If it were up to me, you both would be sent home…" she said as she began to walk in front of the red twins, her gaze focused on the Scroll in her hands, "…with a pat on the back…"

As she said this, Ruby perked up, her sorrowful expression transforming into excitement, while Crimson lifted his head and focused his gaze on Glynda, his eyes widening slightly.

After a moment, Glynda looked up, and the usual strict teacher returned as she spoke in a stern voice.

"…And a slap on the wrist!"

Crimson and Ruby physically recoiled as Glynda slapped them on the wrists with her riding crop, with Crimson letting out a small yelp. He grumbled to himself and rubbed his wrist, a small glare making its way onto his face as he stared up at the older woman.

"But…" Glynda began saying, a look of slight defeat resting on her face, as if she was sorrowful she did not have the opportunity to enforce her own solution to the situation, "…there is someone here who would like to meet you."

Ruby and Crimson looked on in slight surprise as a tall figure entered the room, carrying a mug of coffee in his left hand and a plate of cookies in his right.

Professor Ozpin? From Beacon? - Thought Crimson as he watched the Huntsman and headmaster of Beacon Academy speak to him and Ruby.

"Ruby and Crimson Rose…" he began saying as he stepped forward, leaning forward and staring into each of the twins' eyes. Rose widened her eyes slightly, while Crimson merely raised an eyebrow at the man's proximity.

"…you both… have silver eyes."

Uh… yeah? - Thought Crimson, letting out a small "uh" as Ruby did the same.

"So…" the headmaster started saying as he leaned back up and titled his head backward, gesturing to Glynda, who was holding a Scroll that was playing a recording of the fight between the red twins and the goons, "…where did you learn to do this?"

Both Ruby and Crimson responded at the same time in wavering voices, not exactly knowing what to make of the situation, "…Signal Academy?"

Again? - Thought Crimson as his gaze shifted over to Ruby, who had done the same and was now looking at him. The two shared a small smile before looking back over to Ozpin, who was looking at them both with an intense look.

"They taught you two to use some of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" he asked, "A scythe with a built-in high impact sniper rifle and a sword with flamethrowers built between its serrated teeth, alongside a hand cannon that can fire rounds powerful enough to launch a particular young boy a considerable distance?"

Ruby responded first, a bit of a nostalgic expression coming to her face as she spoke, "Well… one teacher in particular did."

Crimson responded next, a small smirk coming to his face as he leaned forward and spoke with a hint of pride, "Yep. I taught myself, mostly, since Crimson Rose and Darkened Rose are rather… unique. It was a whole bunch of trial and error! Though…"

His expression become much softer as his smile turned into a more affectionate one.

"…I did have some help."

Ozpin looked at both of the twins in front of him for a moment before responding calmly, "…I see."

The older man then stepped forward, the plate of cookies placed securely on his outstretched hand, and set it down on the table in front of the twins.

Both Ruby and Crimson's bodies froze as they looked downward at the treat before them before their eyes shifted back to look at each other. Simultaneously, the two reached out and took a single cookie, their eyes still locked on each other as they put it into their mouths. Suddenly, the two turned and began to gather as many cookies as they can and shove them into their mouths. Both siblings tried their best to shove the hands of the other away as they mumbled harsh words through their mouths, trying to dissuade the other from taking their prize. The plate of cookies began to look quite empty in a matter of seconds.

Ozpin took a moment to laugh to himself at the quarreling of the twins, finding it affectionate and even a little cute, before speaking up over the sounds of the two fighting for the cookies.

"Miss Rose… it's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow…"

At hearing the name of the mentioned scythe-wielder, the twins stopped their quarreling and looked over to Ozpin, who seemed to be looking off to the side and recollecting the memories he had of the individual in question.

"Uncle Qrow," mumbled Crimson through the cookies in his mouth, which he quickly did his best to swallow. He almost choked on it, too, which would not have been a good look.

"Yep! That's our uncle!" she mumbled as Ozpin narrowed his eyes at the pair, apparently not finding their attempts at talking through their food very polite.

Ruby quickly swallowed the rest of her cookies and wiped off her mouth before she properly responded with a clear mouth, "Sorry… that's our Uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing…"

Crimson took a moment to playfully as he leaned his head over to Ruby and stared at the two adults in the room, a mischievous grin resting on his face as he gestured to the girl with his thumb.

"That she was!"

Ruby momentarily paused her statement as she playfully shoved Crimson back to his spot, a huge grin coming to her face, "Oh, shut up! You were garbage before you went to Signal, too! More garbage than me!"

As Ozpin watched the siblings scuffle, he couldn't help but be amused, though he didn't show it on his face. He merely raised his mug of coffee up and took a small sip from it as he watched Ruby continue on with her statement.

"…anyway, I was garbage at fighting before Uncle Qrow took me under his wing and trained me. After that? Well, now I'm like… hoooooo!" she said as she raised her hands up and crossed them as if like karate. Crimson merely looked on with bright amusement as his sister showcased her newfound "skills" given to her by Qrow.

"Actually, it was more like… woosh! Woosh! BAM! Pow! Pow! Pow…! BOOM!" exclaimed Crimson as he fashioned his arms like he was swinging around an actual weapon before transitioning into firing an imaginary gun.

"So I've noticed," commented Ozpin as he set down the coffee cup on the table and leaned forward, "And what are an adorable little girl and a striking little boy…"

I'm not little… well, not little for long… I'll get my growth spurt one day… - Commented Crimson in his own thoughts as he narrowed his eyes toward Ozpin.

"…such as yourselves, doing at a school designed to train warriors?" Ozpin asked the twins as he looked between them, apparently searching for their motivations.

The two siblings looked at each other with a sparkle in their eyes, small smiles coming to their lips as they looked toward Ozpin and responded simultaneously once again.

"I want to be a Huntress/Huntsman," they both said to the man before them, who tilted his head slightly at the two.

"You want to slay monsters?" he asked as he gave the twins a questioning look.

Crimson merely let out a small chuckle as he leaned back in his seat, a confident look coming to his face as he nodded his head.

"Yeah. Slaying monsters. Y'know, train to become a top-class warrior and protect people when they can't protect themselves, that sort of thing. But especially to purge the Grimm," Crimson stated as he looked at the adults in front of him. As he mentioned the Grimm, his eyes flashed a deep red for the briefest of moments, which was not unnoticed by Ozpin and Glynda, who shared a glance with each other.

Ruby nodded her head in response to Ozpin's question, a small smile coming to her face.

"Yeah! We only have two more years of training left at Signal Academy! And then…" she said, turning her head over to Crimson for a moment, "…we're going to apply to Beacon together! You see, our sister's starting there this year and she's trying to become a Huntress and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people! My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!'. Hehe. I mean, the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting, cool, and really, gosh, you know?!"

Ruby looked back over to the two adults in the room, neither of which had given much of a reaction to her little spiel as Glynda continued to stare sternly at her and Ozpin merely gave her his normal, guarded look. Off to the side, Crimson was covering his face with his prosthetic hand and was snorting to himself.

"…Do either of you know who I am?" asked Ozpin as he tilted his head downward and stared intensely at Ruby, who quickly gave her response as she leaned closer.

"You're Professor Ozpin… you're the headmaster at Beacon," she stated correctly as Crimson had gotten over his laughing fit and was now looking up at Ozpin.

Ozpin merely gave a small chuckle to himself as he looked at Ruby with a smirk.

"Hello," he said politely to the girl as she smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you," she said with similar politeness, and even a hint of eagerness, at Ozpin, who had leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk before himself.

"You both want to come to my school?" asked the man as he looked between Ruby and Crimson.

"Absolutely," replied Crimson as he gave the man before him a hopeful smile and leaned forward.

"More than anything," replied Ruby as she also leaned forward, her voice laced with optimism.

Ozpin leaned back to look up at Glynda with a curious look, the woman merely giving him a small "hmph" in reply as she averted her gaze and looked away. Looking back to the twins, Ozpin gave them a smile.

"Well, okay," he said as he looked over to the twins, who widened their eyes in response to his words.

"I suggest you prepare yourselves for the upcoming school year. Initiation at Beacon starts in but a week, and I would hate for you two to miss out on it."

All four of the eyes of the twins widened exponentially as they listened to Ozpin's words, with Crimson standing up from his seat and looking at Ozpin with shock.

"W-w-wait! Are you- are you saying…" he began to say in a wavering voice as Ozpin calmly stood up from his seat, coffee in hand, and nodded his head.

"Indeed I am. It has been an honor meeting two fine, young warriors like yourselves. Welcome… my new students. Welcome to Beacon Academy," he finally said as he turned to Glynda and gave her a small nod before making his way out of the room. Glynda gave the two a small, pointed look before quickly following Ozpin out of the room.

Ruby finally stood up from her seat and looked toward the door where Ozpin and Glynda had made their exit, a look of disbelief crossing her expression. After a moment, the red twins looked at each other, their silver eyes fixated on one another as wide, stupid smiles began to creep onto their faces.

"WE'RE GOING TO BEACON!" they both yelled at the same time as they collided with each other and wrapped each other in a tight hug, bouncing up and down as they pressed their faces together.

"WOO! WE'RE GOING TO BEACON!" Crimson whooped and hollered as he disconnected from the embrace and thrust his hands into the air, spinning in place rapidly as he let out excited laughs.

"WE'RE GOING TO BEACON, CRIMMY! WE'RE GOING TO BEACON!" cried Ruby as she fell to the floor and began to kick and punch rapidly into the air in excitement, also laughing excitedly as she spoke.

After a while of the two expressing their uncontrollable excitement at the prospect of going to Beacon Academy, Crimson slightly calmed down to catch his breath as he stared down at Ruby, who looked up at him with an equally excited look.

"We…" Crimson began saying as he took a step forward.

"Are…" Ruby said as she rose to her feet and grinned at Crimson.

"Going…" Crimson continued to say as he smiled widely and took another step forward.

"To…" Ruby said as she stepped forward to meet Crimson.

"BEACON!" both said as they raised their hands to the air and swung them forward, meeting them together in a high-five, "YEAH!"

Crimson let out a hearty laugh as he lunged forward and wrapped Ruby in a tight hug, lifting her into the air and spinning her around as she returned the hug, resting her head on his shoulder and nuzzling him.

"Aw… what are you lovebirds doing?" a familiar voice said from the room's doorway. Both of the twins' eyes widened as they looked over to the door and located the figure of a familiar blonde.

"W-what? Lovebirds?" asked Crimson with narrowed eyes as he continued to hold Ruby in the air, "Yang, that's… weird!"

Yang let out an amused chuckle as she shook her head and stepped into the room, smirking as she crossed her arms and gave the two a knowing look.

"Oh? If that's the case, why is it that you two look like a pair of newlyweds?" she asked as she glanced at Ruby and Crimson, who for all intents and purposes, did look like a pair of newlyweds.

Ruby let out a small giggle as she gently disentangled herself from Crimson's embrace, who allowed her to move as he withdrew his arms from around her. She hopped on top of the desk and looked down at Yang, who raised her eyebrow at the girl's antics, while she bounced excitedly in place.

"Because Yang… we… are… going… to Beacon! We're going to Beacon!" squealed Ruby as she jumped onto her sister, wrapping her in a tight hug as the young woman caught her, her eyes widening considerably.

"Wait… what?" Yang said as she looked over to Crimson, continuing to hold Ruby in her arms, "Are you serious? You're going to Beacon?"

Crimson promptly nodded his head, his grin only becoming wider as he gave Yang a thumbs up.

"Yep! Two years early! How about that, huh?" Crimson chuckled as he began to walk over to Yang and around the desk, a glimmer of excitement remaining in his eyes.

A grin crept its way onto Yang's face as she squeezed Ruby harder, causing the girl to groan as she felt her breath leave her body.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! My sis and my bro are coming to Beacon with me! This year is just getting better and better!" she said as she continued to hold Ruby tightly, who was beginning to grow blue in the face. Noticing this, Crimson tapped her gently on the shoulder and pointed to Ruby.

"Sis, I think she's having a bit of trouble there."

Yang blinked for a moment before turning to look at Ruby, finally noticing that she was having trouble breathing. She let out a nervous chuckle before loosening her grip on Ruby and gently setting her on the ground, the girl in question leaning over to catch her breath as Yang scratched the back of her head.

"Heh… sorry about that. But seriously! I'm so happy for both of you! Being able to go to Beacon with BOTH of you? That's the best thing I could have possibly asked for!" she said as she gently patted Ruby on the back and gave a fist bump to Crimson, who smirked in response.

"Same here. So, should we go home and tell the family? I'd imagine they'd be excited!" he said with a grin before his grin became mischievous and he leaned forward, "…but they'd probably be less excited that you blew up that nightclub. Isn't it funny how the exact same nightclub you went to suddenly finds itself blown apart? I read the news on the way here, y'know."

Yang's eyes, and Ruby's too, temporarily widened as she took in Crimson's words, with Ruby looking over to Yang with a look of disappointment.

"Yang!" Ruby said with a frown, "I thought you said you wouldn't blow anything up!"

A small, knowing grin came to Yang's face as she listened to Ruby and Crimson talk, crossing her arms and averting her gaze as she spoke in a coy tone, "I mean… you can't prove it was me, now can you? It sounds to me like they had an accidental mishap that damaged their building. I just happened to be there. Besides, didn't you two almost get in trouble for that little escapade with that Roman Torchwick guy?"

"They started it!" both Crimson and Ruby cried at the same time as they huffed and crossed their arms.

Yang let out a small chuckle as she pulled out a Scroll from one of the pockets of her shorts, a grin resting on her face.

"Well, be prepared to tell that with the old folks back home, 'cause I already told 'em all about it," she said as she grinned widely.

Crimson and Ruby's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and horror as Crimson felt a buzzing inside his jacket. With a shaking hand, he reached into one of the pockets of his jacket and pulled out his Scroll, holding it in front of him as he stared at the screen which displayed a call request from a person titled "Dad".

"Uh oh..." both Ruby and Crimson said as they took their seats at the desk and set the Scroll down in front of them. Crimson reached forward and slowly pressed the "accept" button, causing the screen to transform into a view of a small room. Sitting at a desk and staring at the Screen was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, with blonde hair similar to Yang's and a face that contained a mixture of disapproval and amusement. Sitting right next to him was a woman of equal age, with hair that was the same color as Crimson and Ruby, but was slightly longer. Her soft face was contorted in a mixture of disapproval and worry, her silver eyes focused intently on the screen as she leaned forward.

"Ruby and Crimson Rose!" she stated in a stern voice as she narrowed her eyes, "What did you two think you were doing? Facing a group of dangerous criminals on your own without backup available? Are you trying to get yourselves hurt?"

Ruby and Crimson visibly wilted at the harsh words of the woman as they leaned backward and averted their gazes away from her, too afraid to meet her eyes directly as Crimson protested.

"But… mom…" he began saying, "…they were criminals! Robbing a Dust shop! And we stopped them!"

The woman on the Scroll let out a sigh as she leaned back in her seat, with the blonde man wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she spoke in a softer voice.

"Yes… they were, and yes, you did. But something could have gone seriously wrong. What if Ms. Goodwitch was not there? Would you have come out unscathed as you did here?" She said as her gaze shifted across the pair, before lingering on Crimson's prosthetic arm for a moment.

Neither of the red twins answered, instead looking down slightly with shame present on their faces. The man on the opposite end of the Scroll let out a sigh as he leaned forward slightly, an empathetic look crossing his face.

"Look… Summer is right, guys. You might have stopped them from taking the Dust, but is any amount of Dust worth risking yourselves over? We understand you want to help people. Really, we do, but… please. If you're going to do something like that again, make sure you have help when you need it, alright?"

Both of the twins turned to look back at the screen, seeing the softened expressions of their parents, and nodded their heads, opting to remain silent as Summer smiled at the man beside her.

"Thank you, Tai," she said in a soft voice as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek, before turning back to the twins, "Just come home safe, alright? I'll even make you some cookies~."

Instantly, Ruby and Crimson's sad expressions disappeared, replaced with an insatiable hunger as they leaned forward and rapidly nodded their heads.

"Okay, Mom!" both said at the same time as they grinned widely. Summer let out a small giggle at the two's antics, as did Taiyang, as they each gave a small wave to the two.

"Bye, Ruby! Bye, Crimson!" Summer said as she began to reach toward the Scroll to end the call, waving as she did so.

"Wait, Mom…" Crimson said as he leaned forward with a mischievous grin on his face, "…before you go, you should probably know that Yang went out to a nightclub and blew it up."

Both Taiyang and Summer visibly recoiled as their eyes widened, their tone shifting to that of shock and anger.

"She did what?!" they both yelled at the same time.

"You… little… dolt," Yang said as she gave Crimson the dirtiest look she could manage, while the boy in question merely gave her a smug grin.