Chapter 7 - School and Proposition


7 Years later


A lot had happened during such a time period in the Xiao-Long/Rose household.

Yang after Pre-Combat school entered Signal Academy where she now has been studying for two years, with the help of her Grandfather and his smith friend Wilson, Ardal and her crafted her weapons which now stand proudly around her wrist. Ember Celica, a pair of wrist-mounted gauntlets that fire shotgun shells as well as give more power to her strikes, thanks to her favorite type of Dust being Fire dust.

Physically Yang had developed into a beautiful young teen at fifteen now, something easy to spot with all the boys at Signal flocking around her to her joy, for Yang was a showoff who loved jokes and a good fight.

However, something known about her only in whisper is that apparently, Yang is a religious person, many had seen her clutch a weird necklace she never removes but anyone who confronted her about it ended up with either a punch to the stomach or a weird talk about a certain 'Emperor'.

But Yang was not alone at Signal for she was often seen with a girl a year younger than her with chromatic eyes and hair her name being Trivia Vanille.

Being a mute she often talks in sign language with her 'sister' or by the bias of her Scroll, what people know about her is rather limited, physically Trivia is a rather petite girl only reaching Yang's shoulders but she has her own kind of beauty at fourteen if you could go through her prankster attitude of course.

More often than not students will end up hitting their faces on a closed door that seemed open for them at first, forcing everyone to check before trying to cross said doors this was her favorite prank but she had done more subtle things like hiding certain objects with the use of her very versatile Semblance or making people 'explode' in shards of glass that scared a lot of peoples during the first weeks of school.

However, like Yang, the exact same necklace sat proudly around the small chromatic girl's neck and when asked about it they received the same answer it being about an 'Emperor' and the 'Imperium of Mankind'.

Her weapon like Yang was hand-crafted by her and Ardal her adoptive Father, her weapon was named Hush and Silence an Umbrella that doubled as a fencing blade, this was the Hush part of the blade, Silence, however, was an inbuilt 'lase-pistol' in the handle of it, it was a weapon from Ardal's Imperium something that after a lot of trial and error he had managed to reproduce with the use of super-heated tesla coil and a fire dust crystal.

Currently, the two of them were waiting in front of the school Trivia and Yang were entering Signal for their second and third year respectively but what was more important for them was the entrance to the school of their little sister Ruby Rose.

Yang was currently using sign language to talk with Trivia something she and Ruby learned thanks to Ardal. 'I'm telling you she is going to blow up the school in excitement.'

With a roll of her eyes and a smirk, Trivia nodded negatively. 'Nha, she is gonna try to enroll the entire school in His religion like she tried to do at Pre-school.'

With a snort of laughter, Yang gave her a side-way glance. 'Didn't Gramps and Dad chew her out for that? She had what twenty followers when they realized what she was doing?'

Trivia gave her a nod. 'Yeah I saw it too late but hey this time you'll be here too to stop her.'

Yang was about to answer but a burst of rose petals stopped them both. "YANG! TRIVIA!" It was Ruby Rose the thirteen-year-old who had grown from a little girl at a height of 3,8 feet tall (1,15 meters) to 4,8 feet tall (1,46 meters).

Both girls' eyes widened at the cry of joy, thinking quickly they both activated their aura to brace themselves, the next thing they knew was that their sister was crushing them in a bear hug.

"It's so awesome! I'm finally at Signal to become a Huntress! And I'm with the best sisters ever!" Her excitation was contagious and with a smile at one another, they returned her hug.

The hug lasted a minute and when the two finally managed to remove themselves from Ruby they smiled at her with Yang grabbing her in a headlock and ruffling her hair to her great chagrin. "Hey Rubes, glad to see you made it, so who did you give the split this time eh?"

Using her Semblance Ruby reappeared in front of her while re-doing her hair. "Aqua hihi, she needed supplies for the new dig site she found on Patch, I still can't believe that Patch was once part of another continent that had sunk thousands of years ago!"

At that, both nodded their head sagely with Trivia answering for the two of them. 'Yes it's pretty crazy, so when is she gonna get here Ruby?'

"Weeeelllll I kind of left her at the bullhead plus like always she didn't seem really into staying near me." Ruby rubbed her neck while giving them a sheepish smile.

"You wound me, kid like I can't keep up with you!" A female voice behind her made her jump in surprise before turning around, in front of her was Aqua with her arms crossed and a cheeky smile on her face in seven years she hadn't changed much physically something that always made them curious.

"I mean you DO run fast but c'mon it's easy to keep up with the trail you leave behind you!" Ruby let out an embarrassed chuckle. "And do I need to remind you that I'm an archeologist? My whole schtick is following trails!"

Yang was trying to hold her laughter at the embarrassed face Ruby was making while Trivia was smiling at them. "But hey! First day at Signal you must be excited Ana-er Ruby?"

Not registering Aqua's slip up after all it was not the first one, she had been living with them on and off often leaving for her 'expedition'. Their house had turned into her HQ to the joy of the girls and the dismay of Ardal who even after all this time did not trust her.

There is also the fact that she is undeniably attracted to said Astartes, she had heard Uncle and Dad talk about it once and a smile appeared on her face as she remembered.


Flashback from three years ago


A ten-year-old Ruby had come back from school, today she had her first lesson in Grimm! Well, she already knew everything about them thanks to His gift.

However, when she crossed the door she heard to voice coming from the kitchen that sounded like her Dad and Uncle Qrow!

A small grimace appeared on her face, she loved her Uncle but when Winter left him last year he had started a bad habit of drinking, she knew he always carried a flask of the stuff with him which saddened her.

Wanting to surprise them she 'sneakily' approached the kitchen with a smile on her face but the conversation inside made her stop in her tracks, the first voice she heard was the one of her Uncle he sounded a bit drunk.

"So Tai, when do you think Aqua is gonna snap and ask Ardal out?" From where she was she could smell the alcohol making her scrunch her nose in disgust.

Her dad chuckled. "Qrow, even if she asks him he is gonna say no, I NEVER saw him in the years I've known him look at a woman this way.

"That's bull man! He has a super cute Faunus who wants nothing but to fuck her and he says no?! I'll jump on the opportunity if I was him." Qrow grumbled, she could easily see him in her mind crossing his arms.

Some of the words they were using were unknown to Ruby like 'fuck' she will have to ask Yang later. "Look Qrow maybe he is into guys? Or he is just not interested at all."

Ruby had her ear flat against the kitchen door to try to listen as much as she could but because of it she did not hear the footsteps behind her it was only when a voice whispered in her free ear. "It's a bad habit to listen on other conversations Ruby~" this made her jump in fright and barely managed to stay silent.

Turning around Ruby was face to face with Aqua who was smirking at her her eyes squinted a bit like she was blinded but was fighting it. "So what are they talking about squirt?" Her voice was barely a whisper and when she asked this question she was fairly sure that she saw her eyes glow in excitation for a second.

Nervously she answered. "H-hum they're saying that you like A-Ardy." Aqua's eyes widened in surprise. "And-and that you want to f-f-fuck him?" Ruby was testing the word in her mouth but the look of horror on Aqua's face told her it was bad.

Quickly standing up the Faunus sent her a panic glance. "Stay here and hide okay?" Not waiting for an answer she barged into the room Ruby quickly hid behind the wall.

Inside the room the two were looking at her with stunned looks, Aqua's voice being the thing to break them out of their stupor. "So you're trying to play matchmaker boys?"

Ruby peeked her head inside the room to look at the scene, her Dad and Uncle looked like deer caught in a headlight said Uncle had a metallic flask in his hand while Aqua's blue 'energy' was fluctuating wildly around her, it was beautiful to look at but she also felt some sort of...'revultion'? "A-Aqua! Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Weeeellll I just came back from a ruin filled with Beowulf and I wanted to relax a bit when I heard you two saying something about me hummmm 'fucking' Ardal?" Aqua crossed her arms under her breast an unamused look on her face.

Qrow looked at Tai before returning his gaze to her. "Come on you can't deny it Aqua, every time he is with us you can't stop looking at him."

With a roll of her eyes, Aqua seems to blush. "Maybe, but he never looked at me the same way, you remember when we met after the attack? He didn't sleep for two weeks! And when I proposed to switch with him he nearly shot me..."

This seems to surprise the two. "Wait he nearly 'shot' you?"

"Yeah! Called me daemon or something saying that my 'aura' felt weird." Aqua let out a huff of annoyance. "Said that one day I would make a mistake and that he would personally kill me...hell of a threat if you ask me."

Ruby's eyes were wide open, daemon? She only heard him talk about them in passing saying they were the worst enemy of the Imperium.

So calling Aqua a daemon? Why? Ruby could not understand, sure sometimes she caught her staring at her but apart from that she had been really fun to be around she even helped her and her sisters with their homework sometimes she was REALLY smart.

"Yeah, but that's not important, who do you think you are misters to talk about me and Ardal in ours back huh?" The glare she was sending them made both men look away in shame.

Tai rubbed the back of his head while sharing a look with Qrow. "Sorry Aqua, we didn't know about that, but does that mean you're gonna give up?"

"Give up? Bha! One day he is gonna fall for my charm you'll see!" She took a confident pose with a smirk on her face, the feather on her arms moving in an unseen wind.


Flashback end


Ruby was jolted out of her memory thanks to Yang who was shaking her like a sac of potatoes. "Ruby! Wake up!"

She tried to remove herself from Yang's shaking which was making her see stars. "Yang! Let! Me! Go!"

Finally, the blonde relented and let go of her, Ruby's world was spinning for a while before stopping, in front of her were Trivia and Yang with a look of worry on their face with Aqua who was watching her curiously in the back.

"Ho hum, I was lost in my thought?" She gave them a sheepish smile.

Her smile made Yang grin before closing in on her, realizing what was gonna happen Ruby tried to flee but Yang managed to take a hold of her cape and yank her towards her.

With a cry of indignation, Yang started to ruffle her hair with her fist again. "Awwww my wittle sister is finally interested in boys? So who's the lover boy?"

"No! Yang come on let me go!" Ruby was blushing furiously while wiggling in her arms. "I was thinking about home! Since now I'm gonna sleep here."

What the girls had not realized was that next to Aqua the Invader who had been resized over time was filled with luggage, both Trivia and Yang looked at it with wide eyes. "Where does it come from ?!"

A snicker escaped Aqua's mouth. "Forgot that my Semblance works on objects too? Ruby refused to leave the house without it ho by the way catch!"

A long and big briefcase appeared in her other hand, with apparently no effort she threw it in Ruby's direction whose eyes went as big as saucers. "NO!"

Ruby in her panic activated her Semblance, a wall of rose petals slammed into the briefcase, a small tornado appeared around it slowly lowering it to the ground.

A hand popped out of the petals storm before grabbing the handle of the briefcase, and in a blink of an eye, Ruby was back with an unamused pout on her face. "Aqua! You nearly hurt my baby!"

Her sisters got an interested look on their faces, Trivia used the text-to-speech on her phone to grab her attention. "Ho, so that's Cresent Rose? What is it Ruby you've been super secretive about it."

A big smile appeared on Ruby's face. "Well! Sisters! Aqua! I present to you the GREATEST weapon ever made! Cresent Rose!" With a flourish of hand gesture, Ruby opened the case.

Inside was a more elongated version of Ardal's bolter red in color with golden skulls along the barrel, in the case they could spot what seemed to be a sniper scope nestled close to the gun, Yang whistled her appreciation. "Nice gun Rubes what else does it do?"

"I am glad you ask that Miss Xiao-Long! Allow me to demonstrate!" Ruby took out Cresent Rose with great care and held it close to her. "You see she is normally called a Mark III Shrike Pattern Bolt Sniper Rifle, I know it's a mouthful but it's soooo cool she fires custom-made Stalker Silenced Rounds!"

Yang and Trivia looked at one another for the tenth time before both speaking (one with TTS) at the same time. "Stalker Silenced Rounds?"

"Yes! They are special bolt rounds they look like the one Ardy use with his gun but they are made to be silenced, well we couldn't really use Promethium for fuel so we had to mix Fire dust and Wind dust to produce a strong enough propellant for them but it was soooo worth it!" Ruby was nearly drolling on her weapon while holding it close to her.

Aqua raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Cool gun but does it do anything else?"

At her question, Ruby's expression turned into one that made it look like she had been hurt physically. "Of course! Watch!" At the press of a button, the stock of the sniper elongated, the same happened for the barrel without obstructing it.

Next, a compartment opened below the rather large grip and a blade folded in three-part slide up until it rested at the top of the long staff before deploying revealing a massive scythe.

All of this however took only three seconds and the look of surprise of the three in front of her, yes even Aqua, made her have a smug and proud smile on her face. "Pretty neat huh? I did it with Ardy but I was the one to build it!"

"You built that!?" Yang's mouth was nearly touching the ground. "But Ruby it's twice your size!"

"I know right!? But look!" Ruby's aura flared around her, however, something else happened, something that made Aqua take a step back in shock. 'Ho Deciever no...'

Ruby's body was enveloped in a white and red light a big smile on her face. "I finally managed to use my battle prayers without saying them out loud!" Excited Ruby started spinning the six feet (1,84 meters) around her like it was nothing.

However, all three of them could see she was not proficient yet with the weapon, in trying to show off she nearly let go of Cresent Rose multiple times before stopping her 'demonstration' with a sheepish smile.

Trivia smiled at her. "That's an amazing weapon Ruby but are you gonna manage in combat class?"

A confident smile appeared on her face. "Of course! I'm gonna kick their butt! Ho by the way I'm not done with my baby!"

This got her incredulous looks. "There's more?!"

"Yeah! Look at the blade! Isn't it a bit too thick to be a scythe blade? Watch and learn!" With the press of another button the blade seemed to hollow but what came out of it made their eyes widen for chainsaw-like teeth came out of it.

"The motor is below the blade and it's filled with a combination of fire and lightning dust to kickstart the engine when I press this!"

Ruby showed them the handle that had appeared above where her grip on the weapon should be, still smiling Ruby pressed the handle and with a roar that made them and everyone else around them jump in surprise, the blade started spinning at a rapid pace.

Talk around them stopped to look at the weapon, when Ruby realized it she turned off the engine and blushed furiously her hood already on her head, talking about the Emperor Light is easy for her it's like second nature but actual social interaction? It's a big no-no.

Cresent Rose quickly turned back into her rifle form that in turn, changed into a rather compressed and bulky version of it that she quickly attached to her belt o, her back, she was currently wearing the outfit Trivia made her for her sixth birthday, she loved it so much she had asked her to resize it for her every time she grew up with some upgrade to help her carry her weapon and other supplies she might need.

Finally, Yang manage to talk. "That's...so cool! But terrifying too, it looks like Ardy chainsword!"

With a smile, Ruby grabbed the scope and placed it on the bulky contraption that is Cresent Rose, a clic could be heard and the scope retracted into the frame.

The next item she grabbed from the case were three sizable magazines where they could see the top 'round' stick out, it was thinner than the one Ardal used but still bigger than any caliber on Remnant, a few spare bullets were next that were quickly slotted into spots on her belt, five in totals. "I have a total of fifteen shots per magazine, but we didn't manage to reproduce the explosion the normal bolt reproduces, Ardal said that it was too 'dangerous' for me."

On that, the sisters could agree, a gun capable of atomizing a Grimm in one thing but one that can make a Grimm explode? Nope. With her look completed, Ruby looked up and gave them a cute smile. "Well, what are we waiting for guys? Show me around!"

A chuckle espaced Aqua's mouth. "Shouldn't you take care of your Invader and luggage first Ruby?"

The mouth of said girl opened in an 'o' of realization before rubbing her neck with a sheepish look on her face. "Y-Yhea, hum hey Yang! Where do you store Bumblebee?"

"Hum?" It took a moment for the blonde to realize what she was asking. "Ho, there's a garage near the back of the school."

An idea popped into Ruby's head and a grin appeared on her face. "Dear sisters of mine do you perhaps want to go on a ride with me?"

A smile appeared on the girl's face who rushed to the back of the Invader, after shuffling with the luggage a bit they managed to secure them, they quickly put on their Space Marine helmets who never left the back of the quad on their head (reshaped for their ages) they both gave her two thumbs up.

The smile on Ruby's face grew even larger and she jumped at the wheel of the quad her helmet already on her head. "Onward! For the Emperor!" her cry was followed by one from Yang and a raised fist from Trivia.

On the side-line Aqua watched the Invader roar to life before speeding away, once she was alone a growl of anger escaped her lisp. 'Mistress won't be happy...Anathema is already unlocking her power...'

Not wanting to be near Signal any longer than she needed, and with a look around her, she noticed the lack of cameras, with a smile and a quick use of her Semblance every passerby forgot her existence.

Now safe from praying eyes Aqua went toward a dark alley where a beggar was sleeping, scowling at this sorry excuse of a mortal and a quick stab to the brain and neck of the man ended his life.

This time completely alone Aqua smiled, a smile that somehow reached her ears, this smile was followed by a sickening sound of flesh tearing and reshaping itself.

Where once stood a beautiful faunus girl in her mid twenty stood now a vaguely feminine and humanoid version of a Blue Horror, tentacle and maws filled with razor-sharp teeth littered her body, her face once beautiful now sported a distended mouth filled with human teeth with a single glowing blue eye lost in a sea of black rested where once they where two.

Cackling in glee at the change on her body a blue orb appeared in her talons-like hand, a minute later the face of her mistress Salem the Lord of Change appeared. "What is it Aqua? Did you finally manage to seduce the Astartes?"

Bowing her head in shame Aqua shook her head negatively her long tentacles which replaced her hair swung widely around her head. "No mistress...a million of apology but I have discovered something worse."

An eyebrow was raised on Salem's neutral expression. "Really? Do tell minion."

"Yes mistress, it's Anathema, she somehow became proficient in the use of some of her powers..."

This time a twitch of an eye appeared on Salem's feature. "Really now..." Aqua waited patiently for her to think, her thoughtful expression was quickly replaced by a wicked smile. "Huuum, it seems that Chaos Worshippers have taken residence in a cave system near Argus...I want you to head there and make contact with this human cell."

With a bow of her head, the inhumane smile on Aqua's face became wider. "Of course Mistress, your will be done."

"Perfect now tell me how is life with those...mortal." A small smile appeared on Salem's face replacing the more cruel one she had before.

However, a sneer of disgust was plastered on the Horror's face. "I hate it, if I may be so bold Mistress if it wasn't for your binding contract I would have already killed them...the Anathema first."

The smile on Salem's face became wider than her head in a disturbing manner. "Good, keep doing what you are doing pet, the Great Plan progresses just as planned."

"Of course Mistress your will be done." With a loving look at Salem Aqua stopped the connection between them before hissing. "Tssss I hate those stupid mortals...so happy all the time it's disgusting..."

The sound of flesh reshaping itself was heard again and out of the alley, a completely clothed parrot Faunus walked out like nothing happened, the corpse having been devoured by said being leaving nothing behind to prove that a murder had occurred.

Now with a mission Aqua smiled and sent a message to Taiyang to let him know that she had accomplished her task and that she would be gone for a few weeks, months maybe.

And with a sinister smile, she started to walk in the direction her Mistress implanted in her head.


Back with the sister's trio


After scarring the guard taking care of the garage the three of them rushed to Ruby's dorm with big smiles on their face. "I can't wait to see my room it's gonna be awesome!"

"Rubes you know it's a dorm, right? You won't be sleeping alone." Yang's declaration made the smaller girl stop in her tracks.

"W-What do you mean 'not alone'?" She was shaking slightly her social anxiety spiking up.

Yang and Trivia seeing the signs got close to her before taking her in a big hug, one on each side. "Calm down Rubes, it's only three other people you can do it."

"B-But they are complete strangers! I don't wont what to say! They might hate me! They-!" Her rant was cut short by Trivia's hand on her mouth the mute smiling gently at her.

The TTS of her scroll was already talking in its feminine voice. "Calm down Ruby, you're gonna be fine where sure of it."

Lowering her head Ruby let the warmth of the hugs engulf her before taking a deep breath. "Your right! I can't show weakness! The Emperor won't allow it!"

Both sisters smiled at her before nodding, Yang patted her on the back. "That's the sister I know! You can do this Rubes!"

"Yeah! I can do it!" They got to the door and Ruby, full of confidence kicked the door open, inside three other kids of her age were currently unpacking, at seeing them and the look of surprise on their faces all of Ruby's confidence deflated.

An awkward silence installed itself into the room, Ruby wanting comfort looked behind her to see her sisters long gone to her horror, looking back at the room's interior she chuckled nervously. "H-hey."

The silence, now broken gave the confidence to one of the girls with dark red hair who was sitting on the bottom bed of the left bunk bed to raise one hand to salute her. "Hum, salut?"

Ruby blinked and looked at her. "W-what did you say?"

"Ho sorry, I did it again, Je m'appelle er- my name is Rachel Bordeaux, you are our last dorm member right?" She gave her a sheepish smile.

Clutching the pendant around her neck to calm herself she gave her a shy nod of the head. "Y-Yes I-I'm Ruby Rose..."

The second inhabitant of the dorm, a boy with blue electric hair smiled at her confidently. "Sup' name's Maxwell Electra pleasure to meet ya!"

His only answer was a small wave of Ruby's hand her anxiety was still in full force she had no idea how she had not passed out already, if she had to guess it was thanks to the pendant clutched in her hand that was giving her some form of comfort.

Finally the last one, another girl with blood-red hair came to her and gave her a bear hug that took her breath away. "Omg, you're soooo cute! I'm Elfi Sanguine! It's sooo cool to meet you, Ruby! We are gonna be the best of friends you see!"

Ruby was slowly starting to turn blue from the lack of oxygen, thankfully Elfi decided to release her before zooming back to her bag a small dust cloud following her trail.

Now free Ruby got air back in her lungs the other girl, Rachel stood up and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder making her wince internally. "Vous allez-bien? (Are you alright?)"

Ruby looked at her strangely for the second time. "W-What?"

Rachel gritted her teeth before speaking muttered words in her language. "Sorry, I'm not perfect with Valean, you see je viens de Atlas."

Ruby's eyes widened now remembering where she heard such an accent. "Your from Atlas? I-I went there when I was six to visit one of their factory Armament."

This made Rachel smile. "Really? Mon pére owns a factory it's called 'Bordeaux Inc.' really creative I know hihi we mostly work for the military but we do some other stuff too"

"Whoa, that's-that's cool? Mine is a teacher here." This seems to surprise everyone here.

This time it was Maxwell who was giving her an incredulous look who spoke for everyone. "Really?! What does he teach?"

"H-Hum I think it's Combat theory?"

Scarlet appeared in front of her again while jumping up and down excitedly. "That's even cooler!" She then pointed an authoritative finger in her direction her other hand on her hip. "Ruby you are gonna help us get good grades with him!"

Taking a step back it was Ruby's time to take a step back. "W-what? I can't do that! I-I haven't even unpacked my bags..."

Realizing that what she said was true the three teens blushed in embarrassment. "R-Right sorry, hum your bed is the one on the top left if it's alright with you your closet is the one near the bathroom."

Looking up Ruby got a small smile on her face. "Yhea sure I-I always wanted to have bunk beds." This made the other three smile before returning to their own bags, now that she wasn't the center of attention Ruby went to unpack her stuff with a small smile on her face, the Huntress life started for her now! The Emperor Protect!


3 month later


Ruby was currently in her class on Aura theory, her head was resting on the table, a small groan escaped her lips.

This...was not the Huntress life she had expected...it's so boring! She wanted to use her baby but Combat class started only during the second semester.

Next to her Rachel patted her back with her free hand the other one taking notes diligently. "Sa va aller Ruby (It's gonna be alright Ruby), you can do it."

Ruby gave her a sideway glance, her whispering complaint could only be heard by Rachel. "But it's so boring...I wanna fight things that's what being a Huntress is about."

Rachel glanced at the cloak, there were only five minutes of class left. "Look, nous pouvons en parler(we can talk about it)later."

Ruby in the few months that she had been with Rachel had picked up some Atlesian words allowing her to understand her a bit, she only gave her a small nod before going back to taking notes.

When the bell rang Ruby was the first one out of the room, even without her Semblance she had trained her speed and endurance extensively, Ardal even let her shoot his Botler to familiarize herself with it.

Normally an unaugmented human could not shoot a Bolter without losing an arm in the process but thanks to Aura it is possible, so Ruby had trained her aim relentlessly making one of the best shots at Signal in the first years.

But right now all of this training seemed useless, all she had done for the past three months was, for her useless, the class being over for the day Ruby walked by to her dorm with a sullen look on her face.

However, the rest of her friends, or 'gang' as she calls them quickly caught up with her, Maxwell's voice taking her out of her brooding. "Ruby! What's happening with ya?"

Stopping in her tracks Ruby turned around with an angry pout in the direction of the only male of the group. "What's wrong ?! We are training to be Huntresses and Huntsman and all we do is sit and talk! The Grimms won't wait for us to talk our way through them! The bandits will just laugh at us! And Chaos will just shred us to pieces!"

Ruby was breathing heavily after her rant, her body, lightly glowing white before looking down her anger seemingly vanishing as fast as it had appeared. "And I don't want to lose anyone else...ever..."

Image of her mother's laugh when she was taking care of her when she was young flashed in her mind, leaving behind her stunned friends Ruby opened the dorm's door, slamming it behind her.

Once inside tears started filling her eyes, tears she quickly wiped before going to her little corner of the room where the altar she had proudly forged with Ardal resided.

Wordlessly she lit up the candles and incense sticks with the lighter she always carries with her before kneeling in front of it a silent prayer in her mind.

Outside the door the trio of shocked teens were looking at the door as if a Grimm just entered it, the silence was finally broken by Elfi. "Did-did Ruby just get mad at us? Ho my gosh, it's the first time we see her angry! She seems scaryyyy~."

Rachel and Maxwell exchange a glance before nodding to one another. "We should go see her Elfi, our pal Ruby might need us." Maxwell placed a hand on Elfi's shoulder a big smile on his face.

His only answer was a bear hug who took his breath away the giggle behind him telling him that Rachel was having fun at his expense. "Yeah! We can't let our best friend Ruby all gloomy and sad! We have to make her smile!"

Between painful squeezes of the hyper-happy girl Maxwell manages to let out a complaint "How...can...ya...be...so...happy...and...strong!"

Realizing what she was doing Elfi let him go, Maxwell took the opportunity to get air back in his lungs. "Well, it's better to be happy than sad, I don't want to look like daddy at home he always makes me and mommy hurt so I keep smiling for mommy hihi."

A second bomb had been dropped on the two teens who looked at a smiling Elfi with their jaws nearly hitting the ground. "E-Elfi...je suis tellement désolée... (I'm so sorry...)."

"Awww don't be silly Rachel! Nothing bad here right? And when I become a Huntress I can buy a big house for mommy far away from daddy! So he can't be mean to us ever again!" Elfi was rocking on her feet with a carefree look on her face but if you were looking closely you could see the small strain in her smile and pain in her eyes.

Seeing that her friends were still processing the literal bomb she had dropped on the two of them she grabbed their arms before dragging them to the door. "Let's go, guys! Cheering Ruby up won't happen if we don't hurry!"

With a big smile and two human size potato sacks behind her, Elfi kicked the door open, the first thing they all noticed was the pleasant and calming smell in the room, the second being a glowing Ruby knelt in front of some sort of 'I' with a skull in the middle of it, kind of like her pendant but way more ornated and detailed.

The three, even Elfi stayed silent as they felt some sort of warmth enveloping their bodies but this warmth seemed...sad, it did not require a genius in the group to understand that the feeling was coming from the little girl in red.

They knew Ruby was a religious person even though they never saw her do it, every day she would wake up early or go back to their dorm before them to pray, sometimes during class they could even see her clutch her pendant tightly to calm herself.

But this was the first time that they actually saw her pray, they knew her aura was crimson red so what was this white light around her? Slowly Rachel got closer to her, the feeling of sadness growing with each step.

Elfi and Maxwell could see the Atlesian tremble more and more as she got closer with tears streaming down her face, once she was behind her she crouched down and hugged her tightly that's when Ruby's sob finally broke out leaving two crying messes on the floor the light slowly disappearing the feeling of sadness disappearing with it.

Elfi was the first to rush towards them to give them a big crushing hug, a hug that they both reciprocated, hesitantly Maxwell got closer he wanted to place a hand on Ruby's shoulder but Rachel and Elfi took him into the hug making him blush.

It took a good five minutes for them to calm down, once calmed only Rachel's sniffle could be heard. "R-Ruby...? W-What was that?"

Her tears now spent she gave them a small smile. "A-A prayer to my God...the Emperor of Mankind, it's-it's just that I'm special in His eyes so my prayers are a bit more...physic and spiritual than others."

This made Maxwell raise an eyebrow at her. "Soooo, your like a super priest? Like everything ya pray for is real?"

Without hesitation, Ruby nodded her head. "K-Kinda? I-I even saw Him..."

The three looked at one another a silent conversation passing through them to Ruby's confusion, finally, they all turned towards her with small smiles on their faces, Rachel finally talked for the group. "Why don't you teach us ta religion(your religion) Ruby?"

The Saint's eyes opened wide in surprise. "You-You want to learn about the Imperial creed? A-All of you?"

Her incredulous look made Elfi giggle happy to see that at least she was not sad anymore. "Of course silly! We want to be closer together and that includes you!"

Her declaration made Ruby smile with joy her sadness completely gone. "Sure why not, everything is already set up we can start now if you want." At the round of nod, she got her smile became wider. "Good, so this is how you do it..."


At Winston's smithy


The sound of a hammer beating on red-hot metal was the only sound Ozpin the Headmaster of Beacon could hear from outside the forge.

A sigh escaped his lips, it had taken many years to finally approach the Astartes for the Chaos incursion problem and today was the day he would tell him.

Of course, he had known about his sister's plans for he too was once a servant of the Deceiver but with time his view on those mortals who refused to lie down and serve them truly fascinated him to the point of respect.

A grimace hidden behind his mug appeared on his face and with a quick sip of the brewage, he stepped into the forge.

The first thing he saw was obviously the armored giant who was watching a blade cool down in a basin of water the specialized plier in one of his armored hands.

He knew that this Servant of the Corpse Emperor saw him, but had decided to ignore him to finish his work, after what felt like hours he finally pulled the now cooler blade out of the water before placing it back in the fire of the forge apparently not satisfied with his work.

"Headmaster, what do I owe the honor of such a visit?" His robotic-like voice surprised Ozpin who had been content to watch as long as Ardal needed his work but now that the conversation had started a small smile appeared on his face.

"Good afternoon to you too Mister Vo'Shan, I see that you have found an occupation in our world." Even with the helmet, Ozpin knew that the man was sending him a sideways glance.

The blade was apparently ready for Ardal who quickly took it out of the fire before letting it cool a bit. "Indeed Headmaster, it is quite fortunate that I am allowed to practice one of my expertise here."

This made Ozpin raise an eyebrow, he knew what an Aphoticary was of course but for the sake of secrecy, he asked with curiosity. "And what would be those other 'expertise'?

"I am an Aphoticary at first Headmaster." Slowly he started to beat the metal with precision the bulky blade becoming more and more defined. "My oath to my brothers and the rest of the Imperium was to assure their safety on the battlefield or out of it."

A small hum of acknowledgment came from Ozpin who took a sip of his trusty mug. "So like a doctor Mister Vo'Shan ?"

The hammer was now discarded, replaced by a smaller one and a chisel that he used to remove the biggest imperfection on the blade. "More or less, I am also a skilled psychologist, battle medic, surgeon and I dabbled in prosthetics."

Ozpin smiled, he knew Astartes were great men with many talents, this being one of the reasons why the Chaos Gods used to fight one another to steal legions of them for their one gain.

"I have a proposition for you then if you are willing to hear me." He hid his small smirk being his mug, Ardal was currently using the grinder to sharpen the blade.

"If I had to take the guess Headmaster you want me to teach at your school or at least be on school grounds." He never looked up from his work.

"Very astute Mister Vo'Shan, yes I would like to offer you a place at my school either as a medical teacher or weapon maintenance teacher."

The blade now finished Ardal placed it down carefully on his workbench which was very neatly organized. "Hummm two advantageous positions I see, could I be bold enough to believe it is because of my charges?"

With a small gesture of his hand to say 'kinda' with a smirk hidden behind his mug Ozpin nodded. "In a way, even if I have never met them I heard a lot of good things from their Uncle and Godfather respectively about those three."

Ardal crossed his arms in front of him deep in thought. "If I do join the Teacher's body Headmaster what would be my responsibility in those two classes and out of class?"

"A very good question indeed." With a chuckle and a sip of his mug, Ozpin looked at the red lens of his helmet. "If you decide to become the medical teacher it will be your role to teach the next Huntsmen generation your knowledge on medicines and their application on a battlefield or out of it."

"And the other one?"

"Pretty simple is it not? Every Huntsman and Huntress needs to be able to effectively dismantle and reassemble their weapon, how to perform maintenance, and how to craft their own modification and ammunition." The sound of liquid being sipped by a mug filled the room.

"And out of class? Surely I won't be stuck in a classroom." Ozpin could feel the small smirk on his face.

A smirk that made him chuckle before taking a sip of his drink. "Of course not, you will have access to all the resources at our disposal and of course a generous salary."

Ardal mulled his options for a few minutes before smiling under his helmet. "I have a proposition, Headmaster."

Internally Ozpin was smiling, he already knew what he was gonna say, he said it earlier. "Really? Enlighten me then."

"Very well." Ardal took a step in Ozpin's direction his arms behind his back. "Headmaster, why don't I teach both classes? I could focus on medicine from Monday to Wednesday and from Thursday to Friday I could work with the students on their weapons."

A chuckle escaped Ozpin. "I don't see why not this is a good idea Mister Vo'Shan, I can assume you agree then?" A nod was his only answer making him smile, both men extended a hand and shook it.

Ardal slowly let go of the smaller man. "I would however like to debut my teaching when the oldest of my charge starts going to Beacon."

This made Ozpin think before nodding. "Acceptable, but however this was not the subject of my visit I'm afraid."

Even if he could not see it he could feel the man's brow rise in curiosity. "We should not discuss it here, it is a delicate matter, if you allow me I would like to invite you to Beacon again."

Ardal stared at the man for a few seconds before nodding slowly. "Acceptable Headmaster, let me warn the forgemaster of my departure and I will join you swiftly."

Not waiting for an answer Ardal left leaving Ozpin deep in thought.

Thankfully the Astartes did not take long and with a nod of his head, both men left for Beacon.


One hour later


Ozpin was seated behind his desk alone, Glynda his assistant was currently giving combat class.

In front of him stood Ardal at his impressive height arms crossed in front of him. "What was so important that we need to be in such a private place, Headmaster?"

Ozpin stared at the Astartes in front of him, he knew his kind, he knew what his revelation would produce but he had to, he was fairly sure that She had contacted or was gonna contact them very soon.

Mulling his words one last time Ozpin crossed his hands in front of his mouth. "I have not been completely honest with you all those years ago Mister Vo'Shan."

Ardal seemed to stiffen a bit but with a gesture of his hand signifying 'carry on' Ozpin sighed. "Soon after your arrival strange attacks had been occurring in remote villages in Mistral, at first we thought they were bandits' attacks...however, with what you revealed to us all those years ago we believe there is more to it."

Ozpin could immediately see the change in posture, the somewhat relaxed stance of the warrior in front of him tensed and his gaze was hyper-focused on him, if he was a lesser man he would have shivered in fear however he had faced the stare of Gods in the past.

Not wanting to prolong this moment any longer Ozpin quickly fiddled with the computer integrated into his desk, a few seconds later the first pictures taken from Chaos on this planet were displayed, the eight-pointed star and the ruined village. "This happened seven years ago, in a small village in Mistral named Corinthe."

Ardal stood still the only thing showing emotion on him were his clenched fists shaking in rage, after what felt like years a roar of anger escaped the usually calm Astartes, the table in front of Ozpin exploded in splinter, glass, and electronics, and in the blink of an eye he was being choked by a hand far larger than his head. "You knew that Chaos was here for seven years?! You fool! You may have condemned this world!"

Ozpin tried to talk but the fist around his neck tightened. "Silence heretic! I will not hear one more word from your foul mouth! Who knows what those wretched beings had been doing during SEVEN years!"

Ardal's breathing was heavy and fast the vox grill of his helmet making it sound even more menacing, Ozpin even if the air he so desperately needed was not getting to his lungs had to admit, an angry Astartes was something to behold.

With a groan of anger, Ardal threw Ozpin against a wall leaving behind cracks in it making his emerdal aura activate to lessen the damage of the impact.

Now free Ozpin started taking big gulps of air while standing up shakily but the sound of a cocked gun made him look up.

Only to be staring directly at a bolter round front the inside of said bolter pointed at his face. "Give me one good reason to not end your miserable life here and there traitor." His voice sounded low and threatening with it ending in a low growl of anger.

Coughing Ozpin slowly straightened up. "I have...a rough idea...of where their base of operation is..." He was still trying to catch his breath while massaging his throat.

"So what are you waiting for?! Why have not already eradicated this threat?!" The barrel of the bolter touched his forehead.

"Because it is not that easy Mister Vo'Shan, I know for certain that they operate primarily for now in Mistral where exactly in Mistral, where however is a mystery, I can't send Huntsman there anyway, Headmaster Lionheart and the Mistral council are the only one capable of such thing." Ardal was sending him a death glare the gun never moving.

"Believe me Mister Vo'Shan if I had power over Lionel and the Council about such matter I would have already acted but he is adamant in what he thinks in his words 'They are just deranged bandits nothing more nothing else'." Ozpin sighed before rubbing his brow apparently not bothered by the gun pointed at him.

Ever so slowly Ardal started to lower his bolter but he did not place it back on his hip. "So what can we do then traitor?"

The term made him wince, it would take time to rebuild trust with the Astartes and he knew it. "For now? We plan, we prepare, we train, and when those 'Chaos' show themselves we strike with our full force Mister Vo'Shan."

A growl escaped the Astartes lips but he begrudgingly placed back his bolted on his hip. "Very well...Headmaster, but I am watching you, if I detect even the faintest trace of taint on you I will personally end your life."

Ozpin decided to nod. "Of course Mister Vo'Shan, now if you excuse me I have to make a call to someone to help me with this mess."

Ardal seemingly done with the man left quickly the sound of his heavy and mechanical footsteps going towards the elevator once inside he sent one last glare in his direction the red lens of his helmet glowing with anger, once alone Ozpin sighed again his shoulders slumping from exhaustion at this moment he looked way older than he appeared.

"If only you knew Astartes how 'tainted' I am... If only you knew..." Looking around at his trashed office Ozpin grimaced his Scroll already in his hand.

"Glynda? Yes, this is Ozpin, I need you in my office immediately, I had a...conversation with Mister Vo'Shan and things became...messy...yes, I am alright...yes of course sorry again Glynda...I will see you shortly." With that done he slowly picked up his chair before sitting on it.

"She is going to kill me..."


Done!

Phew, this one took me more time than I thought it would!

But it is done now!

I have a big announcement for you guys, it's good news for me but a 'bad' one for you sorry :/.

Well...I found a job! I start on Tuesday (I will work in a hospital in their IT department) which means I will have to change my upload schedule.

I won't go radio silent for a month (I will try) but I will now start posting every 2 to 3 weeks still on Sunday, to redeem myself I revamped chapter 1, it's still mostly the same but I have polished it as best as I could.


Now unto the comments!

-Well at least your Salem seems to not be the same one from Rwby Canon given some of the statements she made anyways keep up the good work. Thank you :). Well, I guess it's kind of normal that she is not reeeally like the one in canon since she is well, a Lord of Change. ^^'

-Ruby u best smite that bitch before she does anything. It's up to you to stop her since ur the only one who can see her during her semblance. Smite them!

On another note looks like Ruby has put some points into the support class and now has buff spells lmao. Now she can smite and make Ardy even more stronk. Don't you worry about it. :) Well for Ruby's power for now I based them on Chaplain Lithany, it's not exactly the same but hey they're technically Big E power so I can be creative. ;)

-Oo, the reveal of Salem being a Lord of Change was interesting, and Aqua is about to get her shit kicked in, I'm sure of it. Maybe by Ruby unlocking her Silver Eyes. On another note, a question I have is if there will be a time skip, where we get to see Ruby and Yang (and possibly Trivia now), at Beacon, or will it focus on them being little beans? Loving the series regardless. I'm glad you liked Salem's reveal I had fun writing it. :) So timelapse yeaaaaah well I'm way ahead of you haha. And don't worry about Aqua time will tell what happens to the blue b*tch.


Well, that's all for today's folks! I hope you liked the chapter.

Krieg out.