Welp… here we go.

Ruby Rose sighed as she took her first steps onto the campus of Beacon Academy. Thank the gods that trip was over, too; the kid next to her was getting greener by the minute. Any longer and he would've popped.

She looked up in awe, drinking in the sight of those towering spires and glittering windows. This was where she was going to spend the next four years of her life (barring a few trips back home between classes). This was the place where she would finally get out from under her mother's shadow and become a Huntress in her own right, instead of just 'Summer's Kid.'

Honestly, if one more person tried to call her that… heads would roll.

Still, she wasn't about to let such thoughts ruin her first day. Ruby hefted her suitcase over one shoulder and started walking, barely noticing the weight. She made sure to steer clear of smaller students, though, as her luggage was still heavy enough to send a good portion of them flying if she turned too fast. One of the advantages of 3 years of intensive weight training was being able to carry her own burdens, thank you very much… but that came with the downside of dealing with everyone else who hadn't.

Seriously, how are some of these guys even able to walk on those twigs they call legs?

Ruby had always preferred to go sleeveless. There was just something fundamentally right about letting the wind caress her bare arms. And unlike Mom, she didn't let cold weather get to her – she wore a scarf. It was actually a present from Uncle Qrow from several years ago and Ruby rarely took it off since. On top of that, she also wore a pair of Capri pants and thick-soled boots. These were her own choice, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

All in all, Ruby Rose cut an imposing figure on her first day of Huntsmen training; standing a full 5' 10", you'd never guess she was only 17 years old. Gotta love those random growth spurts. Remember kids, drink your milk.

"Dear gods… tell me you're a new teacher, hot stuff."

A female voice called out from a few feet away. The face to whom it belonged was unremarkable, but her one visible eye had little hearts in it; the other one was covered by a knit cap. She was nearly smothered by her oversized jacket, but it was clearly still a girl. "Please be the new Combat Instructor… or a wresting coach… anything…"

"Sorry," Ruby shrugged in response. "I'm just a student like you."

The girl inhaled sharply. "But you're so tall… and built like a brick shithouse… just a student…? But that means… AAHH!… We're in the same class! We might be in the locker room together! I could see you… na-… nak-… hnnng!" She ran off before she could finish, holding a bloody nose and looking for all the world like she'd just had a glimpse of heaven.

Ruby sighed deeply, letting her head hang.

Great… they're here, too.

Yet another voice pulled Ruby's attention aside, this time from someone standing right behind her. "You have that effect on all the girls?"

Ruby turned to answer…

BAM

…Only to wince as her suitcase made contact first. A pair of sunglasses clattered to the pavement about the same time as their owner, who landed a few feet away, legs splayed out comically.

"Ow," said the girl, not moving to get up.

Ruby moved quickly to pick up the fallen shades (a high-end brand, by the look of 'em), then used her free hand to help the girl to her feet. She was another tall one, standing just slightly taller than Ruby herself. Black gloves brushed off dark brown slacks and a caramel top, then removed and patted down her black beret before returning it to her coffee-colored hair. Those designer shades were quickly put back over her chocolate brown eyes before the girl finally stopped to give Ruby a glare.

Possibly. Hard to tell now that she had the sunglasses on.

"Uh… sorry…?" Ruby couldn't help but scratch the back of her head awkwardly as the silence lingered.

The girl passed her gaze to Ruby's luggage. "Whaddya got in there anyway, bricks?"

"Um… no… just a few of my weights from home. And some clothes. And some cleaning equipment for my weapon. And… my weapon, some spare ammo, a stack of magazines, my lucky whetstone, and… yeah, that's about it."

The brown girl gave an audible blink.

"So, uh…" she stuck out her hand to try one of Dad's patented handshakes. "Name's Ruby. Ruby Rose. Nice to meet'cha!"

Ruby felt the girl's gaze land on her outstretched hand, travel up her exposed arm, then meander across the rest of her. She almost thought she saw the girl's mouth flicker into a smile. "Coco Adel… and I'd say the pleasure is mine."

Before she even had time to register what she'd heard, Ruby watched as Coco flipped her handbag up, reared back and took a swing. It was only sheer instinct that prompted her to raise her Aura shield in time.

POW!

Forget bricks… Coco's bag seemed to be made of cast-iron lined with titanium.

Ruby only realized what happened after skidding to a stop a full 50 feet away, her own bag rolling along next to her. The pain didn't start right away; it waited until after Coco sauntered on by and said, "Now we're even."

"Ow," said Ruby.


A short time later, Ruby found herself lost. All the other newcomers apparently knew where to go and had wandered off while she was busy meeting Coco, so she didn't even have a crowd to follow. Why'd they have to make this place so dang large?

"Oh, so you're… must be muggy out there… I know, right?"

A faint voice came from around the corner, complete with broken sentences and answers to questions unheard; someone was making a call. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Ruby walked over and took a peek.

"Wait, Neb's on the other line…" a medium-sized girl with long pomegranate-red hair quickly hit a button on her Scroll, then resumed her conversation. "There you are! Me and Gwen were just chatting… yeah, she said she's in Mistral, can you… what? Atlas? Did we all get separated? That's so lame! I ended up in Vale, of all places… I know, but at least the uniform here is kinda cute…"

Ruby only took a moment to figure out that the girl before her was probably from Vacuo; she wore a set of blue armor and a skirt with an earthen tone. A small weapon sat at her hip, likely a dagger… but with Huntsmen, there was no telling what they were packing. Regardless of who the girl was talking to, she seemed slightly miffed.

The chatty girl turned and spotted Ruby mid-sentence, "Yeah, at least Dew's still in Vac-… … …"

Then dropped her Scroll. She didn't even flinch as it clattered onto the walkway. In fact, she looked frozen.

Ruby tried to act like she wasn't eavesdropping, smiled and pointed in a random direction, "Umm… is the meeting area this way…?"

No response, unless you counted the steam coming off the girl's beet-red face. Ruby could just make out voices coming from the Scroll, and they sounded upset.

"…" Ruby walked over and waved her hand in front of the girl's face, but still got nothing. Brain must've short-circuited. She picked up the Scroll and placed it in the frozen girl's hand, then said, "You might wanna remember to keep breathing."

As if on cue, the mysterious redhead gave a loud inhale through her nose. She also gripped her Scroll with a bit more force than necessary.

Ruby blinked, trying not to sigh at the display. This was honestly getting a bit old.

"You gonna be alright?"

"You are the most gorgeous man I have ever seen," she intoned.

"…" If Ruby had a smile on her face before, it faded in that moment. "I'm not a guy."

"I no longer regret coming to Beacon."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Gwen will never believe me. Dew might just hate me for the rest of her life. Nebula… eh, screw Nebula…" The mystery girl continued chanting to herself as she robotically walked away, the voices on her Scroll forgotten. She still hadn't even bothered to end the call before rounding a corner and disappearing.

"…"

The girl was gone before Ruby could say anything else. She rubbed her forehead and gave the long-awaited sigh.

It wasn't always this bad. Things were pretty good back home and during most of her classes at Signal; everyone treated her like a normal human being for most of her life. Nobody tried to worship her like they did now. The closest anyone came to that was Yang, but that was just how her little sister acted anyway. With Dad at work all the time, Ruby was more or less the man of the house and Yang's role model all rolled into one.

Then came Ruby's 16th birthday… and everything changed.

The men of Patch, male teachers at Signal, and even her male classmates suddenly (and inexplicably) started treating her like One Of The Guys™. The girls, on the other hand, apparently decided… as a group… that Ruby was some sort of divine being sent from heaven to bless the world.

It made no freaking sense.

"Excuse me… I believe you are the last student to arrive today, yes?"

Ruby turned to find herself under the steady gaze of a short, dark-skinned girl with more presence than any adult she'd ever met. "I don't know if I'm the last, but… yeah, probably."

She glanced at her watch. "The assembly is scheduled to begin in 5 minutes, 23 seconds. You can still make it if you hurry. Do you know how to get there?"

"If I did, I'd be there already."

"Understood. This way." Without another word, the new girl turned and walked with a quick pace. Ruby almost stumbled before falling in step right behind her.

Well… this was refreshing. First meeting with a girl that didn't look at her and start drooling. And at first glance, this one looked to be the very definition of 'straight-laced' – neatly-cropped hair, skirt and blouse ironed to perfection, immaculate gloves and matching boots. Also a beret, just like Coco. Was that a local fashion or something?

"I'm Ruby. Uh… are you a second-year?"

"Ciel Soleil. I'm also a first-year, but I arrived 24 hours early so I could memorize the layout of the campus and plan the most efficient routes between classes."

"…Oh."


Ozpin's words ran through Ruby's head several times as all of the new students moved into the Ballroom and settled in for the night. She barely noticed how the room was slowly being filled with sleeping bags and teenagers in pajamas.

("It is up to you… to take the first step.")

While the overall message was still more informative than encouraging, Ruby couldn't help but look at the road ahead and feel excited. Her entire life lay stretched out before her, and this school would be the final part of her training.

A finger poked the back of her head. "You gonna sit there mumbling all night?"

Ruby didn't have to look to know who it was. "No I'm not, Coco… I'll go get changed in a minute."

The taller girl walked around to the side of where Ruby sat and quickly spread out her sleeping bag (made to look like a bar of chocolate, fittingly). She was already dressed for bed, now sporting a set of dark brown PJs. At least she wasn't wearing her sunglasses indoors. And after dark. That would've just been weird.

Ruby grabbed her own PJs and went to get changed in the bathroom as her new friend got settled. Along the way she took a moment to look out over the students and spotted both the shorter girl who got her to the meeting on time – Ciel – and the redhead who probably never finished her call. Neither of them noticed her looking, so Ruby didn't bother waving.

And to be honest, she didn't want to. Ciel likely wouldn't have waved back anyway and the redhead… probably would've just made a big scene.

Anyway, bedtime. She'd brought her usual PJs, heart-patterned sleep pants and a black camisole. Ruby changed quickly and went back out… only to stop and stare as all the noise gradually faded into total and complete silence. Every single pair of eyes were focused on her. No one moved.

Ruby slowly took in the room with a sweeping gaze, then gave her challenge, "WHAT?"

That was enough to break whatever spell had fallen; idle chatter resumed a moment later like nothing had happened. However, Ruby couldn't help but notice how many pairs of eyes remained on her as she returned to her spot.

Coco apparently forgot what she was reading on her Scroll and just stared, jaw hanging open, as Ruby sat back down. "You… are you real?"

The hell was that supposed to mean?

A few moments and several grunts later, Coco had sat up to get a better look. She reached over and gave one of Ruby's arms a squeeze, which had the natural effect of making Ruby flex that arm. She let herself grin as Coco made a choking sound in her throat. That was always so satisfying.

"I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me this morning, but… damn. Damn, girl. What slab of granite were you chiseled out of?"

"Oh, go to bed."

"No, seriously! I've got a cousin who's a bodybuilder and you could give him a lesson or two!"

She then reached over and yanked up Ruby's camisole, exposing her abs. Ruby didn't mind showing them off; if anything, she was kinda proud of her abs. She'd put a lot of work into making them as solid as possible. Coco sat back, breathless, and Ruby flexed a bit more by pounding a fist into her gut. It made a sound like a drum.

Coco's jaw was practically on the floor. "By the gods… you could grate cheese on those."

"Nice, huh?" Ruby straightened her top and settled into her sleeping bag. "Now if you're satisfied, we need to get some sleep." She put a pair of earplugs in, adjusted a sleep mask over her face and left it at that.

A minute or so later, Ruby thought she heard Coco's voice through her earplugs: Satisfied? Bitch you're lucky there's other people in the room right now or I'd fuckin' help myself…

Must've been hearing things.


Bang!

The last shot from Crescent Rose tore through the head of the final Beowolf as Rose skidded to a stop. All around her lay the rapidly dissolving bodies of her first major battle. And while it was fun, it was also a bit… anticlimactic.

Five Beowolves. Five. That used to be a hard fight.

Now Ruby was barely winded.

She continued through the Emerald Forest with a half-smile stuck to her face that she couldn't quite get rid of. Seriously, who would've expected that she'd consider fighting Grimm to be easy? It was just funny to think that she'd grown that much. Then again, she hadn't really tested herself on the more powerful monsters, so who could say just how far she'd come? All she could do was keep walking.

A rumble to her left. Ooh… Looks like round 2 was about to start.

She twirled Crescent Rose back into position as three Ursai burst out of the trees. One was much larger than the others, and he paused for a moment to rear back and roar at her. The other two kept charging.

Now THAT'S more like it!

Ruby darted forward, weapon outstretched, then ducked and weaved between the first two claw attacks. She sent CR spinning as she landed a pair of deep cuts on the Ursai's back legs. She then used a little of her Semblance and ran up the side of a nearby tree for several feet before jumping off, aiming downward, and shooting several high-caliber rounds into their exposed backs.

It wasn't quite enough – Ursai are tough bastards – but it did make them back off for a bit. Ruby landed, noticed their hesitation, then realized the ground was shaking. She quickly flared her Aura and jumped… right before the Alpha tore a massive gouge in the dirt with his claw, right where she was standing.

"Oh, you want some too?" Ruby took a moment to replace the magazine in CR with Fire Dust rounds. "Bring it on."

The Alpha roared again and charged, keeping his head low and his armored back raised. No gaps to shoot on this one.

The next several minutes consisted of Ruby dodging the claws and fangs of the Alpha Ursai (Ursai Major? Papa Bear? He needed some kind of catchy name), while also trying to find weak spots in his armor with both shots and cuts from Crescent Rose. The longer they danced, the more futile it seemed. CR just wasn't getting through that armor.

Then came the turning point. Ruby tried a cut a little too early, the Ursai caught the scythe blade in his jaws and squeezed.

CR's blade snapped.

And so did Ruby.

Her vision went red as she abandoned her weapon and all her combat training to just start swingin'. Oddly, it was both more effective and more satisfying – somewhere along the line, her physical strength had reached a new level of badassery; three punches and the Alpha's armor was already showing more damage than 5 minutes with CR.

Ruby could hear herself cursing, but she was too angry about the damage to her Sweetheart to worry about how she was filling the Swear Jar for the next year and a half. Her rage fizzled out the instant before she dealt the final blow… and so she felt the impact of her fist breaking through the armored head of the last Ursai, sending it to oblivion in a black mist.

Ruby's gloves, bought brand new for the initiation, were now torn and ruined. Crescent Rose could still function as a gun, but the blade was toast. And she'd probably wasted a good portion of the day battling Grimm that… technically… she didn't even need to fight.

Great. Welcome to Beacon.

"Remind me never to piss you off…" said a familiar voice from just ahead.

Coco Adel made her way through the bushes like a runway model, calm and collected. And holding a massive Minigun. She looked around at the devastation, giving a low whistle.

Ruby grunted as she picked up her Sweetheart, frowned at the damage, then folded it up and said, "Don't worry… they deserved it."

"So I noticed," said Coco. She hit a button on her weapon's handle, and Ruby stared as it transformed… back into her handbag. Well, that explained the weight. Ruby's head throbbed at the memory. "So… we partner up with the first person we meet, right? Where's your guy? Who was lucky enough to get stuck with the school powerhouse?"

The way she worded the question implied she already had a partner, so Ruby looked all around herself, then above, between her legs, and even under each arm. "Uhh… I dunno. Let me know if you see him, cuz I sure don't."

Coco's face didn't change, but Ruby could see her skin go a shade lighter.

Conversation grew stale after that, but Coco ended up sticking with Ruby from that point on anyway. They only met a few weaker Grimm along the way, but Coco eagerly blasted them away with her Minigun – apparently named Gan… Gain… Gianduja or something – so they made good time.

"So Ruby… I have a question…"

"Good chance I might have an answer…"

"You seem to be popular with the ladies, right?"

"…I really hope that's not your question, Coco."

"It's related. I just want to know… what's your secret?"

"My what?"

"It's pretty obvious you've built yourself a body of the gods, but I know from experience that's not enough. The cousin I told you about? People admire him but no one actually likes him. You, however… they love you."

"…"

"Is it a cologne? Perfume? Do you wear some kind of magic earring or something?"

"…I have no idea."

"Oh don't give me that! You have women falling over themselves just for a chance to talk to you, and you expect me to believe it's by pure accident?!"

"Why are you getting mad?"

"… … … *mutter* …"

"?"

"I… guess it's not so bad… she attracts the ones who like guys… I attract the ones who like girls… yeah, this can still work."

"Coco, please don't talk to yourself. It's kinda creepy."

"Okay, I've decided."

"Here we go…"

"Ruby Rose, I will just have to figure out your secrets myself… by watching how you work over the next four years."

"…!"

"Guess we'd better hurry along… partner."


The rest of the day went by without incident.

Ruby and Coco managed to reach the relics, grabbed one for themselves and left. Other than those first few Grimm, they went along virtually unchallenged. It was so… boring.

At the same time, Ruby was grateful. She didn't want to risk further damage to her Sweetheart for no real reason. That and her fists were a bit sore from beating an Ursai to death.

That said, the assembly at the end was rather spectacular – all the first-year students who reached the relics were presented as brand new teams, one by one, as announced by Headmaster Ozpin. Ms. Goodwitch had sorted them into groups on their way to the stage, so they at least got to see who they were set to be teamed up with. Most of the kids were eager, others excited and jumping around.

Ruby was getting more weary by the minute.

"Oh gods… oh gods… I can't believe I'm on the same team as… as… AAHH!" The loud redhead from before could barely contain herself as she, along with Ciel the Straight-Laced, waited their turn. "Teamed up with the hottest guy in the school… wait 'til I tell Gwen, she is so gonna flip out!"

A vein started pulsing on Ruby's forehead. "I told you, I'm not a guy."

"See what I mean?" Coco patted her shoulder in an almost pitying gesture.

"Please don't consider that as a typical reaction," Ruby sighed, rubbing her temples.

The voice of Ozpin drew their attention as the man declared the formation of the team right in front of them. "Scarlet David, Mercury Black, May Zedong, and Russel Thrush – the four of you recovered the King of Diamonds. From this day forward, you are team SMMR (summer). Led by… Scarlet David."

None of the guys in that team looked all that happy at the announcement, but the crowd cheered them on anyway. The guy called Scarlet, who had a bright red bit of hair you could spot from a mile away, took a moment to try and psyche himself up before they left the stage. Ruby blinked as she realized the short kid, May, was the first one who spoke to her at the gate the other day.

And a team with the same name as her Mom… Ruby made a mental note to keep an eye on them.

"Ruby Rose, Coco Adel, Octavia Ember, and Ciel Soleil – the four of you recovered the Queen of Hearts."

A significant portion of the audience gave a saucy cheer at that declaration, and all of them sounded female. Ruby tried not to blush while Coco quietly growled.

Ozpin cleared his throat and continued, "From this day forward, you shall be team ROCC (rock). Led by… Ruby Rose."

… … …WHAT?!

Evening at the docks was usually quiet, peaceful even. When the moon shone across the water without any ships passing to disturb the glassy surface, it was simply beautiful. That, and the cops never bothered to patrol this far outside of the city.

In short, it was the perfect place for a hideout.

Roman Torchwick took a drag from his cigar, blowing a smoke ring just to watch it disperse in the breeze. The salty air mixed with the aromas from the smoke to create an intoxicating smell, and the man loved it. He simply stood there, gazing out over the water with a rare sense of calm, as he waited for the meeting to start.

That bitch was always late.

"We doing any raids tonight, or just a meeting?" said a young voice just behind him.

Roman sighed and turned to address the Kid. "Look, Oscar was it? I know you're eager to show me what you can do, but don't let it go to your head. Careless people don't last long in this line of work… if you catch my drift."

The Kid nodded, his hazel-colored eyes firm as he steeled himself. Roman had to chuckle; new recruits didn't usually make it very far, but this farmboy had spirit. No idea why he'd willingly come to Vale just to join up with Roman's gang, though. Eh, kids these days were just getting weirder.

Click-clack-click-clack.

The sound of heels announced the arrival of Roman's current employer and the woman he'd been waiting for. She was about a foot shorter than him, but still somehow filled any room she was in. Her red dress glittered in the moonlight, accentuating her figure nicely. And while her face remained in shadow, her blazing yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

Even the Kid squirmed under her gaze. Good; at least he was smart enough to recognize a threat when he saw one.

"Good evening, Roman," the woman said in a smooth, silky voice. The kind of voice women used when they wanted something. He knew it well. "I trust you've been doing well?"

The man in the bowler cap took another drag before he answered. "Well as can be expected. You know how it is – rob a few banks, run from the cops, rinse-lather-repeat. Yeah, we're good here."

He couldn't see clearly, but the woman's eyes gave away her shadowy smile. "Excellent. Then I think you'll like what I have to say. Because I have… big plans for you, Roman. Very big."

Roman Torchwick discovered that he didn't really like the sound of that.


Designation: Remnant-2789 (Alternate World #28)

Type 1 Common World
Class 4 Population – 80/20 HF (Human/Faunus) Ratio
Grimm Threat DETECTED

Environment: GREEN
Integrity: GREEN
Culture: GREEN
Dust/Aura: GREEN
Deviation from Standard: 7.12 %

Special Note: This is exactly the kind of world I expected to find when I started this research - almost identical to this one in form and function but vastly different in terms of the population and culture. All these new ratios, these altered measurements man, I love this job. I do feel a bit sorry for this Ruby, though, but I think she'll pull through in time. Or she'll have her own harem, hard to say.


Author's Note: Returning readers will likely recognize this one; "Rose" was one of the core members of the original Ruby Squad back in the og Paradigm, and now she's back with her own chapter of Facets! Keep an eye open, however – at some point in the future (possibly now if you're reading this after the fact) Rose will get her own stand-alone fic. No idea when since my release schedule is practically nonexistent, but I have faith.

Regarding this world, aside from including another buff Ruby (this one preceded Salamander in case you were wondering), the main feature here is that I took as many of the students as I could and randomized them. I mainly wanted to explore the new character dynamics that resulted from the team shuffling. I think it turned out fine. :)

Next Chapter: Ever wondered what nuns keep in their habits? A crucifix or two? Maybe a snack? Spare change? A divine relic? How about a pair of submachine guns?

=^..^=