Downtown...
Vale...

Walking through the night streets of Downtown Vale was none other than a girl in black and red; a girl who went by the name, Ruby Rose. With her cloak flowing in the wind and music blasting into her ears via her headphones that were hidden under her hood, she continued down her path, passing by only a few people and a few parked cars.

(Ruby Rose)

Ruby: "I forgot the city was so big! It's so much more fun than Patch Island. I can listen to music at scroll shops, visit cafes and weapon stores, and the time just flies by! Oh, what should I do about Yang and Ace's present?" She wondered before coming to a stop before a shop known as "From Dust Till Dawn". Her face instantly lit up upon seeing that it was still open, even though it was quite late. "The Dust shop is still open!"

(A/N: "RUBY LISTENS TO BRS! LESSGOOOO!")

With a smile plastered on her face, she quickly rushed to the front door before letting herself in. The shop itself didn't have too many people in it, around 4 customers plus the shop keep himself. As she walked in, she spotted something near the back that caused her argent eyes to sparkle in excitement.

Ruby: "The latest issue of 'Weapon Magazine'! Awesome! You can't get it on Patch Island until next week. The city of Vale is so advanced!" She exclaimed as she began to flip through some of the pages.

>Chapter 1: The Girl in Red<

Patch Island...

???: "'We are delighted to accept you into Beacon Academy.'" A blonde teen read from her scroll with a happy smile on her face before she turned to a blue-haired male with her smile turning into a pout. "I still can't believe you're choosing to abandon me, Ace!"

(Ace Sparda)

Ace: "Pfft, oh please Yang. I'm not abandoning you." He said while looking at his scroll that said the same thing as Yang's, besides the fact that the Academy displayed on it was 'Haven Academy'. "Besides, weren't you the one that said 'I hope we don't end up going to the same Huntsman Academy!'?" He asked, a sly smile forming as he glanced at her, causing the blonde to quickly begin stammering over her words as she looked away while blushing.

Yang: "T-That was only because you tied my hair into braids as a stupid prank!"

(Yang Xiao Long)

Ace: "I know! Funny right~?"

Yang: "You're such an asshole, bro! Eep!" She yelped as he flicked her forehead gently and began walking towards a door.

Ace: "Sure, sure. But hey, Rubes and even pops seemed to find it hella funny." The blonde grumbled under her breath as she stomped after him.

The two entered a bedroom, where a cute black and white corgi, named Zwei and a blonde man named Taiyang Xiao Long were currently located. The moment the door opened, Zwei's ears perked up as he woke up and looked towards the two, while panting happily.

(Taiyang Xiao Long)

(Zwei)

Yang: "Dad, did Ruby come home?" She asked as the two stepped in.

Taiyang: "No, not yet."

Ace: "Oh?" He crouched down and picked up Zwei, who barked happily. "Wonder what lil' red's up to be out this late." He said in a bit of a sarcastic tone, as if he was faking his curiosity.

Taiyang: "She's secretly buying a present to celebrate your acceptances, Yang, Ace."

Ace: "Oi, pops. Take the hint of sarcasm."

Yang: "Exactly! Why did you tell us? I was trying so hard to play dumb!"

Taiyang: "Sorry, sorry." he chuckled. "We won't have as many chances to go out as a family now." He said as Ace slightly sighed and nodded, with Yang coming to his side and started to scratch the now whimpering Zwei's chin.

Yang: "I wonder if Ruby will be okay with me and Ace gone... When she gets excited, she loses sight of everything around her."

Ace: "I think she'll do just fine, sis. She's a tough girl after all."

Taiyang: "Yeah and I think it's about time Ruby became independent. It's great that the three of you support each other, but it's not good for Ruby if she's always depending on you two."

Yang: "Fine, fine, I know."

Ace: "But she is running a bit late... It wouldn't hurt to go look for her, right pops?"

Taiyang; "Yeah, I think that'll be the right call."

Meanwhile with Ruby...

Everything was proceeding normally within the From Dust Till Dawn shop. However, the door suddenly opened as a man holding a cane in a white coat with a black bowler hat on his head stepped in, with four men dressed in black and red behind him. Just as the Shopkeep was about to address them, he gasped upon laying eyes on the man in white. A well known criminal known as Roman Torchwick.

(Roman Torchwick)

Roman: "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" He questioned as one of the goons behind him, aimed a rifle at the Shopkeep, enticing panic in the customers as they quickly fled the shop.

Shopkeep: "Y-You can take my money."

Roman: "Relax, we're not here for your money." He then turned to his henchmen. "Grab the Dust."

With them spreading out, the henchmen began to extract Dust from the tubes on the side, along with taking any fully Crystalized Dust that they could find. As they were doing their looting job however, one of the henchmen noticed Ruby, who didn't seem to be paying attention, reading the Weapon Magazine she had in her hands. In an instant, he pulled out a sword and pointed it at her.

Henchman: "Hey kid, put your hands in the air." There was no response however, so he walked up to her and tapped her on her shoulder, gaining her attention. The argent-eyed girl turned around pulled down her hood, revealing that she still had on her headphones.

Ruby: "Yes?" he simply gestured to the headphones, causing her to take them off. "What is it?"

Henchman: "Put your hands up!" he said, pointing his sword at her once again. Ruby simply blinked and tilted her head.

Ruby: "Are you... robbing me?"

Henchman: "Yes!"

Ruby: "Oh..."

(Play Music)

With a small smirk forming on her face, the girl suddenly kicked the man away from her into a table, catching Roman's attention. Another henchman attempted to fire at her, but she suddenly burst towards him at incredible speeds while transforming her body into a swirl of red rose petals.

Roman: "A Semblance...? A Beacon Academy student?"

Bursting through the window with her Semblance known as Petal Burst, Ruby came to a screeching halt with a large red object in her hands. Said object began to transform suddenly, unfolding to form into a massive red and black Scythe she named, Crescent Rose. With her now armed, the female twirled her scythe around and stabbed it into the pavement, posing as it was pointed towards the henchmen before her.

With the Henchmen beginning to fire upon the female, the fight began. Using her Petal Burst, Ruby began to zip around at insane speeds, dodging every single bullet that came her way before she blasted towards the henchmen, coming in between two of them and slicing one of their weapons in half. The other tried firing on her, but using the large size of her beloved Crescent Rose, Ruby blocked the bullets and quickly destroyed his weapon with a single slash also before firing off a single shot from Crescent Rose as another Henchman, knocking his weapon out of his hand before kicking the one with the sword in his face, knocking off his glasses and sending him tumbling back.

One Henchmen took out his sword and tried to attack the silver-eyed female from behind, but was quickly stopped by Ruby who moved out of the way while knocking his weapon out of his hand and ending it with her bashing Crescent Rose's blunt end into his face. Another tried to attack her, but she quickly clotheslined him with the shaft of Crescent rose just before stabbing Crescent Rose's blade into the pavement and swung underneath a swing from the last Henchman before kicking him right in the gut and back to Roman's feet.

Roman: "You were worth every cent. Truly, you were." He sighed before looking towards the teenage girl. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening." He said as he dropped his cigar and crushed it under his cane. "And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

He smirked and aimed his cane, Melodic Cudgel at her, revealing a barrel underneath. Once he pulled the trigger, it launched an explosive round at the argent-eyed girl, taking her by surprise. Just before it could come in contact however, a figure swiftly moved between her and the shot as it exploded.

Ruby: "Huh?" She looked in surprise as the figure standing in front of her was a male wolf Faunus, with a blue and white shield mounted on his left arm.

Akito: "You alright, Red?" He questioned the female as he looked back at her with his golden eyes, the shield on his arm suddenly vanishing as she looked amazed.

Ruby: "Y-Yeah, thanks for the help... um...?"

Akito: "Akito Zara."

Ruby: "Right! I'm Ruby Rose. Nice to meet ya!"

Akito: "Right back at you. But we can save the talk for later. Right now, he's getting away." He said as he pointed to a nearby building, where Roman was making his getaway by climbing up a ladder. Ruby looked towards the shopkeep, who had stepped out.

Ruby: "You okay if we go after him?" The Shopkeep quickly nodded. "Alright, then let's-huh??" She blinked in surprise as the Wolf Faunus was gone, before she noticed that he was dashing towards the ladder that Roman was going up. "H-Hey! Wait up!!"

As Roman got to the top, he began to run to the otherside of the roof, but was stopped as Ruby's voice called out to him.

Ruby: "HEY!" He turned around to see that not only Ruby was there, but Akito as well, who had a sword attached to his right arm equipped now

Roman: "Persistent..." He slowly turned around to face the two as a large airship called a Bullhead suddenly appeared, semi-blinding the two with its flashing lights. With its side hatch opening, the criminal jumped into it. "End of the line, Red!" He chucked a red Fire Dust crystal at the two. As it rolled to their feet, he fired off an explosive from his cane at it causing it to detonate in their faces.

Meanwhile on the ground, Zwei was sniffing along while following Ruby's scent, with Taiyang, Yang and Ace all following behind him. The corgi suddenly began to bark and run forwards.

Taiyang: "She's nearby." He said as he and the two teens followed their dog.

Yang: "Ruby, you're all over the place!"

Ace: "Yeah, I wonder where she learned it from?" He said out loud, while glancing towards the blonde, who pouted.

Yang: "Hey!" She exclaimed before a commotion was heard.

The family came up in front of the From Dust Till Dawn shop, where multiple people were checking on the unconscious henchmen. They looked on in complete shock while Zwei just barked and growled slightly.

Ace: "What in the..."

Taiyang: "What's going on?"

Yang: "Ruby, what did you do?"

Ace: "If I know lil' red correctly, then if she was the one that did it, it must have been for a good reason." Just as he said that, a loud explosion was heard. Everyone looked to a nearby rooftop, where smoke began to rise from it.

On the roof, Ruby looked in pure shock while Akito just slightly rolled his eyes as standing before them, was the Glynda Goodwitch, blonde woman with the black Riding Crop that was with Ozpin, protecting the duo with a barrier. The woman adjusted her glasses with a 'Hmph' and began waving her riding crop around, sending purple streaks of energy at the Bullhead.

When Glynda's attack came in contact with the Bullhead, it began to shake in the sky, causing Roman to stumble and run towards the cockpit; there a woman in red was controlling the Bullhead.

Roman: "We got a Huntress!"

Without any words, the woman got up, leaving the Roman with the controls. As Glynda sent another attack, she created a mini storm above the Bullhead, bombarding it with crystals. When the woman in red arrived at the back, she casted fire to throw at Glynda who blocked it flawlessly. The red woman followed that up by superheating the ground below Glynda, causing it to erupt. Glynda flipped out of the way and began controlling the debris to form a spear-like construct to ram into the Bullhead. The woman tried to stop it by shooting flames at it but it just reformed and charged the Bullhead again. Roman saw this and forced the Bullhead to tilt causing the spear to bounce off and separate. The woman in red seemed to have enough as she sent a superheated wave out, melting the debris.

Akito: "Tch..." He growled as his weapon's blade suddenly flipped around to the back, revealing a muzzle underneath. Pulling the trigger, he began firing a series of beams at the woman in the Bullhead, alongside Ruby who converted her scythe to a sniper rifle and began shooting too. The lady was able to block both attacks easily.

Ruby: "It's not working!"

Akito: "Then this will. You're up, Setsuna!"

His voice rang out before there was a whooshing noise nearby. Ruby and Glynda both watched as the figure in question, Setsuna, an Arctic Wolf Faunus leaped past them, yelling out as ice formed around her hands, creating large Claws. 

The woman in red gasped as the Arctic Wolf teen pounced on her. Akito watched from the roof as the struggle between the two continued on, but his eyes widened as Setsuna was tossed out, with a yelp. Instantly, he moved into position and caught his partner in his arms. With an annoyed growl the woman in red began super heating the ground, to which Glynda instantly realized. Using her Semblance of Telekinesis, she quickly pushed Ruby and Akito out of the way, while she herself flipped out of the way just as they ground beneath them exploded. As she looked back up, the Bullhead already began flying off.

Akito: "You Okay?" He looked to the female in his arms who nodded.

Setsuna: "Yes... But Setsuna failed to get a look at the human's face..."

Akito: "It's fine. All that matters is that you're alright, Setsu." He said with a smile, causing the white-haired female to beam a smile at him with her wolf tail wagging rapidly.

Ruby: "You're a Huntress...!" The two looked towards the girl in red, as she was looking towards Glynda with stars in her eyes. "Can I have your autograph!?" However, Glynda herself didn't look very amused while Akito sighed as he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

Vale Police Station...

Ruby found herself in a small dark room with a light, sitting in front of a table with a shameful expression on her face while Glynda paced around the table, clearly upset with her.

Glynda: "I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady. You put yourselves and others in great danger."

Ruby: "They started it!" She tried to argue.

Glynda: "If it were up to me, you'd be sent home... with a pat on the back..." The girl smiled briefly, "And a slap on the wrist." The woman slapped the table with her riding crop causing the red girl to quickly retract her hand and let out a yelp.

Meanwhile outside of the interrogation room, Yang, Ace, Taiyang and Zwei were all waiting out in the lobby for any news on what would happen concerning Ruby, when the doors to the police station opened as in came walking Ozpin, with Akito and Setsuna behind him.

Police Officers: "Professor Ozpin!" They all saluted him.

Ozpin: "Just stopping by for another quick visit." He said before he began approaching the seated family with a smile. "Good evening, Tai."

Taiyang: "Professor! I..." he quickly stood up.

Ozpin: "Don't worry. I just want to speak with your daughter a bit." He said before he turned to the two Faunus behind him. "Please wait out here. I won't be long."

Akito: "Yeah whatever." He said with a casual shrug and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. With a small chuckle the headmaster began to walk towards the interrogation room.

Yang: "Hey, was that...?" She asked her father, who smiled and nodded.

Taiyang: "Yeah. The head of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin."

Ace: "So that's him huh... What about those two?" He looked towards Akito and Setsuna, his family doing the same thing.

Akito: "Don't mind us. We're just a couple of wolves away from a pack, is all."

Yang: "Really? Well, I saw you two were there helping out my little sister just now. Thanks for keeping her safe!" She said as she walked up to them, holding her hand out to the male with a smile on her face. "I'm Yang. That's my brother, Ace and that over there's my dad and my dog, Zwei."

Ace: "Yo." he nodded towards the two.

Taiyang: "Nice to meet you both."

Zwei: "Arff!"

Akito: "... Right, well nice to meet you too. Name's Akito and she's Setsuna." He said and took Yang's hand with a gentle shake. The Blonde smiled brightly and turned to look towards Setsuna, but was instantly surprised by how hostile she appeared, with her eyes narrowing dangerously at her.

Ace: "So, what's up with her?" He wondered as Akito released Yang's hand and began to pat Setsunan on her head.

Akito: "She's... still not very comfortable around humans. Just don't startle her and she won't bite." he said as the white-haired Faunus began to slowly calm down.

Yang: "I see... Well that's understandable considering how the Faunus are being treated nowadays." She said with a bit of a somber look as Akito sighed and closed his eyes. There was a bit of silence before... "Soo..."

Akito: "Hmm?" He opened his eyes as he watched Yang starting to mess with her own hair a bit.

Yang: "You walked in with the Professor, which means you may be going to Beacon too, right? So you think... we could, you know, get to know each other a bit and..."

Akito: "Sorry. You're hot, I'll give you that, but I'm not interested." He told as Yang felt an arrow shoot right through her heart from the straight up rejection the wolf Faunus gave her.

Ace: "Pfft. And your flirting attempts failed~."

Yang: "Hey! At least he called me hot!" As the two siblings began to bicker and banter, Taiyang approached the black-haired male.

Taiyang: "I apologize about her."

Akito: "It's fine. Not the first time that's happened to me." He said with a shrug as his partner was staring directly at Zwei, who was beginning to approach her.

Taiyang: "So, you two are Beacon Academy students too?"

Akito: "Well... now we are. Our situation is kinda similar to lil' red in there. Well... it's better than nothing for sure. Otherwise, I doubt we'd even still be in Vale at this point." He said as he looked at Setsuna, who was crouched down and was playing with Zwei, who seemed to have taken quite a liking to her as he was already beginning to lick her cheek, causing her to giggle.

Taiyang: "Well I hope the best for the two of you, and hope you both make the most out of this opportunity. Getting accepted into Beacon is no easy feat after all." He said as the male just hummed. The blonde male took this time to study the male's features for a bit, with him taking notice of his twitching black wolf ears and his golden eyes. It got him thinking... *thoughts* "He really does have her exact features... Could he really be... Claret's son?"

Before anything else could be said, Ruby came walking out of the interrogation room, causing both her siblings to instantly rush to her side. Taiyang began to approach his children, just to hear the incredible news.

Yang: "Unbelievable! Really!?" She began to hug her sister tightly, causing her to struggle from the tight embrace.

Ruby: "Y-Yeah. He said he'd let me skip two grades to get in."

Ace: "Skipping two grades to head to Beacon at 15? Who would have thunk it. Seems like lil' sister's getting special treatment~" he said as he began to ruffle up her hair, causing her to slightly pout at him. "But either way, this news is insane. Congrats Rubes."

Ruby: "Thanks, Ace." She smiled brightly.

Yang: "Now we can enroll together!"

Ruby: "Yeah!" She grinned before she looked towards the two Wolves and remembered something. She quickly rushed up to them, causing Setsuna to suddenly tense up but they were both surprised by her bowing before them. "Thank you both so much for your help tonight! I promise to repay you both somehow!"

Setsuna: "A-Ah..."

Akito: "Y-You don't have to do that. We were just doing the right thing after all." He quickly dismissed it.

Ruby: "R-Right." She quickly stood back up straight, a bit embarrassed now. "You two are heading to Beacon too?"

Akito: "Yeah. So I guess this won't be the last time we see each other."

Ruby: "Yes!" She cheered. "Not only am I going to Beacon with my sister, but I'll have you two there as well! Hey! You two want to be my friends??" She asked, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the two. While Yang was laughing in the background and Ace facepalming, Akito sweat dropped and looked at Setsuna, who seemed indifferent, but he soon calmed her nerves with a gentle pat to her head.

Akito: "I don't see why not. Ruby, right? Nice to meet you. Name's Akito and she's Setsuna." He introduced and this time held out a hand to her, with a small smile. Upon looking at his hand, she gained a beaming smile on her face, one filled with excitement before she accepted his hand.

Ruby: "Nice to meet you!"

"Through battle, man won life. But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return. So, you may prepare your guardians... build your monuments to a so-called free world but take heed... there will be no victory in strength."

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require smaller, more honest souls."

_____________________________________________

Next Chapter: The Emerald Forest Part 1

Akito: "You know you didn't have to steal my kill, Setsu." He said, crossing his arms as Zeta's blade collapsed on itself. Setsuna just grinned cheekily at him.

Setsuna: "Setsuna thinks you were too slow." A small tick of anger popped up on his head before he sighed.

Akito: "Whatever. Come on, let's get this initiation over with."