Miracles of Ancient Wonder [RWBY/Exalted]

[Graveless]

A maiden stands on the edge of an unfamiliar battlefield which demands skills she has not learned. She shall walk through an age of strife wielding Fate as her weapon, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake.

~~~
​

A/N: I haven't written much before, but this idea has stuck around for a long time for me. I think there are a lot themes from each series that resonate well with the other. Also there are several aspects of both that don't get touched on as often, which I hope to integrate well.

~~~​

Story Links:
Book One Beacon: Chapter 1
Book Two Remnant: Chapter 1
Omakes and other cool things:

Dust Sorcery Initiation(non-canon mechanics, because there are no mechanics in story)

I Will Be the Hero(Omake by @kenmadragon )
Part 2 of above(Omake by @kenmadragon )
Story thread(Still by @kenmadragon )


Art by: @Sasha

 

[Graveless]

Miracles of Ancient Wonder

~

Chapter 1.1

~~~​

"You're worrying too much. Everything'll be fine."

"Everything isn't fine," Ruby huffed as she sank down in her seat, bringing her knees up to her chest. Her head felt weird thanks to her sister insisting that they do something nice to it for this meeting. They got up super early to wash everything, do her hair with weird hair goop, cut stray threads from her combat skirt, and all sorts of other stuff that she only went along with because Yang and dad both insisted that 'appearances matter'.

All of it just felt phony. She wasn't wearing Crescent Rose for the same reason. Her precious scythe was in a carrying case underneath their bench! "We're flying to Beacon so they can, I don't know, interrogate me, test me, attack me… I was just trying to fight monsters and then... Then all of this..."

She waved a hand at the loading ramp of the Bullhead, then curled back up.

"Yeah…" Yang ran her fingers through her hair. She glanced from her sister, to the hatch in the back, then to Ruby again. She'd gotten a bit dressed up as well. Though she did so much with her hair normally, Ruby couldn't really tell the difference. Also, Yang's weapons were around her wrists where they belonged, "Hey sis,"

She leaned over and laid a hand on Ruby's knee, squeezing slightly, "I'm with you. No matter what they say or what we have to do."

"Come on," Yang shook her a little and grinned, "It's not like your semblance makes golden fire or anything really crazy, right?"

Ruby giggled into her skirt, "Nope, nothing crazy like that."

She leaned back and sighed. Her eyes flicked around the ship, pausing a little longer at each piece that was even a little complicated: the doors, the rotors, Ember Celica. She stopped there, frowning at her reflection. Everything looked almost right when she was reflected in the golden gauntlet. But things weren't right, they were just like last year when her sister discovered her semblance and got called in for a week of testing.

Yang didn't talk about it, but when she got back, she changed. Her normally loud sister was quiet at first. Then she started going out by herself more while coming home later and later each night. Sometimes she was gone for days at a time. Dad was worried it was boys, but Ruby was pretty sure that wasn't what she was looking for. Yang had been looking at dad's old picture book too often for it to be that.

She even vanished for a week straight during the past summer. She said it was for a road trip with her friends, but Ruby ran into them in Vale, without Yang. Ruby didn't tell dad about it.

Ruby took a deep breath and turned, meeting Yang's eyes. "Last summer, when they tested you. You came home and were acting really, really weird. What happened?"

Yang's grip tightened on Ruby's knee. For a brief moment, red met red while Ruby resisted wincing.

Yang snapped her head to the side and let go of Ruby. "I'm not supposed to talk about it," She paused and brought her hands together.

"That's the first thing they say. That they'll have to be harder on you if you know what's coming, so I shouldn't tell anyone. But you..." She bit her lip and hissed before shaking her head. "You'll be fine, I just know it."

Ruby gulped and nodded slightly. Yang still hadn't unclenched her fists though.

Ruby waited until Yang looked back at her and continued, "Dad went through it too, so did Uncle Qrow and mom. They said that only very good or very unlucky Hunters get called in. So getting called up like this, you've gotta be something special little sister."

Yang lightly punched Ruby on the shoulder, making the smaller girl sway back and forth again. With a giggle, Ruby nodded and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She went back to looking out the window.

They sat in silence for the rest of the trip.

As the engines spun down and the ramp lowered, they got up. Yang laid her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Don't worry. It'll be some professor with nothing better to do who-"

They froze when they saw who was standing on the landing platform. A silver-haired man in a green suit. One hand was folded over a finely crafted cane while the other held a steaming mug. He softly smiled at them and raised one eyebrow.

"-oh."

Ruby grimaced and waved to him, "Umm, hello Headmaster Ozpin."

"Please, call me Professor."

~~~​

The girls were led to a small academic building near the landing pad. Most of the rooms were lecture halls named after famous hunters. Many were Beacon graduates, but each had done something incredible. Professor Ozpin called it a way to keep their memories and deeds alive.

The impromptu tour paused just outside of a small kitchen.

"Before we get to business, would you like any refreshments? Cookies, cocoa?" Ozpin held the door open for them. Ruby and Yang each glanced at the other then shook their heads. "No? I'll be just a moment then."

Barely a second after the door closed Ruby was moving. She looked from Yang to the door and gestured at it wildly. She mouthed several words and shook her head, "What, how, why?"

Yang shrugged and mouthed back, "I don't know."

Ruby raised her arms up and dropped them, sighing. None of this made any sense. She walked over to a window and watched the other ships landing. Furniture, boxes, and… cages holding Grimm were all being unloaded. "Woah."

"I heard some professors have you fight Grimm in class. You know, for practice." Yang stepped behind her.

"Cool," Ruby's eyes lit up as ideas about how to handle each of the Grimm passing by flew through her head. Beowolves she'd fought before, they were easy; small Ursa too. But they'd only read about Boarbatusks at Signal. What would be a good opening attack? A sliding upward sweep? No that would leave her open if it missed. Maybe...

"Hey sis," Yang waved her hand in front of Ruby's face, bringing her back to reality. She'd sunk into a combat stance, hands positioned where they'd be on her scythe. Ruby heard the kitchen door opening and snapped back to an overly rigid posture, back and arms completely straight.

Ozpin stepped out with a steaming mug of coffee and looked at Ruby, "Let's continue then."

He turned and started walking away, Ruby raised her hand slowly before clenching her fist and dropping it. "Um, Professor Ozpin."

"Yes, Miss Rose?"

"Why are you doing all of this? Showing us around and everything. Considering, well..."

"Considering the mystery surrounding your semblance?"

"That's…" Ruby stopped herself from saying anything else and quickly nodded.

"Now seems as good a time as any to discuss it," He opened one of the classroom doors. "Miss Xiao-Long, please wait outside."

Ozpin held the door for Ruby and softly closed it. He took a seat behind the desk and waited while Ruby pulled up a chair of her own. For one long moment they sat there. Ozpin sat calmly with his hands folded in front of him while Ruby tried as hard as she could to not fidget in her chair.

"You don't have to worry Ruby," Ozpin broke the silence with a smile, "You're not here to be interrogated."

"But Yang said!" Ruby paused. "She thought that this was just like what happened to her at Signal. Only instead of whatever it was, you've been showing us around, but she's already going to Beacon so- so I..."

"Ruby, while there may seem to be some similarities, you aren't in trouble or under investigation. I heard about the request your sister sent to us and thought that I'd speak with you myself. There's a mystery that I think you'll be able to help me with."

"Help you how?"

"A few days ago I received a very strange message from the night watch in Patch. What do you think it was about?"

Ruby gulped and avoided looking at Ozpin while she spoke, "About how there was a big Beowolf pack that was destroyed by an awesome girl with a bright red aura and weird sign on her head."

He nodded. "A Huntress who they could not consistently recall one thing about, besides her red aura. Each of them described a different girl entirely."

"Yeah that was me. I didn't know any of them that well so I didn't think it was weird that they didn't recognize me even though they probably should've."

"Why was a girl like you fighting a pack of Beowolves by herself?"

"Someone had to."

"What about the adult Hunters nearby?"

"They weren't there. It was the middle of the night. They were moving almost silently, the Grimm that is, and were already past the watch towers. If I didn't stop them, they'd would've gotten to someone who couldn't fight back."

"You fought them all by yourself?"

"I didn't mean to. Umm, I mean. I just wanted to draw them away, make them chase me back to the towers."

"What happened?"

"I hit them from the side and tried to pull back, but there were even more hiding in the darkness! I took out two really fast," Ruby grimaced, "And then I was surrounded. I tried to push past them, but they kept me boxed in. We went on a few hunts at Signal so I know a little bit about Beowolves. These ones were bigger and spikier than any I'd fought before. They also hit a lot harder, but once I got started I was able to keep them away. So I continued fighting and just sort of kept going even though there were so many of them."

"I didn't even realize when they were all gone at first, just that there were other things coming for me from the bushes." Ruby stopped for a moment and looked towards the side of the room, "Then I noticed I was glowing and… and the noises were Huntsmen and well," Ruby laughed softly, "That's pretty much it."

"I see." Ozpin had leaned forward during the story and was looking at Ruby very intently. She just smiled awkwardly and stayed silent. She'd left some stuff out. Some stuff that was probably at least a little important, but it was personal and she really, really didn't want Yang to hear. She was sitting right outside, she probably heard all of this. But, she'd already told Yang all of this so there was nothing to fear there.

Not like the way Professor Ozpin was looking at her. She knew that look, it was the same look Uncle Qrow gave her when she snuck cookies out of the kitchen. It meant that he knew. He had to know. She was a terrible liar and now she could practically see him weighing his options. He was going to ask, she knew it. 'No, no, don't ask.' She thought as loudly as she could.

Ruby clenched her teeth and matched his gaze, wishing with every bone in her body that he just not ask anything else about that night.

She felt something shift. Not the ground or her, something that she couldn't see. It was like when she was fighting and needed just a bit more speed so she pushed again the ground extra hard with her Aura. Was it Professor Ozpin? He didn't look like he was pushed, he was just smiling; smiling and no longer giving her that look.

"That's an impressive feat for someone so young." He leaned back and all of Ruby's tension flowed away, "It also explains most of what I wanted to know."

"Most?"

"Yes. I have one more question for you." Ruby winced and prepared herself for what was coming. "What do you want to do now?"

"What? I-" Ruby blinked a few times while her mouth hung open, "I want to be a Huntress, but..."

"But?"

"But how could I when no one remembers me?"

"Ruby, how many living Hunters can you name besides your family and teachers?"

She quirked her head to the side, "Fifty?"

"A very impressive number. Most people know of less than twenty." He took a sip of coffee. "In the kingdom of Vale there are more than one thousand registered Huntsmen and Huntresses, though not all of them are still actively fighting."

"To most people, any would be a stranger who came and saved them when they were most in need. Also, your sister seems to be able to remember you."

Ruby looked away again. "Yeah, though she didn't recognize me at first."

"Oh?"

"I, uhh. It wasn't just the glowing thing." Ruby rubbed the side of her neck and stared at the table, "My hair's a little redder and my eyes are…"

"They're very unique,"

She closed them, obscuring the unfamiliar red irises and bronze speckled pupils, "They used to be silver. Like my mom's."

Ozpin froze. He'd been bringing his mug back to the table and stopped inches above it. His expression shifted several times in an instant. Ruby couldn't keep up with all of it, but she could see several conflicting feelings before he finished setting his drink down. "I see."

"Professor Ozpin are you ok?"

"I'm fine Ruby, just surprised. Silver is also an eye color very few people have." He couldn't be fine after looking like that. She really wanted to say something, but he didn't ask her more before so it wouldn't be fair for her to now. "Now then, you say you want to be a Huntress?"

She nodded, "More than anything. Even if everyone keeps forgetting me."

"Would you like to come to Beacon?"

~~~​

Later that night Ruby was lying on the roof of her room, looking up at the stars. She had to explain everything to dad, again, but it only took a few seconds before he remembered her this time. Then the hugging and the crying started. He felt so bad about it, which made her feel worse, and they just kept feeding into each other until Yang made them stop.

Then she told him that she'd been invited to go to Beacon with Yang and it started up again because "both of his girls were abandoning him at the same time." That time Yang got pulled into the bear hug. Thankfully it ended while Ruby still had ribs.

Dad was cooking one of his specialties to celebrate the good news. She'd normally be helping prep things, but there were too many questions running around her head. Why did Professor Ozpin react like that? What would having silver eyes mean? Mom's eyes had been silver too and no one ever made a big deal about them. Did he know her mom? Was that it? Mom and Dad were pretty awesome, but were they good enough that someone like Professor Ozpin would know them?

Ruby groaned and went back to her other mystery. The night sky was different now and she didn't know why. She could still pick out all of the stars she normally could and nothing really seemed different, but it had a weird energy to it. It was like there was something up there, dancing just outside of sight.

Maybe she wasn't looking hard enough.

She sat up and focused on the stars. She looked from constellation to constellation, the ones she remembered anyway, searching for anything weird. They just twinkled down at her. She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking back to her night in the forest. She whispered to herself while she remembered.

"Once, there was a maiden who looked to the stars,

In their heavenly dance she saw many answers,

And many more questions,

Then one night, the stars grew silent,

'Why me?' She asked, again and again,

'What now?' She cried in desperation,

But the stars could not answer her,

For her Fate was her own."

There was something hiding in there too. But figuring out the poem was even harder. If it was true, then why wasn't she getting any answers from the stars? She wasn't asking "why me?". It was more like "What are you? What're you doing?".

"That's a really pretty poem."

"Grah, Yang!" Ruby jumped up and turned around. Yang was leaning on the window behind her. She was grinning and holding a half-eaten skewer of meat.

"Dad sent me to get you. Dinner's ready and it is good!" She tore a piece of meat off and pointed the stick at Ruby. The younger girl giggled and slipped into the window. She could worry about weird poems later.

"Race you there!" She yelled and took off.

"Oh, you're on!"

 

[Graveless]

Miracles of Ancient Wonder

~

Chapter 1.2

~~~​

This arrival at Beacon was a lot nicer than the first or the second. They came in on a huge airship that circled the campus and gave everyone an amazing view of the ocean. Though not everyone on board seemed to appreciate that part. Yang hoped the guy who got sick was going to be ok, but if he couldn't take something like that he probably shouldn't be here. Or maybe he got sick because he was so excited? Who really knew?

She was excited to be here. There'd be new people to meet and fight. Yang didn't like to brag too much, but she was one of the best in her class at Signal. They started doing two on ones just to make it fair. Beacon was a big ocean full of the best and she could hardly wait to see what they had. After all, a new friend was just one punch away.

A silly grin made its way to her face while she looked around. There were some fine people walking by and a wonderful view to appreciate. Ruby was even checking them out too, eyes roving over the crowd while she bounced in place.

"Ohh, sis. Look at him!" Ruby grabbed Yang's shoulder and pointed to a tall boy with a meteor hammer wrapped tightly around his waist. He was built and dressed to show it off: dark vest, tight pants, white shirt a size too small. All around beefcake. Also that swagger, he knew what he was about. "Also, over there and there. Just, oh so cool."

This one was around Yang's height with long black hair. A lot thinner than the first one, but damn was he graceful. Though given how the redhead next to him was acting, she was pretty sure her sister wouldn't have a chance. She kept bouncing around and prodding him, nearly hitting the boy with the handle of her fancy warhammer. He wasn't reacting badly to any of it either. Yeah, Ruby wouldn't be able to stand up to that.

Yang sighed and shook her head. She was so glad that her sister was this excited to see people. There was a long running joke between her friends that Ruby'd wind up marrying her scythe. It was a little mean. Although, since she kept calling it her sweetheart, Yang could hardly say there wasn't a grain of truth there. "Come on sis you'll have plenty of time to talk to them later."

"Yeah, I gue-" Ruby stopped mid-turn, eyes going wide. She actually cooed at whoever caught her sight, "Beautiful."

"What're you talking-" Yang turned around and froze as well. She whistled softly and looked from the other girl, to her sister, and back again. "Woah!"

"Those curves, so nice. Do you think-no that can't be it. How do you think she..." Ruby was babbling to herself, gaze transfixed on the girl's hips.

Yang gulped and looked at a starry eyed Ruby. She laughed and grinned awkwardly, "Uhhh… Well, I didn't know that about you sis, but wow! Good choice, I approve!"

The girl who'd caught her sister's eyes was short and a bit thin, but moved with an assurance that Yang had only seen on TV before. Her looks were also flawless. Well ok, the scar on her left eye could be called a flaw, but it accentuated her face instead of looking out of place. She kept the asymmetry going with a side ponytail that brought her look back to, well, perfection. The matching jacket, dress, and super high-heeled boots just made the impression even stronger. Yang was hot and she loved dressing the part, but at her best she might've matched what this girl did seemingly effortlessly.

"She must've been worked on a lot. What sort of…" Ruby continued mumbling to herself while Yang connected the dots. Every person that Ruby'd pointed out had one thing in common.

She sighed and mumbled into her hand, "Oh god. You're talking about her sword aren't you? You've been looking at their weapons this entire time."

"Uhh, yeah what else would I be talking about? I mean, you can see this right? Her rapier, it's, it's just..." Yang cut off Ruby's gushing with a tight hug.

"Aww. And here I thought my baby sister was growing up." Yang nuzzled Ruby's head and moved her hands to Ruby's arms, making sure she had a good grip.

"Grah, Yang stop it." Ruby struggled a little, but was no match for Yang's hugging ability. It took her a little while to realize that she was held super tight. And then she froze. "Yang, what're you doing?" There was just a hint of worry in Ruby's voice.

"I'm gonna help you make a new friend."

"What? No, I don't need any new friends. I have you!"

"Hmm, nope!" Yang grinned and picked Ruby up off the ground. The redhead shook as fast as she could. She tried valiantly, but unsuccessfully, to break free. "You need to meet new people and I'd be a terrible sister if I let you pass up this chance."

"Yang, no I-" Yang spun around once and let her sister go, sending her flying at the girl in a tight spiral. Then she dashed off into the crowd. Ruby would need to leave her comfort zone eventually; this was just giving her a head start.

~~~​

Ruby was used to being in the air, her combat style almost required it. But it was never like this!

If she had it her way, she'd have Crescent Rose ready and use the recoil to fire herself in another direction. Instead, Yang's aim was on target and she was sailing right at the rapier girl!

No, she wouldn't have her first meeting with someone start by crashing into them!

Ruby twisted, pushed against the air, and forced herself left, bending around the girl. Her ponytail got swept up in the movement and time seemed like it slowed down as she turned to the side. Ruby met her eyes and smiled sheepishly before slapping the ground with a hand to stop her fall. The cobblestones cracked as she channeled her Aura down and pushed herself above the girl's luggage. Ruby brought her knees up and flipped in the air over and over. She landed on her feet, in a low stance, and let out the breath she'd been holding.

"What was that?" Ruby winced and turned around slowly only to find a glare as icy as the shout's tone. The other girl had her arms crossed and seemed to be barely holding back from yelling even louder, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You see, I was looking at you and my sister Yang, she just sort of picked me up and threw me and… meep." How someone shorter than her could loom over her like that Ruby didn't know, but this girl was as scary as she was pretty. Still she was here now, so she had to at least try to make her into a friend. There had to be some way to explain all of this, maybe just being honest? Honesty was the right answer, right?

"I'm really sorry that that happened. My sister thought that throwing me at you would be a good way for me to make new friends. I didn't want to do anything like that and-" The girl's gaze narrowed with every word that came out of Ruby's mouth. Honesty betrayed her! There was only one thing left to do. One problem, she didn't know how to do it.

In the back of her mind, Ruby had been thinking about what happened when she met with Professor Ozpin. The intense pressure bearing down on her then was back. She focused on that feeling again and thought very loudly. Forgive me, please forgive me.

Again it seemed like the world shifted without actually moving. In that instant the girl's glare also softened, though it wasn't gone. Ruby smiled and held out a hand.

"And, hi my name is Ruby. I really like your rapier, it's super-awesome. Please don't hurt me." She waited for a few seconds before pulling her hand back. "Ok we're not quite there yet."

"No, no we aren't. But," She laid her hand on her rapier's hilt and tapped a finger against the pommel, "what were you saying about my sword?"

Ruby's smile brightened and she shook her hands in front of her chest in excitement. "Ohhh, I could tell how much love went into her just by looking. Umm, she is a she right?"

"Uhh, sure..." Whatever the girl was expecting, that wasn't it.

"Anyway, I saw just how fine the etching was and the quality of the metal. The dust injector's gotta also be very well fitted to work with such a narrow blade. On top of all of that there's the metal." Ruby's eyes were sparkling even more now. "I didn't know you could use such a highly infused steel and not interfere with the dust channels."

The girl settled into a smug grin while Ruby gushed. She spoke up when Ruby had to take a breath, "The channels are coiled Orichalcum to enable the Dust to be used at its full potency. They're protected in a core of Moonsilver," Her smile widened as Ruby oohed and awed, "It provides a barrier against the interference while maintaining the blade's flexibility."

"How did you work it? I've read about how hard Moonsilver is to keep in a stable shape and it sounds really exciting to use, but we never had enough at Signal to really do anything with it. And Orichalum would be even worse, we didn't have any tools that could scratch it." She waited for a moment, bouncing on her heels. "So, come on, how'd you do it?"

"I didn't built it. I provided the specifications and sent the order to engineering to be designed and constructed."

"Engineering, but… What?" Ruby glanced at the girl's luggage. A familiar snowflake symbol was on all of her suitcases; it was also on the back of her jacket. Ruby had a toothpaste tube with the same symbol, but there was no way a toothpaste company would have an engineering department. Or maybe she just meant a special weapons engineer? That would still mean that she'd need to have a lot of money though. Well if she could use materials like that she needed to have that anyway. Ruby pursed her lips and looked at the girl again. "Who are you?"

The girl smirked. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

"Dust Company? Ohhh, that makes much more sense than a toothpaste company." Ruby nodded sagely.

Weiss sighed, "That one would be my cousin Ivory." She shook her head before continuing. "So Ruby, what Engineering School are you going to go to? You're a smart kid with a very good eye if you could pick all of that out from sight alone. I could put in a good word for you if you're looking for an internship in a few years. Maybe even find some work for whoever in your family's going to Beacon."

"I, what?" Ruby quirked her head to the side puzzled, "But, I'm going to Beacon to be a Huntress."

"What? You? You have to be like fourteen. How could you get into Beacon?"

"I'm fifteen, thank you very much, and I got invited by Professor Ozpin himself." Ruby crossed her arms and pointed to a gear shaped pin on her cape. "He even gave me this special pin to show to people to prove it."

"Right," Weiss said, drawing the word out far more than necessary, "the Headmaster of the most prestigious combat school in Vale directly invited a fifteen year old weapons nut."

"Uh-huh." Ruby nodded.

"Color me," Weiss paused and twirled her hand as if she was searching for the right word, "skeptical."

She brought her hands to her hips and loomed again. "If you're going to lie about something, at least make it plausible. If you're really going to Beacon, what did you get on the entrance exam? Do you know your Aura fundamentals? How many targets did you take out in the combat test?"

"What? But I- There were no tests!" Ruby was at loss for words. She was supposed to be here! Professor Ozpin said that she could show that to anyone when she got to class and they'd let her in even if they forgot her.

"Actually, her story is plausible." Ruby spun around to find another girl right behind her. She had a cleaver-gun that had a ribbon tied to it. She was pale, had yellow eyes, and black hair with a bow on top of her head. Oh wait no Ruby was wrong, it was a chain-sword that was also a gun! "People learn at different paces. She had the reflexes to dodge not only you, but also your enormous pile of luggage."

Weiss glanced at Ruby then locked eyes with the new girl. "Fine, so she has the reflexes. But this is a serious combat school. Just being fast won't cut it."

The other girl shook her head and turned away. She took a few steps before pausing. Ruby could feel the pressure again, but she had no idea what it was from. This girl was trying to help her, but she didn't know why. "People have been learning to fight without schools for ages. After all, not everyone can buy an expensive education with money taken from the sweat of others."

"What! How dare-" Weiss shouted and paused. "What are you implying?" Her voice grew cold as her hand moved towards her rapier. But, she didn't draw.

The new girl met Ruby's eyes, smiled slightly, nodded, and then turned away again. Ruby, didn't know what she meant by that at all though. Why did she smile? She was a complete stranger; did she want to be friends too? Also, her explanation was good, but wrong. She coughed before speaking, "Umm, Weiss?"

Ruby resisted wincing when Weiss turned her glare back toward her. "Don't worry about that, she was wrong. I did go to a combat school and was the best in my class at sparring. I was also the best at weapons design."

She smiled brightly and warmed Weiss's glare ever so slightly. The girl huffed and let go of her sword, "That's not what I was worried about. She was three words off of quoting an early White Fa-"

Weiss frowned as she looked at the chain-sword girl again. She was walking away slowly, the tails of her vest swishing back and forth. Though Weiss seemed more focused on her bow. Which wasn't moving nearly as much, except when the wind caught it and one side bounced.

"Never mind." Weiss shook her head.

"Before, all of that," She tapped the pommel of her rapier as she spoke, "You were asking me about Myrtenaster's construction. We don't have the time right now, but we can talk more about that later. I'd like to hear what you did with yours as well."

"Really?!" Ruby shook with excitement. No one had ever asked her about that before, besides her teachers and her dad, and that one guy in advanced weapon-smithing who wanted her to help him with the extender for his dagger. She'd put so much work into Crescent Rose and all she ever got from anyone else was a "Sure, that's cool." when she talked with them about it.

"Yes, but for now I need to get to orientation." Weiss nodded to Ruby and walked away, an old man in a suit pushing her luggage behind her. He just had a small pistol in his jacket pocket, boring.

"OK. I'll see you later Weiss!" Ruby shouted and waved. She'd managed to do it, she made a new friend! Well, maybe she did. Weiss was the first new person she'd really talked to since the thing happened. The chain-sword girl might be also, though Ruby was less sure she'd remember her. She hadn't even gotten that girl's name or given hers. All she could do was hope at this point.

Ruby wasn't quite ready to go to the big ceremony yet so she glanced around for any other interesting things, but couldn't find any that stuck out. There was a girl hugging her dad, who just has a basic shot-spear; a boy toting around what looked like a guitar case, which could be hiding an axe; and another guy was about to walk into a bench with a really old looking straight sword. Ruby wasn't sure, but it might've been from the late colorless period going by the cross guard. If it was, then it might be a lot better than she thought.

He hit the bench right on the knee. Ruby winced as he tipped forward and fell over it, right into a bush. The poor guy screamed like a girl and flailed wildly until a redheaded girl pulled him out. She also had a beauty, a very complex multi-weapon that had lance and gun modes at least. His edges were gilded with Orichalcum, but the rest was steel. Really high quality steel. Oh the things she could do with Crescent Rose if she could get metal like that.

This girl also had equally fancy armor and a nice tiara, but Ruby hadn't spent a lot of time on armor design so she wasn't sure if they were good or just for show.

Ruby gulped, took a deep breath, and walked up to them. "Umm, hi there. Are you ok?"

The boy shook his head back and forth quickly, blowing a leaf out of his mouth in the process. "I think so. I saw an angel and..." He looked off in the direction Weiss left and sighed.

"Sorry, thank you, both of you." He stood up straight and grinned in a way that seemed a lot like Ruby's dad, but the dirt on his cheek ruined the image. "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc."

The other girl nodded and folded her hands in front of her. "Pyrrha Nikos, I'm glad you're ok Jaune."

"Ruby Rose, nice to meet you."

 

[Graveless]

Miracles of Ancient Wonder

~

Chapter 1.3

~~~​

Ruby followed a few steps behind Jaune and Pyrrha while they talked about their favorite TV shows. It was mostly Jaune doing the talking, he'd watched so much Ruby could hardly believe it. Pyrrha was just nodding along and occasionally commenting. Ruby was more of a music and books girl so there wasn't anything she could really contribute to the conversation. But, thanks to the show he was on, she finally had her chance.

Jaune was talking about his favorite character in some fantasy show who used a pure Dust blade and describing how he would alter the length mid strike to ensure his attack hit home. Ruby skipped forward with a quick burst of her Semblance, looping around his left, and interrupted him, "Hey Jaune!"

"Ahh, Ruby where'd you?" He yelped and held a hand to his chest while he caught his breath. He glanced back only to see the flurry of rose petals she left in her wake.

"So about really cool swords. What sort of awesome things does yours do?"

"Huh?" He smiled awkwardly and looked to Pyrrha, who looked just as confused. He pulled it out and looked at the blade a bit. "It's a sword and it uhh, cuts things?"

"No, I mean special techniques or powers." Ruby pointed to the handle. "He's gotta be really old, at least one hundred years, right?"

"Yeah, my great-great grandpa used it to fight. Grandpa did to. Dad didn't though. He's more of a mace guy," Jaune said as Pyrrha's eyes lit up.

"Ruby, are you talking about the soul of his sword?" Pyrrha stepped in and waited for Ruby to nod before continuing, "In Mistral, there are a number of Hunters who focus on intertwining their Aura with their weapons. These weapons are later passed down to their apprentice, who does the same, infusing the weapon with themselves and strengthening both. As time passes, the weapon will take on its own character and become more than just a blade."

Jaune nodded along, gulping before he responded, "That sounds pretty cool. So, how would you do this soul mixing thing then?"

"We were taught to connect with our weapons through meditation. To empty ourselves and focus purely on feeling the pulse of the world. Then let your Aura seep out and connect to it."

Ruby chimed in, "At Signal we all built our own weapons. We pushed our Aura into each piece and at the end everything just felt right, like your weapon was an extension of your arm."

"Right, but," Jaune rubbed the side of his neck and looked right between them, "how do you do all of that? This pushing your Aura thing."

"It's, it's just like you do when you're fighting. Like, when you push yourself into the ground harder to jump or get this tingly feeling in your belly that something's gonna happen." Ruby paused between each phrase, trying to figure out the right way to describe it. She hadn't needed to think about how she used her Aura for years.

She bit her lip and looked back up at Jaune. He had a scrape below his left ear that he was avoiding touching. That should've healed by now. "Jaune, your ear's hurt. Do you not have your Aura awakened?"

"Uhh, yeah. Why? Do you have yours?" His ignorance was displayed all over his face.

Ruby looked at Pyrrha and bit her lip. The other girl smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Jaune, most junior combat schools unlock their students Auras as part of their first year. Assuming they haven't already had the ritual performed while they were younger that is. If you got into Beacon without this happening..." Pyrrha paused and Jaune gulped. "Then you must have done something very impressive."

"I… yeah," Jaune looked down to the ground and shrugged. For a little while the three of them stood there, each waiting for someone to do something to break the silence.

Jaune spoke up first, "So, do either of you know how to do that unlocking thing? It sounds pretty, um, important."

"We all learned how to, but I've never really done it," Ruby grinned and laughed slightly. She'd been told, again and again, that none of them were supposed to just go around awakening Auras. So, she never bothered remembering exactly how the ritual went. Also, it was supposed to hurt a lot if you messed it up. She'd try. Jaune was here at Beacon, so there shouldn't be a problem with it, and he looked pretty tough. Thankfully, Pyrrha saved her.

"Don't worry. I'm very familiar with it. There were several important ceremonies where I was asked unlock the Auras of the incoming fighters." Pyrrha looked away and blushed. She giggled and turned back to Jaune. "Just close your eyes and concentrate."

"Uhhh, ok." He glanced at Ruby before nodding to Pyrrha. His hands were balled tightly.

Pyrrha stepped close to Jaune and placed one hand on the side of his head, the other over his heart. With a nod, they both closed their eyes and took slow breaths. Jaune calmed down, letting his arms hang free. One, two, three: they were in sync. Ruby could feel the energy gathering around them as Pyrrha began to softly glow. There was more than just that though.

Ruby closed her eyes and listened as Pyrrha began.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," Her words echoed off of the cobblestones, ringing into the air in a continuous hum.

"Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." It grew louder, like a speaker playing a rising intro. She could hear a second beat, a smooth undercurrent of vibrations that flowed from Pyrrha.

"Infinite in distance and unbound by death." The second sound grew stronger and stronger. A stream of beats quickly becoming a river.

"I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee," Her voice faded, but her soul erupted into a symphony of sounds. Each hummed in tune as they stretched into the sky. Then a second wave joined them, deeper and softer. And yet, the two harmonized despite their differences. The same notes in a different key, the louder leading the softer skyward.

Ruby continued listening as the waves echoed away, ending in a soft tinkling high in the sky. She opened her eyes to Pyrrha pulling away. Wisps of her red Aura swirled into nothingness with Jaune's white one as the crimson chords binding them faded.

Jaune blinked a few times while Pyrrha caught her breath. He turned his hands over, staring as the glow of his Aura vanished. "Woah."

Pyrrha stood back up and smiled. "That feeling is your soul's protection." His cut quickly closed in a flash of light.

"If you want to feel something really interesting," Pyrrha's smile grew wider and she leaned forward slightly, "Try drawing your sword again."

Jaune touched the handle of his sword, recoiling once, before gripping it tightly. "It's a little warm, but not in a bad way."

"That warmth is what we were speaking about before." Pyrrha reached forward slightly, hesitated, and brought her hand back to her side. "With practice, you should be able to learn from it and make it your own."

Jaune nodded and looked off to the side for a moment. Then his gaze went back to Pyrrha, though he couldn't meet her eyes. He blinked a few times and turned to the road again. "Uhh, thanks and, uhh, we should probably, umm,"

"Yes we shouldn't be late." Pyrrha's smile fell when she turned to Ruby. Who was like a deer in headlights, eyes wide and posture rigid. "Ruby are you alright?"

"Uh huh," Ruby mumbled while she finished processing what she'd just experienced. It only hit her at the end that that had been a very different ritual than she'd expected. Her's was more like "wham, bam, here's your Aura." There was no long chant. There was no music. Music that she could tell the color of for some reason. It was just a normal thing. "I'm good, I just… umm... haven't watched it like that before."

Pyrrha turned away, her cheeks burning. "Ahh, right. Well. Let's get going then."

"Yeah." Ruby turned stiffly and walked forward, still lost in thought. Music didn't have colors. And even if it did, why would she only hear it now? She closed her eyes again and listened to the world's song. It was tough because Jaune's drumming overwhelmed all of the lamps. The steady, white pulse drowned out everything else. Why was he doing that so much and what was it? She and Pyrrha weren't, but they knew how to control their Aura and this was the same color as Jaune's.

Ruby focused her Aura down. A pure red string resounded with each step. As soon as she stopped using her Aura, the sound also stopped. She could hear people's Auras…

A shiver ran down her spine. This was so cool and also maybe really, really bad.

~~~​

By the time they reached the auditorium, Ruby was mostly better. She was still shocked, but had herself more under control. She was walking normally and, more importantly, was hearing normally. She caught sight of Yang waving to her and quickly spoke to Jaune and Pyrrha, "Uhh, I'll see you guys later."

She skipped to her sister's right with a quick burst of her Semblance. Ruby pointed right at Yang's face, but didn't get the first word in. "Well somebody looks excited. So, what happened?"

"I dodged the girl that you threw me at!"

"And?" Yang stretched the word out with a silly grin on her face.

"And she was really mad at me." Ruby gave Yang a look, but the blond just kept grinning. There was no trace of guilt on her face whatsoever.

Sighing, Ruby stopped pretending to be madder than she was, "But then I asked her about Myrtenaster and she got a lot nicer."

"Myrtenaster? Who's that?"

"Her sword."

"Really? You- Wait, you started talking about her sword and that made her happy?"

"Yeah, we talked about her materials and design. Weiss worked both Moonsilver and Orichalcum into her! They're in a pretty complex arrangement if the image I'm picturing is right," Yang's posture sunk lower and lower while Ruby explained what happened, "And that's not even the best part. After we argued about me belonging here, she asked about Crescent Rose!"

"I- wow. Ruby I never expected you to find someone else, er, just like you. That's great!"

"I know, it's so cool," Ruby grinned and bounced in place.

"Well, I'm glad you made a friend. But..." Yang bit her lip, looked from Ruby to the crowd, and leaned in. She whispered, "When you came in you also looked kinda nervous. Did something else happen?"

Ruby gulped. Of course Yang would notice something like that. She glanced around, looking for anyone who might be too close. They were surrounded by people who didn't seem like they were listening, but that could change at a moments notice. "Umm, kinda."

Yang's eyes briefly flashed with mischief before settling back to a worry. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"Yes! I mean no, I mean-" The sound of a mic being turned on cut her off.

Professor Ozpin stepped up to the podium and coughed. Before he started talking, Ruby whispered to a now very worried Yang, "I'll tell you after."

"I'll keep this brief." Ozpin adjusted his glasses before continuing, "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge--to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."

Ruby nodded along as he spoke. He was looking over the crowd and paused when he saw her. She could barely make it out, but his brow furrowed briefly before going back to that unreadable mask.

"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step. Though you should remember..." He paused once more, briefly taking on a regretful expression. "People may not be all that they seem. You must be careful. Danger can appear in the most surprising of places."

A shiver ran down Ruby's spine that refused to go away when Ozpin finished. Professor Glynda Goodwitch was announcing what where they would go next, but she wasn't paying attention. She was too focused on Professor Ozpin as he walked away, on what he said now and what he'd told her before.

"That was, uhh something. He seemed kinda not there, until the end... Now about that thing." Yang nudged Ruby and nodded her head towards the door. Ruby glanced back to the stage more and stopped. There was something else she needed to do first.

"Yang, hold on. I'll be right there." Ruby moved against the crowd, pushing her way between people until she was towards the front. The chain-sword girl from earlier was there. She was watching people move while waiting, probably for everyone else to get out.

Ruby slowly approached from the crowd and waved. "Umm, hello again."

The girl blinked and frowned before responding, "Hello. Do I know you?"

"Not really, I'm actually not surprised that you don't remember me, but you tried to help me this morning and you were kinda just waiting here and I wanted to say thanks," Ruby spoke increasingly fast.

"Umm, what?" The girl just looked Ruby over, eyes darting back and forth. She ended by shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person."

"Sorry, that's my Semblance, it makes people about forget me." Ruby winced. The girl's eyes narrowed as soon as she lied. Yang thought she'd be able to get away with claiming that since Professor Ozpin said it too. "Uhh, it was when Weiss was being mean and said that I wasn't supposed to be in Beacon. You said something about my speed and her education being taken from someone's sweat. I wasn't really sure what you meant, but it convinced her. Or at least it made her stop yelling."

"I did distract Weiss Schnee when she was yelling at someone earlier today, but you don't look anything like the girl who…" She looked at Ruby, frowning again, but not in a bad way. Now she just looked confused. Her eyes were locked on Ruby's face, twitching slightly to follow every movement.

"Like I said, people forget about me. Even when they shouldn't." Ruby gulped and hoped that the staring would stop soon. When it didn't, she stepped forward and held out her hand. "Anyway I'm Ruby and thanks again. I was hoping that you'd want to be friends. Maybe if you have my name it'll be easier next time?"

Ruby had been expecting what was coming next and pushed against the world without missing a beat. It shifted and the girl took her hand after a moment's thought. She gave Ruby one good shake, but didn't stop staring. "Blake and... sure."

"Nice to meet you Blake." Ruby smiled and leaned slightly to her left. Blake's eyes tracked her, looking just above her own. "Umm, do I have something on my face?"

Ruby rubbed her hand from her nose to her forehead, trying to wipe away anything that might've gotten stuck to her.

"No, it's just… I-" Blake paused and bit her lip before continuing, "I like your hair?"

"Uhh, thank you?" Ruby half smiled and looked over her shoulder.

"Umm, let's go catch up to everyone else?" Ruby was back to the awkward grin when she realized they were the only ones still in the auditorium. Blake nodded and started walking.

"Sure."

~~~​

Yang left with the crowd and waited right outside of the door for Ruby. She leaned on the wall and crossed her arms, keeping watch for the moment her sister left. While she waited, she couldn't help tapping on her side and checking for any other familiar faces. Something was up. Well, something had been up since Ruby came home with all of this strangeness, but something was really up now.

Ruby'd been more reserved and secretive ever since the fight in the woods. Yang had pushed her for more details once, but she went quiet after the part where the last Beowolf died. Her sister was never this careful about anything, even when she was asked to keep a secret. If there was one thing Ruby could be counted on, it was being straightforward and honest.

She dug her nails into her palm. Something had made Ruby so worried that she took it this seriously, and there really weren't any good options for what that might be. Or maybe, someone was the source of it?

She scanned the crowd for the people she'd seen her with before.

First was the girl she tossed Ruby at, who somehow looked a little paler than she had earlier. If they were anywhere else, Yang would've just pulled her aside, but that'd be weird right now. It'd draw way too much attention. Also, considering Ruby's reactions she probably didn't cause that weirdness. But, it wouldn't hurt to check later.

The blond boy and red headed girl who Ruby came in with followed a little bit later. Nothing was off with them either. They were just talking about Aura and weapons, so there was a connection. If her sister heard them, she'd probably join in. However, neither of them looked like they'd do anything bad to her.

Finally, the girl Ruby went over to talk to stepped out. She was a little on edge while she moved, always scanning around herself. Yang met her eyes, a piercing yellow. For a second they sized each other up. Stance, weapons, physique: she took all of them in. Yang wasn't sure she could win a fight against her, which was weird by itself, but that didn't matter now since Ruby stepped out right on the other girl's heels.

Her sister was smiling, but looked at the ground once she noticed Yang was there. The other girl stopped and turned around.

"Uhh, you keep going Blake. I need to talk to my sister." Ruby nervously giggled. Blake also looked at Yang, who sighed in response. She stepped off the wall and smiled.

"Don't worry. I just need to talk to this goof about making me worried, then running off." Yang shrugged and let out a mental breath when the other girl relaxed. Whatever was bugging Ruby, she didn't want to talk about it where someone could overhear.

After a few moments, Blake nodded. "I'll see you later."

Yang waited for her to be a pretty good distance away before speaking, "Alright sis. What was that about?"

"Well..." Ruby nudged the path with her boot and didn't look at Yang. "She kinda helped me out earlier so I wanted to say thanks, but she didn't remember me."

Yang pulled Ruby into a hug again and gave her a pat on the back. "Is that all you're worried about? We'll figure out a way through all that. Even if it takes putting up pictures and sticky notes all over the place to remind people."

Ruby laughed emptily and joined in the hug. "Thanks, but it isn't just that."

Yang gave her a few moments before prodding her in the side. "Come on. What's bothering you?"

Ruby pulled away and took a long look all around them. Yang could feel her nerves firing up again.

"After talking to Weiss I listened to someone's Aura being unlocked," Ruby started slowly.

"That's nothing new. We were both there when Ms. Blan did her poke you in the forehead thing."

"No, not like that." Ruby shook her head and looked around again. "I really listened this time and I heard… things."

Yang clenched her fists. "Things..."

"Sounds, music, but not normal music. It was the ritual and..." Ruby gulped and paused. Yang could feel every muscle in her body tense while her sister continued scanning their surroundings. "And… I think it was also their Auras, mine too."

"Ruby that's-" Yang paused and hissed while she took a quick breath. "That's not possible. It's not something people can just do. Unless it-"

"-Their Semblance," Ruby finished the sentence, her voice too cold. Ruby was a smart cookie and if she could do something like that then there was no way she'd be able to ignore the other signs. "Yang?"

Yang gulped and forced herself to look less tense, it wasn't easy. She was pretty sure she knew where this was going. "Yes Ruby?"

"Yang, am I-" Ruby was absent-mindedly stroking Crescent Rose. "Am I a monster?"

Yang felt her heart beat in her throat.

"Ruby no!" Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby again and held her tight. "You're not a monster!"

"But I have more than one Semblance and-"

"No!" Yang cut her off, "Ruby you're my brilliant little sister and you're going to be an amazing Huntress."

She pulled back and lifted her sister's chin up. Ruby's eyes were glistening at the edges, but full of a dangerous fire. She'd always wanted to be a Huntress, to help people and save the world. Yang didn't know what Ruby would do if she thought she was a danger to everyone, but she didn't want to find out.

She could see her sister's fire still in there. All she needed to do was apply the right pressure. "What did they teach us back at Signal? The one sign that's always there. The one they even tell civilians to look out for."

"Silver or gold?"

"Right. And what color are you?"

"...Red."

"Professor Ozpin said there wasn't a problem, right? Do you think he'd just let you in like this if he wasn't sure?"

"No," The fire had reached Ruby's voice.

"No way he'd do something like that."

Ruby was giggling and smiling again. She wiped the corners of her eyes on her sleeve. "Thanks Yang. I'm sorry, I was just worried because of hearing that stuff and what he said in that speech."

"Hey, what're sisters for?" Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby's shoulders again and started walking. She smiled down at her sister with a knot in her stomach. "Though, you probably shouldn't tell anyone else about hearing these things. You never know what they'd do."

Ruby sighed, "Yeah."

"Come on, let's go get some sleep."

As they left, Yang caught a glimpse of the setting sun. She pushed the butterflies down and thought. You're not a monster Ruby.

 

[Graveless]

Miracles of Ancient Wonder

~

Chapter 1.4

~~~​

The following morning, they were brought to a cliff overlooking Beacon's Emerald Forest.

Professor Ozpin told them their objective: to find their partner and a relic by traveling through the forest. They would face great danger and would be expected to take care of themselves. The forest was teeming with Grimm of all shapes and sizes.

Each student was to move carefully and stealthily. Also, be prepared to fight for their lives against the Grimm. Their partner would be the first person who they met the eyes of. He did not tell them how their final teams would be decided.

The danger they would face, along with the need for discretion and teamwork due to the number of Grimm in the forest, was emphasized.

Then, he launched them off the cliff from spring loaded panels.

~~~​

"This will be an interesting class once the pairings are decided."

Professors Goodwitch and Ozpin stood on the edge of the cliff, watching as their students sailed through the air. Each had a scroll connected to the camera drones following each student.

"Mmh," Professor Ozpin watched them land without meaningfully responding. After a minute, only two hadn't touched down.

"Five of the thirteen who threw up flags for investigation are in this group. Unfortunately, three have already been tested once," Professor Goodwitch said as she swapped her view to their two stragglers: Jaune Arc, who was woefully unprepared and had been pinned to a tree by Pyrrha Nikos throwing her weapon at him; and Yang Xiao Long, who was using dust shots to propel herself deeper into the forest. She'd also taken the largest leap at the beginning. Glynda shook her head. "Speaking of which, Miss Xiao Long seems to be trying to set a new distance record."

"She'll be hard pressed to beat her uncle." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and watched as she finally started descending. She was incredibly close to the final site. "He transformed and flew to the relics. Summer found him pretending to take a nap with one of them in hand."

"That is… unsurprising." Glynda shook her head. Convincing Qrow to do anything even by the letter of the rules was next to impossible, let alone the spirit of them. "That entire family seems to be cursed with unfortunate appearing Semblances. Qrow, Taiyang, Summer, and now Yang as well. Only Raven was spared."

"You could say that Ruby was spared as well." Ozpin smiled softly. One of the knowing grins that he was prone to whenever he wanted someone to figure something out on their own. It was a habit that had infuriated her when she was a student.

"Ruby?" Glynda wracked her mind for where she'd heard that name before. She knew that Taiyang and Summer had another child, but couldn't put a name or face to them. They were presumably in this group if Ozpin was mentioning them now, but which one. She went over the features and equipment of each student on her scroll before the memory snapped in place. "Ruby Rose, the student with the uncontrollable, memory-loss Semblance that you sent the all staff message about last week. She's wearing one of your pins."

After another moment of thought, Glynda sighed, "Of course. Her last name is the same as Summer's... Which was a surprisingly difficult observation to make."

"Considering that difficulty, we can only hope that she will find a partner who has the mental fortitude to keep her in mind." He glanced down when his scroll pinged.

Their scrolls would sound when two students got close enough that they might see each other. They received two in a row, then six more.

"Our first pairing, Cardin Winchester and Dove Bronzewing. The second will likely be Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladona." Glynda barely resisted groaning when she saw who the large set was. "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos, and Jaune Arc are all approaching each other as well."

It was coincidental beyond reason. Even if he'd tried to set this result up, Glynda was sure that Ozpin wouldn't have had anywhere near this degree of success. Two of them were practically a pair, and there was a good chance two more would be as well. With luck, they'd challenge and test each other enough to be removed from the list. Then nothing unfortunate would have to happen.

She looked at Ozpin, who was as inscrutable as ever, and then back to her scroll. A quick text confirmed that the other professors hiding in the forest had received their notifications as well. She hated having to do treat their students like, all of the professors did. But, it was better for people who hated the task to have to do it, than people who may enjoy it.

The first trial was the regular entrance exam, but it only gave them an idea of who to look into more closely. All too often, it took live combat and the risk of death to reveal the danger lurking in human clothing. And once it was revealed, they would do what needed to be done, the hardest job of an elite Hunter.

Someone needed to eliminate the Anathema before they could threaten the entire world.

~~~​

Ruby slid to a stop before she got closer to the first person she heard. She'd been hoping to find Yang and be partners with her sister; it would be nice and easy. They'd fought together before and worked really well as a team. But because Yang flew off when they got launched, that wasn't very likely.

Thankfully, she was pretty sure she knew who was up ahead just going by the sounds their heels made when they stepped. It was probably Weiss or Pyrrha; Ruby would be happy to be partners with either of them. She also heard Jaune yelling from really high up, and while he didn't seem like he'd be great in a fight, he was pretty nice and kinda funny. Though Pyrrha probably wanted to find him first.

She stopped and listened again. There was another person walking nearby. Both of the people moving had heels, though one made sharper sounds when she stepped. She was pushing through the buses. The other was cutting more, but mostly avoiding them. Pyrrha had a better sword for cutting so that might be her.

Ruby took a deep breath. The sounds of the forest faded away as the music of the world took over. It was faint, but she could pick out Weiss, even from this far away. Her music was calmer than last night when she and Blake spent awhile looking at each other from across the room.

With a burst from her Semblance, Ruby rushed towards Weiss. She stopped just outside of the clearing that the white haired girl was standing in. This was the moment of truth. Could anyone else remember her?

Weiss's eyes narrowed briefly. Ruby gulped and waved at her, "Umm, hi."

After a long pause, Weiss nodded. "I could do worse. Let's go Ruby." She turned away while Ruby squealed with joy. She dashed over to the other girl and wrapped her arms around her.

"You remember me!" Ruby lifted Weiss just barely off the ground and spun in circles. Her cape whipped behind her, leaving a whirlwind of petals surrounding them.

"Hey! Ruby, what're you doing?" Weiss struggled as soon as she realized what was happening. She tried, unsuccessfully, to shake herself free. She couldn't get any leverage thanks to her heels dragging against the grass. "Do you know where we are? Let go of me this instant!"

An elbow to the face sent both girls tumbling down, but Ruby just kept smiling. Everything would be ok now! "I'm... it's just… You remembered my name!"

"Of course I did, you dolt!" Weiss staggered to her feet. "Why wouldn't I remember you considering how we met?"

Ruby giggled from the ground, watching the petals that trailed her fall. "People just sort of forget about me. It's kind of my Semblance."

Weiss caught a petal and raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, my dad didn't recognize me when I first came home. He thought I was one of Yang's friends trying to sneak in and almost threw me out of the house. The same thing happened the next night. And the morning after."

"That." Weiss picked up her rapier, which she'd dropped in the struggle. "Sounds like it was very difficult."

"But, that's all better now. Because we're partners!" Ruby flipped herself to her feet and raised her hand for a high five.

Weiss just crossed her arms and tapped her foot. The frigid glare was back again. Ruby took a hissed breath and pulled back.

"Ok, yeah I'll be serious." She peered off into the distance and drew Crescent Rose in light-rifle mode. The Grimm were close enough that she didn't need any extra stability. They'd been stalking, moving silently and using the bushes to stay below her sight-line. She and Weiss were almost surrounded.

Ruby took aim at the nearest grouping while Weiss rolled her eyes and started walking towards the bushes. "Now you'll be serious? Just by drawing your gun? Look I'm sure you can-"

Ruby fired four times, blasting holes in the plants right next to Weiss. Three startled yips were accompanied by bits of black, red, and white flying into the air as the Beowolves' heads exploded. Howls sounded around them. The survivor charged.

Weiss hopped back, narrowly avoiding the Beowolf's teeth. It burst from the brush with half of its mask missing, claws digging furrows into the ground when it caught itself. Before it could regain its balance, she lunged and skewered its head through the bullet wound. Five more shots rang out before Weiss got to Ruby's side.

"How many are there?" She kept her gaze on the bushes while Ruby unfolded her scythe. They stood back to back as the horde slowly emerged.

"Seven nearby. Another ten still coming." Ruby settled into a tail stance, scythe directly behind her. The heel of her blade was close to Weiss, but not in her way. Though, for some reason, the other girl still kept glancing at it rather than keeping her eyes on their enemies.

"You're not worried?" If Weiss was, her tone didn't show it. She kept her sword pointed high, alternating between the two closest to keep them at bay.

"Nah, I took out around thirty by myself two weeks ago." Ruby giggled and gripped Crescent Rose tighter. They were almost there.

"Thirty? That's a ridi-" Weiss was cut off by Ruby firing Crescent Rose.

"Go!" She shot forward, aiming right at the center of her group. The outermost Grimm's head flew off as she landed. The Beowolves turned to her, growling and circling just out of range. Crescent Rose laid on her shoulder while she waited. When two more came charging from the forest, they all rushed her.

Ruby threw her entire body behind her next swing and fired another round to gain more speed. She became a red and black blur, scythe lashing out. A moment later, all five Beowolves fell to the ground in a pile of severed pieces. None made it within three feet of her.

She could make out Weiss's shocked face before her partner turned away, engaging with her own group of Grimm.

~~~​

Blake crept along the old stone wall, staying in the shadows, while Yang waited in the middle of the ruins. Her partner was ready for anything to come at her, sunk into her knees with her fists slightly open. On her belt was their relic, a golden knight.

Yang was turning constantly, keeping watch all around. She tried to keep her glances random, but there was still a pattern to how she moved. Once to the far left, back to center, and suddenly left again. As soon as she finished the snap, Blake moved.

She used a stone jutting out of the wall as a handhold to flip herself over it. The one patch of grass and dirt on the stone floor was her target, the perfect spot to land and avoid being heard.

She landed on one foot. Yang was starting to turn around again. Blake sank down and pushed off. She flipped in the air and landed right behind the blond. She tapped Yang on the neck at the same time that she slipped her prize from Yang's belt.

"Grahh," Yang's eyes flashed red as she shouted, "How do you keep doing that?"

Blake looked back to her path. She'd crossed around ten yards in less than a second, without being noticed. She smiled and gave Yang a hint. "You don't look up and back enough."

"I looked behind me just fine."

"Not really."

Yang brought her hand to her chin and thought for a moment. Then she leaned back and craned her head around, pushing against her cheek to move it a bit more. At the end, she would just barely have hit the right arc.

Yang rubbed the side of her neck after she turned back. "Yeah, I still don't see how you'd do that."

"Like this." Blake turned away from Yang. She crouched slightly, then turned her knees, hips, chest, and neck so that she could see behind her without losing her balance. "You need to move everything at once."

Yang tried to mimic the movement, but she couldn't quite bend all the way. After three attempts she pouted and sighed. "Ok, one more time. You're only getting to the count of five to hide though."

Blake tossed the relic back to Yang and got ready. This would be the fourth time they played this game since they reached the ruins. She snuck up on Yang in the forest and now the other girl insisted on doing this until she caught Blake creeping up on her. There were so many gaps in Yang's defense, they could be here until nightfall before she succeeded.

But, it was a fun enough way to pass the time.

"Ok ready?" Yang covered her eyes and was about to start counting when more heavy rifle shots sounded from the forest. They'd been going on for a while now, slowly drawing closer to the ruins.

"Yang, I think we should wait." Blake turned her head towards the shots. She couldn't make anything out visually, but heard the growls and yips following each shot. There were a lot of Beowolves chasing whoever was doing that.

A piercing cry sounded from their other side along with tremors in the ground. Then, a series of explosions from between the two, these ones with the roar of an Ursa in response. Blake pulled her blade off her back and got ready for the Grimm to descend upon them. Yang punched her palm and rolled her shoulders, deploying her gauntlets.

Before anything else could happen though, the gunshots stopped. Moments later, a small girl in a red cloak burst from the bushes, swinging her enormous scythe into the ground to stop herself. She turned around and blew her bangs out of her face. The girl waved at them. "Hi Yang!"

Yang giggled and relaxed. She waved back to the girl. "Hey sis! You got this?"

"Yep." The girl turned back to the bushes and aimed. She fired her weapon so quickly that the next shot was in the air before the shells from the first two hit the ground. Each one was punctuated by a roar and the sound of a body falling. She was smiling as she fired again and again.

"Weiss, jump!" She shouted during a brief pause. Blake thought back to the previous day; the girl in red knew Weiss Schnee and she'd helped a girl like that before. It took her a moment, but the name came to mind.

"Ruby," Blake whispered to herself. She turned to Yang. "Your sister. Her name's Ruby isn't it?"

Yang whistled and turned to respond, keeping one eye on her sister, "Yeah... That was quick. You got her even faster than dad did."

"She's fairly memorable. I didn't believe her when she explained what her Semblance was at first." She'd never heard about anything like that before. Yang also winced as soon as she mentioned it. "Though…"

Blake paused when Ruby dropped her first magazine to the ground, reloading in record time. Three more shots, then she stopped. "Considering how she's moving, I'd say something relating to speed would be more likely."

"Heheh, yeah. It's kinda weird, but you know how those things are." There it was again, that tic where Yang played with her hair. Something else was going on and both of them knew about it.

"Of all of the stupid, reckless, boneheaded ideas!" Weiss Schnee's shouting drew Blake's attention back to her and Ruby. She was pulling twigs from her hair while Ruby giggled. She was also standing too close to the bushes. Bushes that had something moving inside of them.

Before Blake could warn her, a final Beowolf lept forward. Blake snapped her pistol up and fired two shots, one for each eye, before Ruby reacted. It was already dead when the other girl blew its head off.

"Weiss, you really need to be more careful." Ruby continued scanning the bushes, while her partner growled and stalked up to her.

"I need to be more careful? Do you have any idea how close you came to shooting me?" Weiss turned away, ignoring Ruby's complaint that she never actually hit her.

After taking a deep breath, Weiss glanced towards Blake. The animosity from the previous day was almost all gone. "Thank you for reacting so quickly and saving me."

Ruby folded her scythe up to a small rifle. "Aww Weiss come on. The plan worked great. We got all fortyish of them. And the Ursa too!"

"Thirty two. You took out twenty of them, along with the Ursa, while I stopped us from being swarmed even more than we already were." Weiss continued ranting, "I'd expected there to be some fighting, not a panicked run through Grimm infested territory. Why are there so many Grimm in this forest anyway? It's right next to Beacon!"

Blake mouthed thirty two and looked back to Yang; who wasn't worried for her sister at all. She wasn't sure which was more excited when Yang spoke, "Whew, good job sis. We only found three Ursa and like ten Beowolves so far. I've gotta catch up."

Weiss groaned in exasperation. Blake shot her a sympathetic smile that got a small smile back, which was surprising in its own right. Having anything in common with the Schnee heiress was unexpected. Though it was probably for a different reason in her case.

The thought that someone could enjoy fighting Grimm wasn't exactly new to Blake, but Ruby and Yang seemed too nice for that. Everyone else she'd known with that attitude had a bloodthirsty streak a mile wide and gave off an aura of violence even when they were just sitting around camp.

She shivered when she remembered the conversations that they thought she couldn't hear. The things some of them wanted to do, that they wanted her to help with. Bile rose in her throat.

Never again.

While she shook the memory off, another pair of Hunters joined them. A small, very energetic, girl who rode an Ursa in before it collapsed and an exhausted boy chasing after her. Another high pitched scream sounded from the forest, followed by a chorus of howls. The trees shook as the Grimm moved.

"Yang." Blake got herself ready to fight. "I think you'll get your chance."

 

[giodan]

Ruby sideral?????? This is.... good!!!!! Vero fece story whit sideral!!

 

[Robotninja]

Very interesting.

 

[Graveless]

Ruby sideral?????? This is.... good!!!!! Vero fece story whit sideral!!

Click to shrink...

I'm not really sure what the second part means, but thanks!

 

[Linkstore]

Google Translate gives 'True Story he made with Sideral (sic)'. I thinks he's just saying you did great, in which case... I concur!

 

[Giygas]

So this version of Remnant is Creation with Aura users instead of Dragonblooded? (or maybe Dragonblooded are still around?)

And also Grimms everywhere. Cannot forget about the Grimms everywhere. Canonical Creation would be a very different place with armies of darkness everywhere all the time, and not only besieging it semi-effectively.

... Who knows, maybe the First age would have lasted longer, given that Solars were itching to have something to test their mettle, and infinite armies of darkness spawing from nowhere satify at least two out of five solar castes; Dawn for fighting them, Twilight for the whole "From where exactly this guys come from?". Maybe also Eclipse and Zenith, to make sure that peoples don't/do start enough shit to attract an horde of them. You can even stretch it to the Night, to actually assassinate the right peoples to start things!

Lots of options with the Grimms around!

 

[Black Noise]

This is amazing, I did not expect amazing.

An incomplete list: you get the characters right and their interactions are fluid and dynamic, the world doesn't feel empty, it's close to canon but there's enough obvious differences that it's clear things are different, you're integrating both sides of the crossover in a seamless manner without going into an obscure mess or endless exposition, the writing is technically sound...

Seriously, I have no reservations or caveats so far which is rare. Please write more.

 

[Khaos]

Excellent!

 

[apeljohn]

Significantly better than I was expecting from the crossover. I really like the relatively subtle way the Exalted themes are integrated into the RWBY universe.

...Any bets on which member of Team RWBY or JNPR turns out to be a Solar or Lunar first?

 

[Graveless]

Lots of options with the Grimms around!

Click to shrink...

The impact that the Grimm would have, both due to their number and what draws them, was one of the things that really inspired me for this story.

This is amazing, I did not expect amazing.

An incomplete list: you get the characters right and their interactions are fluid and dynamic, the world doesn't feel empty, it's close to canon but there's enough obvious differences that it's clear things are different, you're integrating both sides of the crossover in a seamless manner without going into an obscure mess or endless exposition, the writing is technically sound...

Seriously, I have no reservations or caveats so far which is rare. Please write more.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. A bunch of those were aspects of the story I was really worried about.

Writing more is the plan. My goal is to get one chapter out per week with more if I can build up enough of a buffer.

 

[giodan]

... sorry i'm from italy and i'i'm writing from my phone. who got auto-fix.

 

[Graveless]

... sorry i'm from italy and i'i'm writing from my phone. who got auto-fix.

Click to shrink...

It's no prob, I hadn't considered auto-correct in another language and had been trying to figure out similar words in english.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Like, dude, holy shit.

I never knew how bad I wanted this, and so well done too. The only other RWBY/Exalted cross I've seen had Yang being dropped into Creation. The guy was trying to get a hang of the mechanics and setting... it... kinda worked? Story died fast, but we drowned him in so much char gen coming up with Charms/Knacks to represent her Semblence and Aura and stuff that he learned the mechanics... I think.

 

[Graveless]

Like, dude, holy shit.

I never knew how bad I wanted this, and so well done too. The only other RWBY/Exalted cross I've seen had Yang being dropped into Creation. The guy was trying to get a hang of the mechanics and setting... it... kinda worked? Story died fast, but we drowned him in so much char gen coming up with Charms/Knacks to represent her Semblence and Aura and stuff that he learned the mechanics... I think.

Click to shrink...

Thanks!

It's a cross that I felt was fairly obvious. I've used the RWBY trailers and Dead Fantasy to explain stunting to a large number of players.

Drowning in mechanics is something that I think is very dangerous for stories though, outside of comedies where the inherent ridiculousness of the mechanics is a primary source of inspiration. They exist to let a game be played with consistency and a minimum amount of GM adjudication.

Most games, especially tabletops which will have limited play testing and balancing, have obviously optimal strategies that would lead to fairly boring stories. The Twilight Essence Reactor is probably the simplest example I can think of from Exalted, but there are a lot more than just that.

 

[Drasis]

The interesting thing is that they know to hunt solars and lunars, which in the main setting is thanks to the sidereals...but there's no sidereal that got in contact with Ruby (given the records that Ozpin had access to, someone should have). So...infernals secretly in charge?

 

[beowolf]

The interesting thing is that they know to hunt solars and lunars, which in the main setting is thanks to the sidereals...but there's no sidereal that got in contact with Ruby (given the records that Ozpin had access to, someone should have). So...infernals secretly in charge?

Click to shrink...

The entire point of the Immaculate Order is that, while it was originally set up by the Sidereals, and they do occasionally direct it towards or away from specific tasks, it will keep on hunting the Solars and Lunars on its own. It's been around long enough, with that as its core purpose, that the only way to get it to stop is if it was destroyed entirely. It sounds like what they have now is no longer religious, but still contains that core purpose, expanded to include the Grimm.

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

A Creation where all the Exaltations got locked away at some point?

Wonder what happened to the DBs as well though. Did they get genocided and all the major lines were lost or something?

It sounds like the Maidens are still a thing though... if Ruby is a Maiden in canon anyway. Still no idea what's up with the Silver Eyes thing. Probably Maiden shit though with how Cinder's were.

 

[cyberswordsmen]

The entire point of the Immaculate Order is that, while it was originally set up by the Sidereals, and they do occasionally direct it towards or away from specific tasks, it will keep on hunting the Solars and Lunars on its own. It's been around long enough, with that as its core purpose, that the only way to get it to stop is if it was destroyed entirely. It sounds like what they have now is no longer religious, but still contains that core purpose, expanded to include the Grimm.

Click to shrink...

While from a typical game perspective Anathema refers to celestial exalts and those are the highest priority for the wyld hunt. The term actually refers to everything that the immaculate order considers to be on it's kill list including Raksha, and demons. So killing other threats to creation isn't much of a change from canon exalted. It's just that celestials are what gets them to cross countries with full force at a drop of the hat.

 

[Drasis]

The entire point of the Immaculate Order is that, while it was originally set up by the Sidereals, and they do occasionally direct it towards or away from specific tasks, it will keep on hunting the Solars and Lunars on its own. It's been around long enough, with that as its core purpose, that the only way to get it to stop is if it was destroyed entirely. It sounds like what they have now is no longer religious, but still contains that core purpose, expanded to include the Grimm.

Click to shrink...

You're missing the fact that the Sidereals maintained a degree of control and direction over the order but yes, I'm aware that it's effectively independent. There's still the implication that since an equivalent was set up but no Sidereal has gotten in touch with Ruby, something happened to them. My Infernals comment was a joke, stemming from the fact that in Exalted Modern they do rule the world (unless that was changed in whatever edition Exalted's on now).

 

[Cosar]

The interesting thing is that they know to hunt solars and lunars, which in the main setting is thanks to the sidereals...but there's no sidereal that got in contact with Ruby (given the records that Ozpin had access to, someone should have). So...infernals secretly in charge?

Click to shrink...

Could just be busy. In canon you can have Sidereals be found after exaltation, and it seems like it's only been a week or 2 since she exalted. Finding a single exalt can be difficult, especially when they're not throwing their banner around all the time.

 

[Graveless]

A Creation where all the Exaltations got locked away at some point?

Wonder what happened to the DBs as well though. Did they get genocided and all the major lines were lost or something?

It sounds like the Maidens are still a thing though... if Ruby is a Maiden in canon anyway. Still no idea what's up with the Silver Eyes thing. Probably Maiden shit though with how Cinder's were.

Click to shrink...

Maiden is a fun word that can have many different meanings.

Could just be busy. In canon you can have Sidereals be found after exaltation, and it seems like it's only been a week or 2 since she exalted. Finding a single exalt can be difficult, especially when they're not throwing their banner around all the time.

Click to shrink...

It's a little bit of this and a lot of [REDACTED]. After all, Fate is still a thing and an important one at that.

My Infernals comment was a joke, stemming from the fact that in Exalted Modern they do rule the world (unless that was changed in whatever edition Exalted's on now).

Click to shrink...

The shards are a ton of fun and a wonderful source of inspiration. I haven't run a game in them yet, but it's getting increasingly tempting as I think about it.