//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Top Brass 
// Story: R.O.S.E 
// by Madforce Entertainment 
//------------------------------//

It was another bright sunny day at Beacon Academy. Team Rose and some of the other teams were sitting in Professor Peach’s Dust Class. 

“Dust is everyone's best friend. It serves as a power source for our cities, ships, and our airships. It is also used as ammunition to fight the creatures of Grimm.” A tall and slender young woman wearing a white lab coat which hugged the curves of her body nicely, long black gloves, and thigh-high high-heeled boots was standing at the front of the class. Her hair was peach-coloured and was tied into a bun on the top of her head. She finished writing her lecture on the blackboard and turned to look at her class. She had peach-coloured eyes, and she wore a pair of scientist’s goggles. “Now who knows the difference between natural Dust and synthetic Dust?” The Scientist asked her class. Onyx, and Weiss both raised their hands. “Ah, Mr Shinra, and Ms Schnee, I wouldn’t expect anything less from the two of you,” Professor Peach said with a pleased smile, putting her hands together. “Ms Schnee, would you kindly answer my question?” She asked Weiss.

“Gladly,” Weiss said with pride as she stood from her seat. “Natural Dust grows in certain locations and must be mined, and synthetic Dust is created by fusing natural elements into man-made crystals, but the Dust will take a liquid form first, and after some time it will crystallise,” she answered.

“Correct, Ms Schnee, the crystals used to create synthetic Dust can be glass crystals and Zirconias,” Professor Peach told her class. “And now a question for you Mr Shinra.” The Professor turned to look at Onyx. “Tell me Mr Shinra, how does one make a fusion Dust Crystal?” She asked.

Onyx stood from his seat to answer the question. “To create a fusion Dust crystal, you must collect either grounded Dust or liquid Dust then you would need to place the selected Dust into a sympathiser to combine the Dust,” He explained. 

“Hmm, yes, well done Mr Shinra. There are a great number of combinations of fusing Dust, and for today each team will have the opportunity to create their fusion Dust crystal,” Professor Peach told her class. The students looked at each other with excitement. “Now before we get…” She was interrupted by the bell ringing to end the period. “Oh no, I have lost track of time. Well then you can all use the extra time to think of your fusion Dust crystals for our next class,” She said as they were getting ready to leave.

As she got up from her desk, Ruby looked at Onyx. “So, any ideas for our Dust crystal?” She asked her partner.

“Hmm, none yet, but I can get us the Dust with ease,” Onyx said as he put his stuff in his bag.

“To be honest, Onyx, you can get anything with ease,” Eclipse said with a childish smirk.

“Huh, you would think that wouldn't you?” Onyx replied rhetorically.

“Well in any case, does anyone know why we’re only having a half a day?” Sunset asked, changing the topic.

“No idea, they’re being very cryptic about it,” Eclipse said with a shrug.

“If I had to guess, it’s probably about the Vinyl Fevst,” Onyx declared.

“Well in any case we should get going,” Ruby said to her team. Then Team Rose left Professor Peach’s classroom and walked towards the courtyard.





Within the courtyard, the students were chatting and mingling with one another. As Team Rose walked through the courtyard, they heard the students talking to each other.

Ruby looked over at Sunset. “Sunset, do you still have detention with Professor Port?” She asked the Fox Faunus.

“Nope, and thank God. I’ll never break any more rules here ever again,” Sunset replied with a smile. 

“How bad was it?” Eclipse asked.

“It was a nightmare, first he would go on and on about his Huntsman days. Then he would make me rewrite his memoirs, by hand,” Sunset groaned.

Onyx looked at the droopy-eared Fox Girl. “When you say rewrite his memoirs by hand, you don’t mean…?” He asked before trailing off.  

“I mean I had to rewrite them by hand with pen and paper!” Sunset replied, hanging her head in misery, and rubbing her wrist. “So much writer's cramp,” she muttered under her breath. 

“There, there Shim Shim,” Ruby said, reaching up and patting Sunset’s head between her cute Fox ears.

Then a sound of slapping blades could be heard, overtaking everyone’s conversations. “Hmm?” Onyx said, looking at the sky to see what was making the noise. A Cyan Helicopter with wings stretching out, each mounted with missile launchers and machine guns, came flying overhead towards the Airdock. “That’s a Shinra SDF Dragonfly! What’s one of those doing so far from Midgar?” Onyx said to himself in shock, pointing up at the Helicopter.



Ruby started to get excited upon seeing the Helicopter. “Come on, let’s go and find out!” She said gleefully to her team, before zipping away towards the Airdock.

“Well, can’t argue with her enthusiasm,” Eclipse said, chasing after his young leader, with Onyx and Sunset right behind him.





At the Airdock, the Shinra SDF Dragonfly was gently landing on a platform. The blades slowed down after landing. A large number of students had gathered to see who was inside the Helicopter. Team Rose pushed to the front of the crowd to see what was going on. The four top rotor blades folded back as a side door slid open, and a fully armoured man about the same height as Jaune stepped out. His armour covered his whole body with a loose cloth hanging from his belt like a loincloth. On his right shoulder was his emblem. 



Onyx instantly recognized the emblem, and he began to approach the armoured man. 

“Where’s he going?” Asked Eclipse, watching as Onyx approached the Dragonfly.

“Don’t know, let's follow him,” Ruby replied, heading after Onyx, with Sunset and Eclipse right behind her. 

At the Dragonfly, the armoured man was accompanied by two girls. One of the girls was a cat Faunus with light blue hair dark blue streaks done up in a ponytail and dark pink eyes. She wore a dark pink top with light blue ties on the front, a pink skirt, and pink and white armoured boots. She also wore dark pink bands with light blue studs around her waist, an ammonium belt also around her waist, and a cute silver bell around her neck. Over the right breast pocket of her top was the image of a blue musical note. On her lower back were two Katana swords placed in a cross.

The second girl was a teenage girl with dark purple hair with pale green streaks, with the right side of her head shaved, and dark purple eyes. She wore a dark green jean top with the shoulders ripped off and dark green shoulder pads over a cream-coloured tube top with dark purple lining, dark pink pants with armoured knee pads, sparkling studs over each of the pockets, two dark purple belts around her waist that had several pouches with magazines and dust cylinders, with a silver star on the buckle, and dark armoured purple boots. She also wore a red gem around her neck. On her back was a red rectangular object.

The Catgirl saw Onyx approaching with his teammates. “Hey Aria, who are they?” She asked.

The girl named Aria turned and looked in the same direction. “Not a clue, Sonata,” She replied. “Hey, Bruinen, do you know any of them?” Aria asked the full-armoured man.

The armoured man turned to look at the approaching team. “No way! I can’t believe he’s here,” He said, walking towards team Rose. “ONYX SHINRA!” He called out.

“BRUINEN SCHORS!” Onyx called back in greeting to the armoured man as they both reached out and clasped each other's hands firmly. “It’s been forever and a half since we last saw each other. How have you been?”

“Huh, well that’s a story for a full franchise,” Bruinen Replied, taking off his helmet to reveal his face. He was a wolf Faunus with pale skin, burgundy eyes and hair.

Ruby and the others than caught up with Onyx. “Do you know this guy, Onyx?” Ruby asked.

“Oh sorry,” Onyx said as he moved aside to show the man behind him. “This is my cousin, Bruinen Schors.”

“Sup,” Bruinen said casually as he waved to Onyx’s teammates. Needless to say, Team Rose was surprised to find out the armoured man was Onyx's cousin, and a Wolf Faunus. Sunset and Eclipse were the most surprised of all by this discovery.

“Onyx, you never told us your cousin was a Faunus,” Sunset said, looking at the armoured wolf boy with interest.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Eclipse asked.

“You guys never asked,” Onyx replied matter of factly.

Bruinen nudged Onyx’s arm. “Are you going to introduce me to your team?” he asked.

“Oh sorry,” Onyx said, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, this is my team.”

“Hi, I’m Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset said as she held out her hand.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Bruinen said, shaking Sunset's hand.

“Hey, I’m Eclipse Khan,” Eclipse said next.

“Hi nice to meet you too,” Bruinen said, also shaking hands with Eclipse.

“And I’m Ruby Rose, Onyx’s partner,” Ruby said cheerfully as she zoomed towards Bruinen, leaving some rose petals behind her.

“Oh sooo…” Bruinen trailed off as he looked closely at Ruby’s face and noticed the colour of her eyes. “Hmm, that’s interesting, you’ve got Silver eyes just like Onyx,” He stated.

“Yep, I and Onyx are Silver Eyes buddies,” Ruby said with a big smile, zipping over to stand next to Onyx. “And together we’re Team Rose!” She shouted at the top of her lungs as she jumped with excitement.

“Well, I guess it’s our turn,” Bruinen said, standing aside to show them Sonata and Aria. “This is Aria Blaze.” He pointed to Aria. “And this is Sonata Dusk.” He then pointed to Sonata.

“Hi,” Sonata said with a wave and a cute friendly smile.

“Sup,” Aria said as she leaned casually against the Dragonfly.

“And now for my partner,” Bruinen went on, and just then, the cockpit of the Dragonfly opened, and a girl jumped out, wearing a pilot’s outfit. On the left upper arm was her emblem, a cloud with a Rainbow lighting bolt coming from it. “Right on cue, Rainbow Dash,” Bruinen said, as Rainbow Dash removed her helmet to reveal her face. She was a young tomboy with short Rainbow coloured hair which was done in a messy style. “This is my partner, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey nice to meet you guys,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

“This is my cousin’s team, Ruby, Onyx, Sunset, and Eclipse,” Bruinen said, gesturing to each member of Team Rose with his hand.

“Ruby?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking closer at Ruby. “Your Yang's little sister?”

“Wait, you know my sister?” Ruby asked back.

“Yeah, I and Yang went to Signal together,” Rainbow Dash explained with a wide smile.

Ever since Rainbow had stepped off the Dragonfly and removed her helmet, Sunset had taken a step back from the group, keeping to herself, and trying not to be noticed. Rainbow Dash then saw Sunset standing by herself and smiled. “Hey Sunset, it's been a while.” 

Sunset reluctantly looked at Rainbow. “Hey, it’s been a while,” She said, looking at the ground, not meeting the tomboy’s eyes. 

“Hey, maybe we should catch up sometime,” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Uh, yeah, maybe we should,” Sunset agreed, still looking uncomfortable. 

But before the two teams could resume their mingling, a huge, muscular man stepped out of the Dragonfly. “Alright, that’s enough Team Brass!” He barked at Bruinen's team. The man was tanned skinned and looked like a tank of a man with red crystal-like hair that stuck out like spikes. He was also a Dragon Faunus, with one dark grey wing, and one cybernetic wing. His height was about 8 feet tall, and he wore armour that covered most of his body, except his head. His eyes were bright yellow. “Socialise on your own time, not mine,” He growled.

“Sorry, Professor Bloodstone,” Bruinen said respectfully to the teacher.

“I understand that you haven’t seen your cousin, and your friends in a long time but we have a schedule to keep. NOW GET MOVING!” Professor Torch ordered his students.

“Yes sir!” Bruinen said with a salute, before turning back to Team Rose. “We’ll catch up later, OK,” He said to Onyx. “Alright, girls, let's move,” He told his teammates.

“Yeah, just give me a call and we’ll meet up,” Onyx said to his Cousin as he left the Airdock with his team.

Once they were gone, Eclipse turned to Sunset. “So, you know that Rainbow-haired girl?” he asked the Fox girl.

“It was a long time ago,” Sunset replied to her partner with a frown.

At that moment, another airship flew overhead towards another landing pad. “Hey, look there’s another ship,” Ruby said, pointing at the other Airship.

“That’s a Mistralian Airship,” Eclipse declared.

“It must be from Haven,” Onyx stated, following the movement of the Mistralian Airship.

Then the school loudspeakers made a bell sound to get the attention of the students. “All Students please gather at the Great Hall,” Professor Goodwitch said over the loudspeaker.

“Well, we better get to the Great Hall,” Onyx said after hearing the announcement.

“He’s right, let's go,” Ruby said, and she led her team towards the Great Hall.





Within the Great Hall of Beacon Academy, all the students had gathered to hear the announcement from Headmistress Salem.

As the students were waiting, they were talking to one another about what was happening. “What do you think is going on?” Applejack asked Weiss.

“We will find out soon enough,” Weiss answered seriously.

Vinyl placed her headphones over her ears to block out the noise. “Are you okay?” Emerald asked her partner.

“It’s just a little too noisy here for me to handle,” Vinyl replied with a shrug.





Team Blight stood at the entrance of the Great Hall. “Hey, Blake, any ideas what the announcement is going to be about?” Indigo asked.

“I’m not sure, any ideas, Twilight?” Blake asked the Tech head member of the team.

“I wager it’s about the Shinra Dragonfly,” Twilight replied.

“Hmm, she's probably right,” Lemon said, looking around the hall. 





Team Yellow stood to the far side of the Great Hall. “Hey girls, did you guys see that Chopper that flew over the courtyard?” Ember asked her teammates.

“Yeah I heard it,” Lyra replied.

“I did see it but something about the colour of that Helicopter did look familiar,” Yang said, rubbing her chin as she thought about the Helicopter's colour.

Around this time, Team Rose entered the Great Hall. “Yang, your sister and her teammates have just arrived,” Octavia declared, but Yang didn’t hear her because she was still thinking about the Helicopter.

“I don’t think she heard you,” Ember stated, as she looked at her team leader.





“Phew, made it,” Sunset said, quickly catching her breath.

“Wow, Sunset, you need to start jogging more,” Ruby said to Sunset, who scowled back at her.

“Okay, okay, enough joking around. Let’s find somewhere to stand for the announcement,” put in Eclipse.

“He’s right, we don’t want to stand in the way of the entrance,” Onyx said, standing between Sunset and Ruby. “Oh, there’s a spot.” He pointed to an opening, and Team Rose moved towards the open area to hear the announcement.

Within a few moments, Professor Salem stepped out on the stage. “May I have your attention please?” Everyone looked to the stage and the hall fell silent. “Now, I know a good number of you have seen the arrival of several airships, and I will now explain the reason for their presence. This year, the Vinyl Festival is being hosted by Vale.” 

The students were surprised by the sudden announcement. “Wow, the Vinyl Festival is being held here in Vale!” Ruby said with a giddy smile.

“Yeah, the last Vinyl Festival was held by Vacuo,” Stated Onyx.

“Alright, calm down,” Salem said to all the students. “As is tradition, Vale will not only host the upcoming Festival, we will also have teachers coming from the other four Kingdoms to teach you, and the first of our new teachers is Professor Bloodstone from Shade Academy.” Salem stood aside to let the new Professor say a few words to the students.

“I am Professor Bloodstone, your new Combat teacher. My job is to show you how to fight like real Huntsman and Huntress’.” He then stood aside to let Salem resume the assembly.

“Soon, more students and teachers will be arriving from the other kingdoms. So please make them feel welcome to our academy?” Salem said to her students as the assembly continued.





As the students left the Great Hall after the assembly, Ruby was walking with her team. “Wow, the Vinyl festival, this is going to be my first EVER!” She said exuberantly, jumping in the air with excitement.

“That goes for all of us,” Onyx stated to his partner.

“Yeah, I know. but still, I JUST CAN’T WAIT!” Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Yep, you're still a kid,” Sunset said jokingly.

“Hey!” Ruby said indignantly.  

“So, what are we going to do now?” Asked Eclipse.

“Well, I’ve got some studying to do,” Ruby replied.

“Same here, do you want to study together?” Sunset offered to Ruby.

“Sure, study party!” Ruby smiled, accepting Sunset’s offer. “What about you, Onyx?”

“Well, I still have to bake those cookies for Ruby,” Onyx replied. Ruby’s face lit up as she gave the biggest smile she’s ever given in her whole life. “What about you, Eclipse?”

“I’m going to do some research on Dust Fusions,” Eclipse replied.

“Well, if you need any Dust, just let me know,” Onyx said. “Alright, catch you guys later.” Onyx left the group to bake Ruby’s cookies.

“I can’t wait for those cookies,” Ruby said with drool dripping from her mouth.

“Hey, don’t forget, we’ve got studying to do,” Sunset told Ruby, poking her in the head.

Ruby snapped out of her drooling state. “Oh yeah, sorry Sunset,” she said sheepishly. 

“Well I’m off, see you two girls back at the dorm room,” Eclipse said as he also headed off.

“Alright, Sunset, let’s get studying. I want to feel like I’ve earned those cookies,” Ruby said with a grin.

Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes at Ruby’s silly antics. “Lead the way, oh fearless leader,” Sunset said cheekily as she gave a lazy salute.





Bruinen was wandering through the student dormitory, looking for Team Rose's room. As he searched, he could hear Ruby and Sunset talking to each other. “I know those voices,” He said to himself. He walked towards the two girls and he followed their voices.

“OK, Sunset, the second we enter the room, we’re going to study nonstop,” Ruby told Sunset with a determined tone.

“Wow, if only you showed this much devotion to your school work, you would be at the top of the class,” Sunset said to Ruby with a smirk. As the two girls walked, Bruinen came around the corner. “Hey, isn’t that Onyx’s cousin?” Sunset asked.

Bruinen heard Sunset’s question. “Yes, yes I am,” He answered her with a smile. 

“What are you doing here?” Ruby asked the transfer student.

“I was looking for your team's room. I was hoping to do some catching up with Onyx,” Bruinen explained to the 2 girls. He then looked around, and couldn’t see his cousin. “Hey, where is Onyx?” He asked.

“He’s in the kitchen making cookies for Ruby,” Sunset answered.

“He’s making cookies?” Bruinen asked in surprise. 

“Come on Sunset! Onyx can come back at any second with those cookies, and I want to feel like I’ve earned them!” Ruby whined to Sunset like an impatient child.

“OK OK let’s go,” Sunset said to her impatient leader.

“Hey, mind if I tag along? Just so I know where your room is for future reference?” Bruinen asked.

“Sure I’m ok with that,” Ruby said.

“If it’s fine with Ruby, it's cool with me,” Sunset said.

Ruby and Sunset lead Bruinen to team Rose’s room. “Are any of you two partners with Onyx?” Bruinen asked the two girls.

“Meee!” Ruby replied with her cute and hyper voice.

“Ohh, so tell me how things are going with Onyx?” He asked Ruby.

“Everything’s okay with Onyx. He’s super cool, and he’s a great teammate,” Ruby replied with a big smile.

“Onyx pulled his weight when we fought against the Nevermore,” Sunset added.

“Ohh that’s good to hear,” Bruinen said.

“Ohh, in fact, in the Emerald Forest, Onyx pointed his gun at my nose, at first I thought he was going to shoot me but then he pulled me close to his chest,” Ruby told Bruinen.

“Wait, he pulled you into his chest?” Bruinen asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yep, it turned out there was a Cloaker behind me,” Ruby explained.

“Wow, what else happened?” Bruinen asked again.

“Well, when I first saw Onyx, I was laying on the ground saying to myself, “Welcome to Beacon.” Then Onyx stood over me, and then he said, “Where everyone wants you dead,” Ruby told Bruinen with a giggle.

“Wow, from what you're telling me, it sounds like he’s a completely different person now,” Bruinen said, thinking about how different his Cousin is now. “Is there anything else you guys can tell me about my cousin?” He asked Ruby.

“Well, during the battle against the Nevermore, he did call out, “Frozen Blade Beam,” Sunset told Bruinen with an amused smile.

“He said that?” Bruinen said in disbelief. 

“Oh yeah, and then he said he thought everyone does that,” Ruby laughed.

“Oh I wish I was there to see that,” said Bruinen with a smirk.

Soon enough, the group of three had reached Team Rose’s room. “Well, this is our room,” Ruby said to Bruinen, opening the door to Team Rose’s dorm room. “Do you want to come in?” 

“No thank you, I just wanted to catch up with Onyx. So it wouldn’t feel right if he wasn’t here,” Bruinen said, declining Ruby’s offer. “I’ll try to find him in the kitchen,” He said, about to leave to find Onyx.

“The kitchen is on the ground floor,” Sunset told Bruinen, giving him directions to the Kitchen.

“Thank you,” Bruinen said as he left with a wave.

“Alright, Sunset, let’s get studying,” Ruby said, yanking Sunset through the dorm room by her arm.

“Whoa OK OK don’t yank my arm off!” Sunset protested as she was pulled into the room.





Meanwhile, Eclipse was heading to the library to do some research on fusion Dust crystals. As he entered the library, he saw the Cat Faunus called Sonata reading a book on fusion Dust crystals, the same research subject he wanted to work on. As he walked towards the blue-haired cat Faunus, Cardin Winchester, along with his goons, surrounded her.

Cardin Dropped his book on the table right in front of Sonata with a thud. “Hey freak, you're sitting at our table,” He told Sonata with a sneer, but the cat girl just continued to read her book.

“I think she’s ignoring us, Cardin,” The dark blue-haired goon named Sky said.

“Well, let’s see if she’ll ignore this,” The goon with a green Mohawk named Russel said as he reached to grab her ear, but his hand was stopped by an invisible wall. “What the?”

“Can I help you, boys?” Aria asked Cardin and his Goons as she strode up to them.

Cardin looked down at Aria and gave a devilish smile as he stepped towards her. “Well you might help us with this thing over here,” He said, pointing at Sonata.

“That thing is my Partner,” Aria told the racist Huntsman with an angry scowl. She then shoved her middle and wedding fingers up Cardin’s nose and yanked him down to her level. “If I ever see you near my partner again…” she said in a low voice before her finger started to heat up inside Cardin’s nose.

“Ahhhhh!” Cardin screamed in pain. 

“I’ll burn something you need,” Aria threatened Cardin and yanked her fingers from his nose. “Now, get lost, NOW!”

“You’ll regret this!” Cardin said angrily, holding his nose as both he and his goons ran out of the library.

Once Cardin and his goons were gone, Aria looked down at her hand with a grimace. “Eww, I need to wash my hands,” She said in disgust, before turning to Sonata. “Are you going to be okay for a moment?” She asked.

“Can I come with you instead? Those guys might come back?” Sonata asked.

“Hey, can I sit with you for a few moments?” Eclipse offered as he approached.

Aria and Sonata looked up at Eclipse. “Hey, I remember you,” Sonata said.

“Yeah, you're with Team ROSE,” Aria said, before looking back at Sonata. “You don't mind waiting for me with him?” She asked.

“We should be fine, just don’t take too long,” Sonata replied.

“Sure, I won’t be long,” Aria said, petting Sanata’s head with her clean hand. After she was done, she left the library to wash Cardin off her hands.

Eclipse watched Aria leave and sat down next to Sonata. “So, are you guys taking Professor Peach's class?” Eclipse asked, making conversation.

“Umm, no, why?” Sonata asked back.

“Well, it’s just you reading a book on fusion Dust crystals, and that’s what Professor Peach was teaching us in her class today,” Eclipse explained.

“Ohh, so you're learning about fusion crystals?” Sonata asked Eclipse with intrigue.

“Yeah, we are, and I came here to do some research on the subject,” Eclipse explained to the catgirl.

“Well, if you're learning about fusion Dust crystals, I’ve got a few on hand,” Sonata said as she pulled out a rolled-up pouch and unrolled it out onto the table. Within the pouch were several fusion Dust crystals. “Here’s a few I’ve made from Shades Academy,” She said, showing Eclipse her Dust crystals. 

“Whoa,” Eclipse said, as he looked at Sonata’s crystals with an impressed look. The Dust Crystals looked similar to Damascus steel, with the different colours intertwined and overlapping each other. “So what Dust combination are they?” He asked Sonata.

“Well this is Fire, Ice, and Earth,” Sonata told Eclipse, holding a Blue, Red, and Brown Damascus crystal. “And this one is Plant, Wind, and Water.” She held up a Green, white, and light blue Damascus crystal. “And this other one is Fire, Earth, and Wind.” She showed Eclipse a Red, Brown, and White Damascus crystal. “And that's just a few I have to show you,” Sonata said as she finished showing her crystals to Eclipse.

“I see, so are you into Dust or something?” Eclipse asked again.

“Yeah Dust crystals are cool,” Sonata said with a smile. “Say, do you want to borrow my little booklet on Dust Fusion?” She asked.

“Sure, if you don’t mind,” Eclipse said, taking Sonata’s offer.

Sonata went through her bag, looking for her notebook. It was then that Aria returned from washing her hands. “Sorry for taking so long Sonata,” She said to her partner.

“It’s okay, me and Eclipse were just talking about Dust,” Sonata said, giving her notebook to Eclipse.

“Thanks, Sonata, I’ll give this back to you as soon as I’m done with it,” Eclipse said, taking the notebook from Sonata.

“Ohh, well you two seem to be getting along quite well,” Aria stated.

“Yep, we spent the time just talking about Fusion Dust Crystals, and I’ve shown some of them to Eclipse,” Sonata said to Aria.

“Oh really?” Aria added.

“Yes, I’ve learned a lot from Sonata,” Eclipse said.

“Hmm, well nice to see Sonata making a friend here in Beacon,” Aria declared.

“Yeah, I think Sonata is a great person to talk to about Dust,” Eclipse smiled.

“Aww, that’s nice. Hey, do you see this gem Around my neck?” Aria asked Eclipse, pointing at her necklace.

“Yeah I’ve noticed it, what about it?” Eclipse asked Aria.

“It’s made of Fire Dust,” She told Eclipse.

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” Eclipse said in surprise.

“Yep, Sonata has talent when it comes to Dust,” Aria said, looking at Sonata with a proud smile.

“Aria, stop it,” Sonata said timidly, as she blushed a little.

“I’m just telling the truth, Sonata,” Aria said with a teasing smirk at her now-blushing partner.

“I agree with Aria,” Eclipse said to Sonata. “You do have talent, Sonata, and if becoming a Huntress doesn't work out, maybe you should be a Dust-Smith,” Eclipse said with an encouraging smile.

“Really?” Sonata asked him with hopeful eyes. 

“Yeah, I’m sure any Dust shop would love to have you working for them with your skills,” Eclipse declared.

“He’s right, Sonata, I think you could be at the top of the Dust industry,” Aria said in agreement, and Sonata smiled and blushed a little more. 

“So, Sonata, what other fusion crystals do you have?” Eclipse asked.

“Well, I do have a few more I can show you,” Sonata said happily, and she continued to both show and tell Eclipse all about the collection of her homemade fusion Dust Crystals, with Aria watching on with a smile as her partner enjoyed herself as she talked about her favourite hobby.





Yang and her teammates were in the Garage, with the other 3 mostly just sitting around while she worked on her motorbike, Bumblebee.

“So, this is your bike?” Asked Ember.

“Yep, I and my Uncle built her from scratch,” Yang replied with pride in her voice as she checked the spark plugs.

“So Yang, why are we all here?” Asked Octavia.

“Yeah, that’s a good question, why are we all here?” Lyra added.

Yang looked up from her Bumblebee to look at her teammates. “OK, the reason why we’re here is, I think when we finally start missions, I’ll be riding on Bumblebee here, but I can only take one more person. So I think we’ll need a second bike,” She explained to her team. “So, what do you girls think?”

“I think you should scrap that junk pile you call a bike!” Called out a fifth girl’s voice.

“WHAT DID YOU CALL MY BIKE?!” Yang yelled with rage as her Lilac eyes turned scarlet. She turned to see who called her bike a pile of junk, only for her eyes to widen in shock and instantly change back to Lilac when she saw Rainbow Dash standing at the entrance, with her Cyan Sports bike named Rainboom.

“Long time no see Sunshine, how have you been?” Rainbow Dash asked with a playful grin.

Yang gave a wide smile and walked over to the Rainbow-haired Tomboy. “Hey, Crash, long time no see. You're looking different, did you do something to your hair?” She asked, raising her hand for a high five.

Rainbow Dash happily gave Yang a high five. “Yeah, I had to cut it short when some snot-nosed kid threw his gum in my hair,” she explained.

“Eww,” Ember and the other two girls said in unison, all grimacing in disgust.

“Well, that’s unfortunate, I don’t know what I would do if some kid threw his gum in my hair,” Yang said.

“Probably end his entire Bloodline,” Rainbow Dash said, and both tomboys laughed.

“Does anyone have any idea who she is?” Asked Lyra.

“Nope,” Ember said.

“I do not know, either,” Octavia added.

“Hey, Yang! Who’s this girl?” Lyra asked her leader.

“Oh, sorry,” Yang said and hooked her arm around Rainbow Dash’s shoulders. “Girls, this is my friend from Combat School, Rainbow Dash, me and her used to be sparring partners,” She told her team with a smile.

“Yeah, I and Yang were as thick as thieves back at Signal,” Rainbow Dash said, still laughing with her old friend.

“Hmm, OK, wait, were you on that helicopter?” Ember asked.

“Nope, I was piloting it, and needless to say it was a smooth ride thanks to my mad skills,” Rainbow Dash said, stroking her ego.

“Ahh, I knew that Helicopter colour looked familiar to me. When did you get a pilot’s licence?” Yang asked, very pleased for her old friend. 

“My Huntress in training licence does cover and acts as a Pilot licence as well as other types of licences, provided you know how to operate whatever vehicle you’re driving,” Rainbow Dash told Yang and her team. 

“Wait, are you saying that with our Huntress in training licences, we can use them to drive vehicles?” Lyra asked.

“Well yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied, as the girls looked back at her with incredulous faces. “You guys didn’t know that, did you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Upon hearing this, Yang crouched down in the corner. “I spent 6 long mind-numbingly boring hours in the DMV for my driver's licence, and now I found this out,” She muttered to herself in despair.

Octavia walked over to Yang and patted her gently on the head. “There, there, it’s alright, no one is sending you back to the DMV,” She said soothingly as she kept patting her head.

“OK, moving on, so Rainbow Dash, which academy are you from?” Ember asked the Rainbow-haired girl.

“I and my team are from Shade Academy,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Ohh cool,” Ember said, now knowing it was Rainbow Dash and her team who flew her father to Vale.

Rainbow Dash noticed Ember’s eye colour was the same as Professor Bloodstone's. “Wait, are you Professor Bloodstone’s daughter?” Rainbow Dash asked the Dragon girl.

“Yeah he’s my Dad,” Ember replied, rubbing the back of her head.

This gets the other three girls’ attention. “What? Ember you didn’t tell us your Dad’s a teacher,” Yang said.

“I thought it was kinda obvious because we both have the same last name,” Ember said with a shrug. Yang, Lyra, and Octavia just gave her a blank stare. “None of you three figured it out?” Ember asked with a deadpan look.

“Well,” Octavia cleared her throat. “Before we move back to the original topic, I don’t believe that Rainbow Dash knows our names,” She stated to the group.

“Oh yeah we never introduced ourselves to Yang’s old friend,” Lyra said, realising that Octavia was right. “I’m Lyra Heartstrings,” She introduced herself to Rainbow Dash.

“Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Ember Bloodstone, but you already knew the last part,” Ember spoke next.

“Yeah, but still nice to meet you.”

“And I am Octavia Melody,” Octavia finished the introductions. “Now back to the original topic. I agree with Yang that a second vehicle would be more efficient with our team, and if we have a mission that requires us to have our transport, I believe one of us should have a second vehicle,” She said.

“OK, so who knows how to drive?” Yang asked.

“I do,” Ember said.

“Me as well,” Lyra added.

“Sadly, I do not,” Octavia admitted.

“OK, who owns a bike?” Yang asked again.

“I don’t, sorry,” Lyra replied as she shook her head.

“I do but it’s back in Vacuo,” Ember told Yang.

“OK, so we’ll need to go to Vacuo to get it,” Yang stated.

“Well, if you girls need a lift I can take you guys aboard our Dragonfly,” Rainbow Dash offered.

“Thanks, Crash,” Yang said with a smile, giving her friend a brofist.

“Hey, Yang, what’s with that nickname?” Asked Lyra.

Yang giggled at the memory of how Rainbow Dash got her nickname. “Oh man, now that's a story,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Alright, so back at Signal, Crash was showing off her Semblance, so she was running on the track, but she went too fast and crashed right into a brick wall!” Yang clutched her stomach as she laughed hard. “She completely shattered her nose, there was so much blood!”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“Ever since that day, everyone at signal has called her Crash,” Yang finished her tale.

The girls were stunned from hearing the story. “So, was it just the nose, or did her whole face get smashed?” Ember asked with a slight grimace.

“Surprisingly, despite how hard I hit the wall, it was just my nose that broke. Thank god they managed to fix it, and I had a lot of trouble breathing and smelling with it for a while,” Rainbow Dash explained to the girls.

After Rainbow Dash’s reply, the sound of someone’s stomach growling filled the air. “OK, who was that?” Yang asked her teammates with a smirk.

“That was me,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I haven't eaten much today.”

Yang laughed at Rainbow Dash once more and then stopped as her stomach growled. “Looks like our leader’s got the munchies,” Ember said with a smirk.

“Alright, how about we get some dinner then we’ll talk more about Ember’s bike later?” Yang said to her team.

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Lyra.

“Yes I agree,” added Octavia.

“Yeah, let's get something to eat,” Ember said.

“Alright, you coming with us, Crash?” Yang asked Rainbow Dash.

“Only if you're paying,” Rainbow Dash replied with her signature smirk.

“Alright, Crash, my treat, just leave your bike here next to mine for now,” Yang said.

“Thanks,” Rainbow Dash said as she placed her bike next to Yang’s bike, and the five girls then headed off towards the mess hull to get some Dinner.





Bruinen found his way to the Kitchen, where Onyx was baking the Cookies he’d promised his partner Ruby.

Onyx had just pulled the batch of Cookies out of the oven. “They're ready,” He said, placing the Cookies aside for them to cool down.

Bruinen then entered the kitchen. “Hey, Onyx,” He greeted.

“Oh hey, Bruinen,” Onyx replied.

Bruinen sniffed the air. “Wow, something smells good, did you just finish the Cookies?” He asked.

“Yeah, they're just cooling down before I bring them to Ruby,” Onyx replied. “So how’s the Sandy Kingdom of Vacuo?” He asked his friend.

“Hot, Sandy, and freezing at night. A little slice of heaven,” Bruinen joked with his cousin. “How about you?”

“Things here started OK, then got a little rough on the first day, but I think everything is going to be fine now,” Onyx told Bruinen with a good-natured smile.

“Do your team know about… the Gloves thing?” He asked cautiously, lowering his voice.

“No, and I don’t ever want them to know,” Onyx said firmly and sighed heavily. “But that might be a challenge since Emerald is here.”

“Emerald, you don’t mean that Emerald?” Bruinen asked, sounding a little shocked. 

“Yeah, that Emerald’s here in Beacon, and she’s on Weiss’s team,” Onyx explained.

“WHAT!? Weiss Schnee is here too?!” Bruinen asked in shock at hearing the Schnee heiress was in Vale instead of Atlas. 
 
“Yep, I’ve been avoiding Emerald as much as I can. But I’m afraid that she may reveal my secret, and my team will reject me,” Onyx confessed, his old fears showing clearly in his eyes. 

“I don’t know what to say, Onyx,” Bruinen said, fully understanding Onyx’s fears.

“How about a change of topic?” Onyx said.

“Yeah, let’s,” Bruinen agreed.

“So let’s talk about that Dragonfly you and your teammates flew in. When did you get one of those?” Onyx asked.

“After the initiation, and when I was made team leader, I told my parents and my Dad sent the Dragonfly as a congratulations gift. They sounded so proud of me,” Bruinen said with a grin. Onyx just smiled at Bruinen’s story. “Ohh, sorry Onyx, I forgot about your Dad. Have you heard anything from him?”

“Bruinen, I haven’t seen my father in 8 years. Ever since my Mother was murdered, he completely cut me out of his life,” Onyx told Bruinen with a frown. “You know how I feel if I didn’t need him when I was 9, I don’t need him now,” He declared.

“Hmm, yeah, to be honest, Onyx, you’re a lot stronger than me. If I was in your position, I don’t know what I would do,” Bruinen said, looking at the floor. 

“It’s cool Bruinen, I asked you a question and you answered honestly. I’m just doing the same about my father,” Onyx said in understanding and checked the cookies. “Say, I should get these to Ruby, how about we catch up at a cafe or something?” He said.

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan,” Bruinen agreed. “Well, I better go find my team, see you Onyx,” he said as he left the Kitchen.

“See you around,” Onyx said, waving goodbye to Bruinen as he left, and taking the cookies to give to Ruby. 





Back in Team Rose’s room, Ruby and Sunset were doing some studying in silence.

“Ahhhh, brai-melting, can’t go on!” Ruby complained in a melodramatic fashion.

“Come on, Ruby, you barely covered one subject,” Sunset said with a frown.

“It’s too much for me, Shim Shim,” Ruby said childishly.

“Ohh, at this rate, you’ll never earn Onyx’s Cookies,” Sunset said as she facepalmed.

“But Sunset…” Ruby whined, before she suddenly perked up, and her nose twitched. She could detect the sweet aroma of cookies in the air. “He’s coming,” she said slowly. 

The sunset was confused by Ruby's sudden reaction and statement. “Who’s coming?” She asked, but just then the door opened and Onyx entered the room with his homemade Cookies for Ruby. “Oh never mind,” Sunset said in realisation.

“Hi girls, how’s the studying going?” Onyx asked with a cherry tone.

“Could be going better,” Sunset replied with a sigh.

“Ohh that bah!” Onyx exclaimed as Ruby zoomed past Sunset and grabbed the tray of Cookies from his hands. “Ruby!”

Ruby took the cookies Onyx just made to her desk to examine them. “I must examine these Cookies before I consume them,” She stated.

“Um, what?” Sunset said, tilting her head to the side.

“First, the look of the cookies,” Ruby said as she looked closely at the cookies. “Next the smell.” She sniffed the Cookies. “Mmmmmm.” Her eyes rolled back in pleasure from the smell. “And now the taste.” Ruby picked up a Cookie, took a bite out of it and slowly chewed. “Mmmmmmmmmmm! So goooooooood!” She exclaimed in pure happiness, placing a hand on her cheek as she emitted a glow of cuteness.

“Glad you're enjoying them,” Onyx said with a smile.

“These are sooooo good!” Ruby said again, grabbing another cookie and eating it. “Where did you get the recipe from?” She asked.

“My Mom,” Onyx said.

“You used your mother’s recipe?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, I know that recipe by heart,” Onyx said with a small but proud smile.

“Your Mom knows what she was doing when she taught you this recipe,” Ruby declared happily, eating three-quarters of the plate very fast.

“Hey, let me try one,” Sunset said, about to take a cookie from the plate.

Ruby, like a wild cat, covered the Cookies protectively with her arms and hissed at Sunset, “MINE!”

Sunset quickly backed away with her hands in the air. “OK, OK, I’m backing away,” She said slowly as she stepped away from the feral girl.

“Don’t worry, Sunset, I’ve made extras just in” Onyx started to say, before Ruby pounced at Onyx, leaving a trail of roses behind her.

“GIVE ME THOSE COOKIES ONYX!” She demanded.

“NO! YOU HAD YOURS, THESE ARE FOR THE REST OF US!,” Onyx yelled back.

Sunset just stood there, staring at Ruby and Onyx fighting over Cookies. “You guys can’t be serious?” she muttered under her breath.

Then the door opened and Eclipse entered the room. “Hey, guys I’ve just…” He stopped as he saw Ruby as she tackled Onyx. “What did I just walk into?” He asked.

“Something silly,” Sunset said with a frown.

“GIMME!”

“NO!”

Eclipse just looked at Sunset with a deadpan look. “Hey, Sunset, do you…?”

“Yep,” Sunset answered simply.

“Oh OK,” Eclipse said before he and Sunset left Onyx and Ruby in their childish fight.

“I’LL BITE YOU!” Ruby threatened loudly.

“You wouldn’t!” Onyx shot back, before Ruby, very suddenly, did bite his arm.“Ahhh! You bit me!”

“I told you I would,” Ruby said with a scowl. 

The door opened yet again and Yang entered the room. “Hey Ruby, you didn’t tell me…” she stopped and stared as she saw Ruby attacking Onyx.

“Yang, help!” Onyx pleaded. “Get your crazy sister off me!”

“Why is she attacking you?” Yang asked. 

“He got more cookies and he wouldn’t surrender them to me!” Ruby said rapidly as she tried to take the cookies from Onyx.

“Ohhhh, yeah I should've warned you about Ruby’s cookie craziness,” Yang said with a smirk.

“Well, are you going to help me out here?!” Onyx asked as he frantically tried to hold Ruby off.

Yang pulled out her Scroll and started to record the fight. “Yeah I’ll help you when I’ve got enough video,” She said with a bigger smirk.

Onyx stared at Yang with her Scroll in her hand in shock, his eyes wide in alarm. “Don’t post that!” He protested, but Yang continued to record the fight until Onyx got an idea to end the fight and stop Yang’s recording. “Hey, Ruby, fetch!” He shouted and threw the cookies at Yang, who caught the cookies with her free hand.

“Uh oh,” she muttered, her face going pale.   

“GIVE ME MY COOKIES!” Ruby roared like an animal as she charged at Yang at full force, knocking her down on her back. 

“I deserved that,” Yang said with a wince, as Ruby claimed her prize.

“Yes, yes you did,” Onyx stated.

Ruby happily ate another Cookie. “Why are these cookies so good?” She said with a look of glee on her face.

“Wow, good job, Onyx. Ruby has always had weird standards when it comes to Cookies,” Yang said, smiling at her little sister’s antics. “Hey, Ruby, let me try one.” Ruby turned her head to look at Yang, her cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk and cookie crumbs over her lips. “You ate them all?” 

Ruby swallowed and gave an innocent smile. “They were too good to share,” She said, still smiling.

Yang and Onyx just gave a deadpan look at Ruby. “Well, I’d better get going,” Yang said, standing up from the floor. “Hey, Onyx, next time, hide some of those cookies for me. I would like to try them next time,” she said, offering her hand to help Onyx off the ground.

Onyx took Yang's hand and she pulled him up. “Do you think I can hide Cookies from this bloodhound you call your sister?” He asked jokingly.

“Probably not,” Yang replied with a giggle. “I’ll see you later Ruby, take care Onyx.” She left team Rose’s room, leaving Onyx and Ruby alone.

“Well I’m tired, I’m getting ready for bed,” Onyx said as he walked towards the bathroom.

“Onyx,” Ruby said, getting her partner’s attention. “Sorry about the Cookies, they were amazing,” She said in compliment to Onyx’s baking skills.

Onyx smiled. “Thanks, Ruby, I’m glad you enjoyed them,” He said as he entered the bathroom to change into his nightwear. He locked the bathroom door behind him before he walked to the sink and turned on the hot tap. As the water ran, Onyx removed his glove to reveal his hands. Both of them were covered with scars, and all of them were self-inflicted. He turned off the tap and wiped the steam off the mirror to look at his face. “Everything's fine, they’ll never find out your secret,” He said to himself in a low voice, before washing his face. Once he finished his wash, Onyx put on his sleeping gloves and left the bathroom to rejoin Ruby.





Within a train station, the rabbit Faunus named Cotton was using a pay phone to contact Sienna Khan. “According to my recent information, both Eclipse and Blake are in Vale… Yes, Eclipse is with Blake… I’ll make contact with our brothers and sisters in Vale.”

“Attention, the train leaving for Vale will be departing soon, can all passengers please board the train,” said an announcement. 

Cotton looked up as she heard the announcement. “My train is about to leave, I’ll contact you once I’m in Vale.” She hung up the phone and ran to catch her train, leaving her change in the pay phone. Cotton stepped aboard the train heading towards Vale to find Blake and Eclipse.

“You can’t hide forever kids,” Cotton thought to herself as she rode towards Vale.

To Be Continued…