From Dust Till Dawn. It was the only store that was open during the late night when Ruby decided to go into it. She had taken a short Bullhead ride after telling her dad about her impromptu decision. He was fine with it. Probably. Anyway, she knew that store seeing as it was close to the Bullhead pads. The owner also ran A Simple Wok, a noodle stand. They were delicious! Well, not as delicious as cookies. But nothing can top cookies.

The bell cheerfully dinged as she entered the store, the owner looked up before nodding and lowering his head. There was an improved formula for Dust Bullets that were being announced on a vibrant poster. It seemed to have an interesting magnetizing ability. The Heroic Spirits in her head normally don't even talk or comment on a day to day basis, except maybe for Nero. But Nero is Nero.

[Yes, Yes I am!] Nero umu'd.

Somehow, that worked. It just felt like the correct verb to Ruby.

[Most likely do to her verbal tic.] Jeanne responded.

[What did you say, face of mine?] Nero rebutted.

"Stop fighting Big Sis Jeanne and Nero..." Ruby bemoaned as Nero continued to talk about her wonderful face while Jeanne just acted like a brick wall to the conversation. Alas, like which always happens.

[Don't worry Goshujin.] Tamamo giggled as she was no doubt experiencing schadenfreude from Ruby's suffering, [You still have me!]

Ruby never managed to find out what Goshujin meant. Every time she would ask, the fox lady would just chortle and ignore what Ruby asked. So she just learned to stop asking.

Instead, she just placed on her headphones to listen to some music. It would be a nice and calm night of reading weapon magazines and maybe purchasing some ammo for her baby.

[Yes, mom?]

"Not you Jackie," Ruby softly smiled as she mentally patted the little girl's head. She decided to take care of the warped girl so that she could get her simple wish of being in a family. Even without that, she has a family with the other Heroic Spirits… Hopefully.

She had a minor issue with some personality leakage, most importantly with Jack's-whose Mental Pollution was polluting her own. However, Lancer and Jeanne helped her with it.

She faintly heard some shouting from the front cash register. With a frown, Ruby unclipped her weapon and transformed it into sword form. The oddly fluid edge was reminiscent of Nero's own but had a black spine. She knew that there was an increase in Dust-based crimes and she wouldn't put it past the one store open this late to be robbed.

And she was right.

"Calm down, old man. We're here for the dust." she heard a relatively smooth voice drawl as she sees a man dressed in a dapper suit pointing his cane at the shopkeeper. No doubt his weapon.

Without prologue, Ruby jumped straight through at the two henchman's standing in front of her, nailing them and launching them out of the window. Her blade sunk its edge into the leg of another henchman who was standing right by the presumed leader as she slid under the clumsy swing of a surprised henchman. With superhuman strength, she grabbed the arm of the two other grunts and threw them out of the window as well.

[Eh, could've been better.] Nero remarked, [I wrestled lions with more panache!]

[It was effective.] Atalanta shouted at the Roman Emperor, [She doesn't need flair, just results!]

The orange-haired man scowled at the girl in a red cloak as he shot a flare at her, which she batted aside with her sword. He was out of henchmen, all of them groaning on their back. There was no escape. He could've taken the shopkeeper hostage, but the foolish thief walked outside to confront her.

Ruby heard a short shout coming from behind her as she summons Gae Bulg Alternative and launches it behind her, pinning him by the shirt against the brick wall behind him. She heard the short gasp as the air was knocked out of the grunt. When she heard about Lancer's weapon, Ruby wanted to just spam it at the Grimm-ridden frontier, no doubt culling them in numbers or just summon the Gate of Skye. The only issue was that Lancer said that the Gate was not "Ruby's" to control and Gae Bulg Alternative takes quite a bit of her Aura to summon even once in their active forms.

The dapper robber gaped at the red spear nearly impaling his one minion's chest before going to dash back into the shop, only to be greeted by a wall of the same red spears.

"Is that her semblance?" Roman thought with a fearful expression on his face. He had lent Neo to Cinder because she needed the ice-cream haired girl to do some recon on Beacon Academy. Now, he was going to pay for it. He was too handsome to die.

With a simple flick of the wrist, Ruby tossed a single paper slip at him that seemed to cause his body to freeze up.

"She's too strong!" Roman growled in his head. His heart seemed to beat even faster as he stared down her silver eyes as she walked up to him. It reminded him of Cinder as her eyes contemplated his death.

Suddenly, a small fireball barrelled straight at the Ruby, who blocked it with a water rune. It briefly flashed before a small ball of water splashed against the fireball, causing it to evaporate. Thank Oum for Primordial Runes and Witchcraft. It makes defending herself from the elements so much easier. Granted, they are significantly weaker than her teachers', but still, free semblances.

She mechashifted Crescent Rose into its sniper form and tried to find the fire user.

"Come out!" she called out the unknown fire wielder, who chose to not listen to Ruby but instead fired an even larger one. Ruby instinctively knew that it was way more fatal than the previous one. She summoned Tama's mirror and used it to whack aside the fireball. It's resilient enough. The fireball melted the cobblestone road. Whoops. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the thief trying to slowly back out before she threw a dagger at him, pinning his shoe. Instead, his body shattered into glass.

"Roman, you're lucky that your associate finished scouting him. He was too preoccupied with something else to notice." a female voice echoed through the streets. "Now, you. Begone."

Runes for fire appeared under Ruby's feet as she hastily grabbed the Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu and surfed it out of the fire pillar. She took out some freezing talismans that she always kept on her and froze the flames, which quickly resumed being a blazing inferno. What?

[It appears that the flames are significantly stronger than your Witchcraft.] Jeanne noticed, [It may be necessary to either use Install or wait for the fire department to help.]

"But the shopkeeper!" Ruby mentally yelped as she ran back to the shop to find the elderly man trapped behind her spears. She quickly dismissed them and grabbed his wrist as the flames encroached upon them. Suddenly, the inferno all quelled to a stop.

A purple outline surrounded them as a blonde-haired.. librarian(?) appeared with a scowl on her face.

Ruby took a moment to check over the shopkeep, who had no visible injuries to be seen before she turned her attention back to the blonde lady repairing the street.

"There was a-" Ruby began before she was stopped by the lady.

"Stop. You're coming with me." she simply stated as the last of the road magically became whole.

[Do you want us to kill her, mommy?] Jackie asked.

"No! That's a bad idea." Ruby panicked as she didn't want to anger any of the law enforcement.

[Oh. Ok.] The young assassin says.

"Oh." Ruby frowned. She's going to be late home, isn't she? She's not even going to be able to see her big sis leave!

"This young lady helped protect me." The wizened clerk said to protect her as Ruby smiled up at him. He smiled back. His eyes crinkled and a thin line where his mouth was.

"We'll take that into consideration." The Huntress responded after a moment, taking Ruby by the wrist and walking her to the police station.

Ruby waved goodbye to the clerk for at least being nice to help her.

-0-

"You have caused much property damage young lady." the Glynda Goodwitch scowled at Ruby as the young girl had the gall to giggle in embarrassment, "Is there something funny?"

"No, ma'am." Ruby stiffened as the hand-whip that the lady had was twitching as if she wanted to use it on her, "But, it was their fault!"

"I see." Goodwitch ponders out loud before striding up to the steel table. "You're lucky that there is no punishment for you today. There is video evidence that most of the damage wasn't caused by you. Excluding those red spears. However, someone wants to meet you."

A grey-haired man walks into the room, cane in the armpit. He was holding a plate of cookies and a mug of something in the other. Ruby almost drooled at that plate. She was forced to eat those heavenly snacks sparingly because her dad said something about not letting someone with lethal weapons of mass destruction too much sugar, but still, it's cookies! She can smell the delectable taste.

He set down the plate of cookies on the steel table and looked straight into her eyes. Ruby nervously looked at the plate, wondering whether or not he knows her and her semblance. She knew that her uncle Qrow was going to tell some people about it to see just what her semblance meant, but… Wait a minute, was he Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy?

"Ruby... Rose." He drawls, "You… have silver eyes."

"Uhm.." Ruby's mind stalled as she tried to contemplate that remark. She noticed the blonde Huntress still sitting there.

[This is an old man.] Tama-chan says with a surprisingly somber expression, [He reminds me of those advisors.]

[He looks like a fine warrior!] Nero says, [One withered with age but still with youthful vigor. Look at his battle stance even in peace.]

[He does, doesn't he.] Jeanne remarked.

[Aye.] Lancer merely stated, [He seemed to take his mantle as a teacher seriously.]

Ruby fidgeted in her seat for a bit before he took out a scroll and pulled out a video of her kicking the henchman out of the window. There are public cameras even in the store?

"Hmm. So, where did you learn this?" he asked.

"Signal Academy," Ruby answered with an uncomfortable look on her face. She never liked lying, even telling the truth when her dad asked her who ate the cookies.

"And?" he requested. Ozpin noticed her face and knew to press onward.

"And my.. Teachers?" Ruby's shoulders scrunched as she looked at him with a pained glance.

[We need to teach you about lying.] Atalanta said with a harsh tone.

[You can't do that. The Lord detests lying lips.] Jeanne gasped in shock at the archer's blunt tone.

[Oh fuck you and your God.] Atalanta growled as Jeanne fell silent.

"Your…. Teachers." Ozpin repeated her statement, "And who taught you how to use such a unique weapon? It reminds me of…. A dusty crow."

Ruby knew what he meant. However, she was distracted by the fact that he produced a bag of cookies when she found the plate miraculously empty. She was just glad he wasn't referring to some other people.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, "My uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal! He helped me learn how to use the scythe!"

"But you were using the sword and sniper, not a scythe." He pointed out.

Ruby paled as she realized her issue. She never used the scythe.

"Umm… He also helped me with the sword!" she said with resolution.

"Hmm." Ozpin placed down his mug of coffee gently. "I see. So tell me, why is an adorable girl such as yourself training to be a Huntsman?"

"Ermmm, I want to be a hero!" Ruby answered with a conviction. Ozpin paused and looked at her.

"Heroes…." He chuckled for a bit, "I welcome that belief. But be careful, the road to being a hero is a cruel process. There will be times where sacrifice is needed for even the smallest of ground given. Do you know who I am, young lady?"

"Yeah. Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy." Ruby said with a small frown on her face. What he said reminded her of what Atalanta and Jeanne said.

[And he is right.] Jeanne softly commented. [I have to say. He must have personal experience with that scenario. I wonder how he knows it.]

[Aye. So it is true that he was a warrior before teaching. He must've failed to have such a bitter take on it.] Lancer continued the thought.

"Well then." he smiled a bit. It was a faint smile though, something born of guilt. "How about you join my school?"

"Really?" Ruby could've squealed in joy. She could go to school with her Big Sis! "Yes! I'll go!

"You're free to leave. Make sure to be at the Bullhead tomorrow." Ozpin gestured towards the door as she hurriedly left, going to find Yang and tell her the news.

Ozpin and Goodwitch stood there until she left before Ozpin sighed heavily and sat on the steel table.

"It's always tough to see someone have to take the mantle of being a hero or heroine for one's mistakes.." he muttered as he stared at the door Ruby left.

"Sir, you didn't fail." Professor Goodwitch assured him, "Not yet. We have already managed to make the kingdoms stand together in this time of darkness."

"So young Ruby Rose is the one with the interesting semblance." he discontinued that conversation, "I hope she surpassed my expectations."

"I hope so, too." Glynda Goodwitch strolled away from the room, leaving only Ozpin in the dimly lit interrogation room.

"I don't want to see any more heroes." Ozpin darkly chuckled in self-disgust, "I should've been the only one this world needed. Yet, all my lives. They failed. Salem grows stronger still. The Earth even rebelling against the intervention of the Brothers. Humanity may fall under my watch, again."

-0-

So. Ozpin is suffering from self-loathing and defeatism. Cool. Anyway, you see how Ruby is referring to the Heroic Servants. Each of them has a certain reason. Aside from Nero, cause Nero. And Atalanta I guess. Oh well, so yeah. You see some interesting facets of the ability. Realize that triggering a noble phantasm is stupidly expensive in terms of aura compared to using runes, witchcraft, or using/throwing the weapon normally. Hmmm. I think that's about it. I'm just using this to flesh out characters more. And also, funny story. I finished this like a week before Halloween and I forgot about its existence... so whoops? The only one that I think doesn't have much of a personality so far is Glynda and the "Baddie" gang. Oh well, have a nice day.

Tata!