A/N: I'm being paid to do this under protest. You can thank NexusRider for this shitshow.

Anyway, the story's premise is my attempt at squaring the circle that is the current state of RWBY. What does this mean? More coherent government/societies, consistent nature of Grimm, Aura, and Dust, various plotholes filled, etc. I'm open to suggestions, recommendations, and ideas.

Ironically, I'm shit at fights, but I've been told I'm good at character crafting. So, let's see how it goes.

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Chapter .5a: Running Red Riding Rouge

She dashed through the forest, dodging trees with speed and skill. A rose petal trail was all that remained as evidence of her passing. Her vision tunneled as she closed in on her fleeing prey.

"It was the final act of the Paradigm War that is still debated today regarding its validity. While many historians agree that a cataclysmic event took place, ending the war and separating the Lost Lands from Sanus, there has yet to be an agreement over what the event was."

The shouts of panic echoed throughout the forest as her prey realized it had nowhere left to run! The pursuit was nearly at an end, for she had finally caught sight of her fleeing quarry!

"To that end, your assignment for the end of the semester is to find a theory you like and write a paper on it. No page requirement, but it must be appropriately formatted, include all references you use with proper citation, and clearly and concisely elucidate the class on your theory. Because yes, you will be presenting this, and you will be graded on this presentation."

She jumped into the air! Her weapon unfolded into its Short-Barreled CQBR Pattern Bullpup .50 Caliber Rifle form, allowing her to blast away with HE rounds, shattering their target's Aura in a snap.

"You may work as a group for this, but I will not allow for any more than four to a group, and you better all contribute. If I find one of you slacking off in the group, the entire group's grade will reflect it!"

For she could not be stopped!

"So I hoped you all paid attention. Because this will be a fair chunk of your grade!"

For she was-!

"RUBY ROSE!"

She shot up, "YOUR TIME HAS COME, ROUGE REDLINE!" tipped and fumbled on her chair and proceeded to flail about for the duration of her rapid field trip into the ground. "...ow."

The entire class laughed as the teacher palmed his face. "Alright, class, that's enough. Find your groups and-" The bell rang, sending students rushing out of the classroom to join the ever-growing throng of teenagers in the halls, the teacher's words sidelined until at least Monday. On the other hand, Ruby was occupied detangling herself from the chair as her cloak seemed to have warped itself around the legs in the oddest way. He sighed, "Miss Rose…"

"Sorry, Teach!" She pitifully tugged on her cloak, still trying to disentangle it without stretching the fabric. "I just…"

He sighed again. Intellectually he knew why Ruby slept through the class - he graded the papers, after all, and she was the only one with a 100. "Still, Miss Rose... " He drifted off into silence, watching as Ruby somehow still didn't manage to detangle her cloak from the chair. "Miss Rose…"

She waved him off. "I know, I know, I'm trying!"

"Miss Rose…"

Tug. "It's alright, Mr. Arcanum! I almost have it!" Tug. Tug.

Arcanum pinched his nose and exhaled. "Miss Rose!" He shouted, now tired of her continued antics, intentional or not.

Ruby jumped at the sharp retort. "Eep!" She barely managed to stop herself from tripping on the chair again as it shifted under her. "Y-yes?" She finally turned to look at her teacher and cringed from the dull-eyed stare she received in turn. 'Maybe I shouldn't have taken that nap…' She thought in shame.

Mr. Arcanum had always been nice to her, and she always did his assignments to the best of her ability, even if she only remembered most of history in its relevance to weapon development and discoveries related to chemicals and Dust. But she couldn't help it! She had spent all night getting her baby just right for target practice with Uncle Qrow after school today. And- "Miss Rose." She blinked and refocused her eyes back on her teacher.

"You can turn into flower petals, Ruby. As school is technically over…" He led on, referring to school rules about Semblance usage. She blushed at forgetting both about her Semblance and the fact that she wasn't supposed to use it during school. Again. With a twirl and a push, she turns into a formless mass of rose petals that flowed to the front of the classroom, stopping just at the door.

Turning back into Ruby Rose, she turned to her teacher and apologized. "Sorry, Mr. Arcanum, I was up all night and-"

"Miss Rose." He interrupted, then sighed again. "Ruby, it is fine. This time. You are a good kid, you do great in class, and we are nearing the end of the year. Just… try not to make a habit of it, okay?"

She nodded and looked away, rubbing her arm on reflex. It was a line she often heard from various teachers as she often did make a habit of staying up through the night and accidentally dozing off during a particularly dull day in class. Even though they all looked the other way when it happened because of how high she kept her grades across the board.

Mr. Arcanum began cleaning up his desk, setting aside the papers he needed to take home. "Ruby, about the project-" He began. Ruby straightened and shouted, "It's fine!"

He raised his brow at her interruption, causing her to revert back to rubbing her arm and fidgeting. "I-I mean, it's okay. I remember you telling me about it earlier…" She trailed off, having looked up and seen the pitying look Mr. Arcanum was giving her.

"Ruby, you know that is not what I was talking about." And she did. She tried hard with her grades, sometimes spending entire weekends studying, only leaving her room to practice with Crimson Thorn. This was also the other reason she didn't have many friends. Even among the admittedly smaller Huntsman-centric courses at Signal, no one seemed to share her love (read: obsession) with firearms and other weapon-based innovations.

Still, she nodded, shrugged, and went to reassure him. "It's alright, Mr. Arcanum. I'm used to doing it alone anyway." It was the wrong thing to say as she has to suppress a wince at his immediate frown.

He hefted his bag over his shoulder and shut down his computer. "You shouldn't be, Ruby. Are you sure you want to go through with this? You still have two more years before you have to decide what to do with your life. There is still time to make friends with peers…" He trailed off at her shift in posture, from nervousness to determined.

"Yeah! I'm sure. I worked really, really hard for this!" Ruby smiled, glad to move away from her nigh-permanent outcast status that the teachers kept trying to 'help' her with. "Besides, Yang is trying to get in, so I'll still have someone!"

Mr. Arcanum pursed his lips, but thankfully, Ruby either ignored it or didn't notice. Still, he shrugged, "Alright then, Miss Rose, best be off to the Career Counselor. I heard she was waiting for you after school was over, which-" He paused and looked at the clock for effect, "has been that way for twenty minutes."

"EHHHH?!" Ruby's neck snapped to the clock, Mr. Arcanum's words proved true to her dismay. "Oh no, sorry, Mr. ArcanumIgottagobye! Haveagoodweekened!" And with that, she spun on a dime and dashed out into the now significantly clearer hallways, barely checking herself from using her Semblance to get there faster. Not to say that anyone watching her would ever apply the word 'slow' to Ruby, aside from maybe socially.

Mr. Arcanum watched her go with a pitying look on his face. Yang Xiao Long was decidedly not a favorite among the staff. Between her Semblance and attitude, she made many enemies among peers and staff alike. All of Ruby's teachers knew about her plan, and they all doubted Ruby's faith in Yang's reliability.

He shrugged and locked the door, leaving this for this and that for that. The school day was over, and it wasn't his problem. He had a cup of coffee to get.

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Mrs. Rassweld tapped her foot in irritation. She had been waiting for nearly twenty-five minutes now. She was not very amused by the irony of how Ruby was often the one late to her destination despite her being so fast. This was common because of her more scatterbrained nature, that despite her clear intelligence - a single look at her grades would prove that - she would often detour when something caught her attention.

All this led to now, with her standing there, still. Just as she was about to call it a day and head home, a storm of red petals blew into her office, and she watched with despair as loose paperwork was sucked into the temporary storm winds. "I'm here!" Ruby Rose shouted in a panic as she reformed. She had been distracted by an upperclassmen's weapon they had been practicing with, out on one of the practice fields, and had stopped to ask him questions about it.

It was then she took in the state of the room and the somewhat irritated and dull look she was receiving from Mrs. Rassweld. Paperwork and castoff rose-petals were scattered across all four corners of the spacious office. "Ah, hehe." She cringed and gave Mrs. Rassweld a weak smile. "Sorry?"

Mrs. Rassweld closed her eyes and counted to ten. "Be glad, Miss Rose, that the paperwork contains private information, so I can't press you into cleaning up the mess you made." She then gestured to the stiff back metal chair she kept in front of her desk. "Sit."

Ruby carefully made her way to the seat, making sure she didn't step on any of the papers. "Uh, sorry. Again. I kinda fell asleep, and so Mr. Arcanum had to uh, um…" She trailed off and wilted under the uninterested state Mrs. Rassweld gave her. "Sorry."

She hummed in dismissal, "I'm sure. I hope you don't carry such a lackadaisical attitude with you to Beason. They don't tolerate slackers."

As if they were magic words, Ruby perked up. "Ah! I made it!?" The tests had been utterly grueling, especially since she was two years behind the people who usually would have taken them. Not only that, because she was taking them early, she had to meet a higher standard than average as well to prove that she would be able to keep up with the more advanced and intense curriculum.

Mrs. Rassweld nodded and let a slight smile grace her face. "Indeed, I'm told the staff was quite impressed by your scores and dedication. You will, of course, have to pass Beacon's own sorting initiation tests once the next school year starts" She slid a binder across the desk over to Ruby with both Beacon's and Signal's heraldry on it. "You will, of course, need to fill out the packets inside. Beacon's rulebook, expectations, and contact information are also inside. As well as several packets concerning Valian laws dealing with your age and declared Hunter Emancipation." Ruby gave her a look of despair, one that she had seen often enough when a student found themselves out of their depth. "Not to worry, your father should be able to help you."

Rallying herself, Ruby grabbed the binder and held it tight to her chest. "Right." She gave a bright smile to the counselor that helped her get this far. "Thanks for everything, Mrs. Rassweld."

Mrs. Rasswld, for her part, had reservations about allowing someone like Ruby to venture off as an emancipated Hunter. Regardless, she had her job, and Ruby met every qualification. "...Of course, Ruby."

Excited to get home and get it over with, Ruby turned on a dime and ran out of the room shouting, "Thanks again! Have a great weekend!"

Mrs. Rossweld spared a glance at the clock and then dragged her eyes to the scattered remains of her paperwork. She sighed, got out of her chair, and grabbed her bag as she walked out of the room.

Despite how fast Ruby was, the halls of Signal could echo quite nicely. So it was no surprise that anyone left in this branch of the school heard.

"WATCH OUT WORLD! RUBY ROSE IS GOING TO BEACON!"