My first attempt at a RWBY fanfic after a long hiatus due to work piling up. Please Read and Review.
Italics- Thoughts/Quotes
Regular-Dialogue and descriptions
The Night is always darkest before the Dawn… But the Light will always rise to face it, like a phoenix from the ashes...
The City of Vale, one of the four great kingdoms of Remnant. A city that stood as one of Humanity's greatest accomplishments for its ability to persevere and thrive through the decades. It's also home to one of many prestigious academies in all of Remnant, Beacon Academy.
In the commercial district of Vale, a young man, who didn't look any older than the average seventeen year old, was walking along one of its many streets at night. As he continued to roam the sparsely populated city street, the chilly wind blew through, ruffling his messy, sunny orange hair, most of which was held back by the pair of black rimmed goggles atop his head.
As his dark brown cloak fluttered slightly in the wind, one could even see the bright orange long-sleeved turtleneck shirt he wore underneath. His deep-crimson pants were tucked into his dark brown combat boots, which made soft thudding sounds as he strolled across the street.
Soft clinking noises could be even heard from his haversack as it shifted left and right while he snaked through oncoming people.
"Hm..., I know that dust shop has to be around here somewhere. C'mon Orion, you can't be that terrible at directions after this long..." The young man muttered to himself as he wandered aimlessly through the streets, trying to reach his destination. "Oh, there it is!" He exclaimed as he came upon a simple shop, its signboard read 'From Dust Till Dawn'.
"Yes, something you need, young man?" The old man at the counter asked as he walked into the shop.
"Yes, do you happen to sell Dust in vials?"
"Hmm... Rarely find youngsters who buy them in that fashion... Fortunately, there should be some in one of the back shelves. Go fill'em with the dust from those dispensers over there, and I'll check the prices for you." The old man replied, pointing to the dust dispensers in the corner of the shop.
"Thanks." Orion said as he quickly went to the back shelves, coming back around with a set of vials. As he stood in front of the dispensers with his back facing the counter, the old man squinted his eyes to get a better look of the emblem imprinted on his cloak. It was in the shape of a red and orange Phoenix with its wings folded in.
"Hmm... That's a rather unique design you've got, young man. A family crest?" The old shopkeeper asked.
"Sort of..." The young man replied as he headed back to the counter with the vials in hand. He was finishing his payment for it when he was rudely pushed aside.
"Hey! Excuse me, I was..." He was going to finish his sentence until he looked up at a rather shady looking fellow. That person had ginger-colored hair combed to one side, most of it tucked underneath his black bowler hat. He wore a white suit, in contrast with his black gloves, pants and formal shoes.
Ash fell from the cigar in his mouth as he stepped in front of the counter, a cane tucked under his arm. That man was being accompanied by a bunch of other men in black suits, giving the impression that he was the leader of some mafia gang.
"Beat it, kid... I've got some business to take care of." The guy said in a low tone of voice before turning to the shopkeeper.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" He said in a sarcastic voice as his goons drew their guns at the old man.
"Please... Just take my Lien and leave..." The old man pleaded with his hands in the air. "Shh... Calm down, we're not here for your money. Grab the Dust." He told his goons as they headed towards the Dust dispensers with canisters in hand. Another one went up to the counter with a case and ordered the old shopkeeper to hand over some dust crystals.
The young man was taken aback. An armed robbery was happening before his eyes! He started to slow back away, hoping they wouldn't notice him.
Unfortunately, one of the men there spotted him and pointed his firearm at his direction. "Hold it! Fork over the Dust you just bought." He threatened the young man, a rather menacing look plastered on his face. The young man quietly put his hands up, the vials in his left hand.
"Come now, surely there's no need to use force. I mean, Dust isn't exactly very cheap, but they're still affordable. You could just buy some and..."
"I didn't ask for your opinion, kid, so zip it!" The armed gunman shouted at him, aiming the handgun up towards the young man's head.
"Okay okay, but it would be better for everyone if you didn't go and..."
"I said quiet! Or I'm gonna shoot!" The gunman yelled before he saw one of his buddies was sent flying from the back of the shop. The leader motioned for that gunman to go and take care of the little problem. "Damn... you got lucky, kid! Just stay put and we won't hurt you too bad." He said as he ran over to check out the situation. The young man heaved a sigh of relief before seeing that guy being sent flying through the front display window by a red blur.
As the people inside the shop peered through the hole in the glass window, it turned out that the red blur was actually a girl dressed in a red hood with a matching black corset and skirt with red trimmings. In her left hand was a large rifle that unfolded to reveal an even larger scythe blade. She looked back at the store before achoring her scythe into the ground, waiting for the next unfortunate person to come out and confront her.
"Okay... Well GET HER." The leader said to his remaining men and they immediately rushed out with weapons in hand. But that turned out to be a big mistake as the girl skillfully used her agility and the weight of her gun scythe to beat them down in a matter of seconds.
The leader stepped out to check on the devastation that was dished out on his men. The young man took this opportunity to check on the old shopkeeper. "You doing all right?" He asked the old man, who slowly nodded. "That girl might need some help. Just stay inside, okay?" He said as he rushed out, only to see a large explosion on the street followed by the girl landing on her feet.
"Where did that guy...?" She quickly looked around the vicinity. He immediately noticed that mafia leader was escaping up an access ladder to a nearby rooftop. "Over there!" He said, drawing the girl's attention to the fleeing criminal. Then they turned their attention to the old man who had stumbled towards the the doorway on his rather shaky legs. "You okay if we go after him?" She asked, getting a nod of approval from him before going after the criminal. That was when one of the attackers near him had gotten back to his feet and was aiming his pistol at the unsuspecting red hooded girl.
"Look out!" Orion exclaimed, rushing straight at the shooter as he drew out something from his back. It was a shield in the form of a red and yellow phoenix with its wings folded in. Using his forward momentum, he rammed into the guy at full force, causing him to lose focus as he tumbled back a few steps. Before the shooter had a chance to recover, his shield opened up to form a bow with a orange translucent arrowhead at the tip. The young man pointed the bow at his upper body and immediately let loose several shots in rapid succession.
Each arrow pinned him to the wall behind him through different parts of his suit. "You're going nowhere, my friend. So stick around awhile, okay?" The young man remarked before chasing after the girl, who had used the blast from her rifle to propel her up to the rooftop. "Need a faster way up there. Think, Orion, think!" He quickly launched a series of arrows along the side of the building, forming an improvised stepladder. "This had better work..." He muttered under his breath as he dashed up the stepladder of arrows and made his way to the top.
They both landed on the edge of the building, with weapons ready. "Hey!" She yelled as the criminal stopped when he was on the other end of the building. "Surrender yourself! There's nowhere on this roof to run!" Orion added, aiming his bow at the man.
"Persistent..." The man muttered as he turned around. As if on cue, a grey Bullhead transport just popped in behind, flying close enough for that man to climb aboard.
"End of the line, Red!" The man called out as he threw back a fire Dust crystal at them before firing a blast from his cane. "Get down!" Orion shouted, jumping in front of the girl while collapsing his bow back into its shield form, bracing himself for the impact.
But, the blast wave never came. Peering over his shield, he noticed he was staring at the back of what appeared to be a woman with light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. From he could see, she wore a pair of thin ovular glasses, along with a set of teal hanging earrings with a small bead. She was dressed in a white long-sleeved suit, with puffy sleeves that tightened near her wrists before spreading back out over her hands.
Her black business skirt and a pair of lighter black-brown stockings hugged onto her form tightly while she stood poised for combat. Draped over her shoulders was a tattered cape that is purple inside and black on the outside, decorated by a row of diamond-shaped brown beads going horizontally across it. Emblazoned on her cape appeared to an emblem of a tiara. In her right hand was a riding crop, which he assumed was a weapon.
She had apparently put up a sort of barrier which took the brunt of the hit, leaving them completely unscathed. Dropping the barrier, she waved her crop and began relentlessly attack the Bullhead with volleys of energy projectiles.
She followed her initial assault with large ice shards from a gigantic storm cloud that she created out of thin air. Looking closely at the Bullhead's open cabin, Orion vaguely spotted a woman standing in the shadows, the only part visible was the crimson dress she wore which had orange glowing lines imprinted around the upper torso and sleeves.
That woman retaliated with a blast of fiery energy at their saviour, which she deflected before dodging away just as a pillar of fire erupted at her feet, destroying part of the rooftop. The blonde woman struck back with a makeshift lance formed from pieces of the rooftop, which she sent flying back at the Bullhead. The lance was smashed to its many pieces as it barely made a dent to the airship but the blonde woman wasn't done. Taking the many pieces that remained, she reformed three smaller projectiles which came back around to attack the Bullhead again.
However, in a blink of an eye, the projectiles were all vaporised by a wave of energy. That was when the red-hooded girl began firing shots at the Bullhead, hoping to somehow stop them. Orion followed her example and started firing volleys of arrows at the Bullhead as well. However, their combined attack proved ineffective in even slowing it down. Then the ground beneath them suddenly lit up, prompting the blonde woman to pull the two young people away before dodging forward just as multiple fire pillars erupted. By the time they had recovered from that, the Bullhead had already fled out of range of their weapons.
The young man sighed in disappointment for failing to stop that criminal. Turning behind him, the young girl stared in awe, " You're a huntress?!" "Can I have your autograph?!" She said a rather audible squeak, as if she was a fangirl meeting a superstar, earning a weird look from the young man.
"I hope you two realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly. You put yourselves and others in great danger." The blonde woman was scolding the two young people. Currently, the two of them were being held in custody in one of the interrogation rooms at the Vale Police Department, the reason being their involvement at the armed robbery of the shop they had just saved.
"They started it!" The girl argued.
"Was it wrong for us to have gotten involved?" Orion asked, turning to the girl.
"That's right, it's not like we did anything wrong. And no one was really hurt, so..." She wanted to continue her sentence, but kept quiet when the woman gave her a stern look.
"It doesn't change the fact that innocent people might have been caught up in that little incident. If it were up to me, both of you would be sent home. With a pat on the back... and a slap on the wrist!" She said sternly as she slapped her riding crop on the table, causing the girl to flinch.
"But there is someone here that would like to meet the two of you." She sighed, before stepping aside to reveal a middle-aged man with a plate of cookies and a mug. The man had grey hair and a pair of tinted glasses which sat upon his nose. He wore a unzipped black suit with a matching black vest and a green undershirt. He had a pair of long, dark green pants and a set of black trouser shoes. He had a dark green scarf wrapped around his neck, with a small purple crossed imprinted on it. This man was none other than Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, featured in a few news articles regarding Vale's Huntsman and Huntress.
"Ruby Rose..." He said as he looked towards the girl, before shifting his focus to Orion, "... And Orion, I believe."
"Y-Yes sir." Orion replied, scarcely believing his eyes. Why would someone like Professor Ozpin come all the way down to a police station to meet both of them?
Shifting his focus back to Ruby, he stared closely at her face. "You...have silver eyes."
"Errm..." was her reply as she felt awkward from being stared at so intently.
"So tell me, where did you two learn to do this?" He asked, motioning to the screen behind which played a video of what happened in front of the shop.
"Signal Academy.../ Self-taught lessons." They said in unison.
"I see..." He said, placing the cookie plate on the table. "Mr Orion, would you mind if you stepped outside for a few minutes? I'd like to speak to Miss Rose in private."
"Sure, no problem." Orion replied, getting up and leaving the room. After about five to ten minutes, the door opened and Ruby walked out with a joyful look on her face. "Hey, Ruby is it? What happened in there? You look like you just won the lottery."
"Oh, umm... Orion right? Nothing too serious... just that THEY OFFERED ME A SPOT IN BEACON ACADEMY! I'M SO EXCITED! I ALWAYS WANTED TO ENROLL THERE, AND NOW PROFESSOR OZIPIN COMES AND GIVES ME A CHANCE TO STUDY THERE! OH MY GOD, I GOTTA TELL YANG! GOTTA GO, BYE!" And with that, she disappeared in a flash of red, leaving behind a trail of rose petals.
"Well now, she's certainly quite easily excitable for a girl her age..." Ozpin said as he stepped out just as Ruby had left the corridor. "Now then young man, there's a matter I'd like to discuss with you in private. Let's continue this inside, shall we?"
Nodding in agreement, Orion quickly strode back into the room and waited at the table. He noticed that the blonde woman from before wasn't present, but brushed aside that thought as he took his seat. Both sat at the table for a good two minutes, before Orion felt the need to start the conversation.
"Umm. Professor? What exactly did you need to talk to me about?" He asked, hoping to get the conversation moving.
Looking down at the Scroll in his hands, he finally spoke. "Hmm... To be frank, I've done a little digging regarding your personal records." Orion froze at the mention of his background. Did he find out who Orion really was? "... I must say, I am impressed with your talents, even the parts that most folk wouldn't know. So why would someone of your ability choose to leave behind his previous life and become a wanderer?"
Yup, he definitely knew.
"W-Well, sir... is it alright to keep this conversation confidential?" Orion asked.
"Don't worry, young man. This conversation is completely off the record..." Ozpin replied, putting down his scroll.
After his lengthy conversation with the headmaster, he was finally released from custody and allowed to leave. As he left the premises, the two adults stood at the entrance and watched him be on his way. The blonde woman turned to Ozpin and asked, "Ozpin, are you postive about your decision regarding that boy?"
"You know as well as I do, Glynda. I'm merely granting him an opportunity. The final decision is ultimately his to make." Ozpin replied with a slight smile on his face.
"I'm not quite following your train of thought here. Why would you even give him that choice? From what I've gathered, he doesn't even possess the proper qualifications to enroll here." She argued, looking through the data on her scroll.
"His experience in the field makes up for his lack of qualifications. Remember, experience is sometimes a better teacher than what can learnt from a classroom."
"Is that so? I assume your conversation with him was informative?"
"Quite, but I'm afraid I'm not inclined to divulge any of the details to you. I promised him that much after all. Besides, I'm a great judge of character. You'll just have to trust me on this."
"Oh dust, fine... Not like I could ever change your mind once it's been made up. But I'll be keeping a close eye on that one. If he turns out to be a major hindrance to the school, I'll have him booted out, no questions asked."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Glynda."
And that concludes my first chapter. Will Orion take this chance given to him? Stay tuned to my next chapter- First Step. And remember, any helpful tips on making this better is appreciated.