Legends.

History transcended into something...more.

Something greater than just actions and events that have taken place in the past.

Many ask what makes these fairy tales, stories, and epics so much more than the history lessons given to us as children. Some say it's how fantastical each tale is. Others say that it's the lessons they convey to everyone who hears them. But...it's more than just any of that which makes legends more than just simple tales.

Faith.

It is faith which allows us to believe that which defies all belief. Faith which allows even the smallest of accolades to become something grand in scale.

But faith does a lot more than put weight behind a story.

It allows for us to be strong in the face of circumstances where others fall short. It is through faith that one can find purpose where others shall find none. It is faith which allows heroes the courage to move forth unto victory.

And it is through faith, that us Humans and Faunus have been able to endure for so long in a world that would see us wiped from history itself…

It was a quiet and still night within the normally busy commercial district of Downtown Vale. Any sounds that could be heard were carried over from the industrial and manufacturing districts, or muted by the buildings said sounds were coming from. Even then, for such a large section of a densely populated area to be so void of activity, such an occurrence is a rarity. One would find such stillness to be quite calming.

"Uggghhhhhh!"

However, this is one such individual who does not enjoy such silence.

This certain individual had been sitting in place on a rooftop for close to an hour now, holding a silent vigil over the shop that sat across the street from his location. It was a quaint little dust shop run by an old man. The figure had chuckled slightly at the name of the store originally. From Dust Till Dawn. A clever little play on words, to be sure. But, even the minimal amount of amusement found at such a trivial thing was nowhere near a good enough distraction from the anxiousness currently built up within them.

The figure let out an irritated sigh, before pulling out their scroll to check the time. It was currently reading as ten forty-five p.m., which did nothing to prevent another groan from escaping into the night.

After finding out what they needed, the figure took the time to look at their reflection in the scroll's screen. The face that looked back at them was the face of a young man of about eighteen to nineteen years old. He had a handsome face, with a small amount of baby fat still there. He had dark, chocolate brown eyes, the right one with a small, crescent shaped scar arcing across the eyebrow. He had thick, wavy brown hair that was long enough to reach the middle of his neck and swept off to one side, his bangs barely reaching over his left eye.

The young man looked at his reflection in a scrutinizing manner. You're not enjoying doing nothing, are you? He thought to himself, earning no answer from...well, himself. He let out a light snort before smirking at his reflection. I'll take the lack of an answer as a no, He thought, putting his scroll back into one of his pockets.

The man went back to staring at the store front, his boredom beginning to eat away at his patience once more. Next time Ozpin asks me to do one of these missions, I'm either going to refuse to do it or I'm forcing someone else to come with me, He smiled at his thoughts, as the image of a stern, older blonde woman entered his mind. I could have so much fun at Glynda's expense...but, that could also mean some terrible punishment on my behalf. The brunette shivered at the thought of said woman chasing after him with her riding crop. If that woman didn't have some weird S and M fetish, he would eat his own sword.

And no. That was not a sexual innuendo.

The young man sighed again, and went back to his task of watching the store. He was supposed to be monitoring and observing anyone and everyone who entered the building. However, the only person of interest to have entered the store in the past half hour was a girl who looked about three years younger than him, wearing a bright red hood and cloak. He did note that the bulge underneath the cloak looked like a weapon, but he chalked that down to her being a prospective huntress. That and his aura never even registered her as a threat.

Other than that, there was absolutely nothing.

With all the nothing that's been happening, the man was contemplating closing his eyes and nodding off for a short time. At least he was, until a bunch of warnings started going off in his head. At that, the man turned deathly serious as he scanned the street, noticing a group of men that were currently stalking up to the store. He didn't pay attention to the majority of the men, seeing as they looked like a bunch of second-rate thugs. He did, however, pay special attention to the man at the front of the group with the cane and bowler hat.

As the group was making their way into the store, the man up on the rooftop had already pulled out his scroll and sent out a pre-written mass message. He waited for a minute as two confirmations showed up on the screen before pocketing the device once more. He was now watching the shop with rapt attention, his eyes almost unblinking as he waited for anything to change.

So that slimy bastard, Torchwick, finally decided to show his face, The brunette thought, watching through the slightly murky windows of the shop as Torchwick and his goons shook the old man down for dust. Maybe the two-bit prick will finally get what's coming to him.

The young man was promptly broken out of his thoughts as something started happening inside the shop. He looked to see the girl from earlier kick one of the thugs into a store shelf. Another took his place in trying to apprehend her, but he was quickly thrown out the store window, the girl following him on his way out. The man smirked, this girl showed some potential skill. However, she had only managed to show that she could put random thugs in their place.

That previous thought was quickly squashed as the girl unfolded a gigantic scythe and hefted it onto her shoulder. She was probably going to have no trouble whatsoever dealing with these fools.

Although, as the man watched the subsequent beatdown that was handed to the incompetent thugs, he couldn't help but feel weird looking at the girl. There was some aspect of her that seemed familiar, but he just couldn't place it.

The young man was shaken out of his reverie when a loud explosion went off from the street. He witnessed Roman trying to escape as the girl checked on the storekeeper before pursuing. The young man stood to take chase as well…

"Now where do you think you're going?"

Or at least he was, until the male voice of another person spoke up behind him. The young man turned around calmly, seeing as he had spent enough time around the owner of said voice to know who it was. He was currently looking at the gray haired man with a raised eyebrow. "Uh...going to help that girl catch Torchwick? What does it look like, Ozpin?" He stated, gesturing to himself as he was preparing to jump off the building's ledge.

The professor merely waved him off. "Oh. No need to worry about that," He stated calmly, taking a sip of whatever it was he kept in that coffee mug of his. Seriously, what was it? Coffee? Tea? Alcohol?! "Glynda is on her way to help with the capture. We can just sit here and make small talk in the meantime."

At that, the young man allowed a pout to form on his face. "Do you just enjoy sucking the fun out of everything for me?" He questioned dejectedly, the retorts of gunshots sounding off a few blocks away from where the fighting was occurring.

Any humor that might have been on the man's face was missing though, as Ozpin merely gave the brunette a serious look. "Michael, you know there's multiple reasons for why I'm keeping you away from fighting."

At that, the now aptly named Michael's gaze sharpened, the happy-go-lucky attitude from earlier completely gone. "Ozpin, they're going to find me. Whether it's now, or in the future, doesn't matter," He stated in a matter of fact sort of way. "Even then," he continued, "if that's not what you're worried about, I can tell you right here and now that I'm in full control of myself."

Ozpin only let out a tired sigh as he leaned on his cane, looking much older than his outward appearance made him to be. "I just don't want to take any unnecessary risks, Michael." Michael merely scoffed at him, turning back in the direction of where the fighting was occurring.

"Sometimes unnecessary is the only thing tha-" Michael cut off what he was about to say, as both he and Ozpin tensed up. A dark and twisted sensation sprung up at the back of Michael's mind. It was a feeling that he was far too familiar with, and was currently coming from where that girl and Torchwick went.

"They're here..." The brunette hissed venomously through clenched teeth. He was about ready to jump off the building again until a hand wrapped around his shoulder. Michael turned to glare into Ozpin's own brown eyes. What warmth usually lied within was currently gone, as they stared back with a coldness not thought possible.

"Let go of me..." Michael demanded in a threatening whisper.

"Michael, I will not allow you to go off and jeopardize everything because you couldn't control yourself," Ozpin declared.

Michael simply growled and violently shrugged the professors hand off his shoulder. "So you would just have me stand here and let one of them get away?!"

Ozpin merely sighed and allowed his gaze to change back into a tired stare. "I'm as opposed to letting them go as you are." At that, Michael scoffed. "However," the man continued, "we can't simply charge into fights with them. We still have no idea of their numbers, plans, and strength."

That did nothing to douse the fire behind Michael's eyes. "If you would let me go after this one," he stated darkly, "I can assure you that they'd be singing their plans for me by the end of the day." A second later, Michael let out a growl as the dark feeling disappeared. "And now that opportunity is gone, thanks to you."

Ozpin couldn't help but sigh once again, placing his hand on Michael's shoulder once more. This time was far more gentle though. "This is another reason," He stated solemnly, grabbing the brunette's attention. "Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't go off, as you are right now, and do something you wouldn't regret?"

Michael froze at that, his imagination already running one hundred miles per minute as a scene played out in his head. In his mind's eye, all he saw was fire. He could hear the screams of thousands as they died. The feeling of the heat washing over him and the grimy sensation of ash mixed with blood on his fingers and skin. He could smell the smoke of things burning around him. Wood, dust…bodies.

Michael shook himself out of his morbid thoughts and shivered. He turned to glare at Ozpin, but ended up giving him a half-hearted, withering stare. "That was low," he grumbled, "Even for you." Ozpin could only look down solemnly as he tried to give a somewhat comforting pat on the teen's shoulder.

"I only do what I must to guide others in the right direction," He explained in a tired manner, taking a moment to inspect the contents of his mug. As if trying to find answers within.

Michael almost let out a half amused snort when he heard that. 'Almost' being the objective word there. "Yeah. But that doesn't give you the right to go rubbing salt in old wounds," He groused, looking far more tired than someone of his age should have. "And the one you did it to has been festering for a long time."

Ozpin merely let his hand, which had until recently been resting upon Michael's shoulder, fall to his side and turned to look out over the sleeping city of Vale. When next he spoke, his voice was but a mere whisper upon the wind. "Failure is great reminder to those who lose their way."

"You tell that to yourself often?" Michael quipped morosely, if not a hint humorously, as he stared at the grey haired professor.

He didn't earn an answer. The man simply continued to stare out over the city, engrossed in thoughts that no one could even hazard to guess. Michael frowned for a second before he wiped the expression off his face and moved to stand next to the man, staring out at the city as well. They both stood there in solemn silence for a time, neither moving to break it.

"You're right."

Ozpin broke off from staring and looked over at the teen, no small amount surprised by the words he just heard. Michael just continued to stare out at the city, his gaze returned to that of a peaceful calm. "Might I ask what it is I'm right about?" The professor inquired curiously, a lone eyebrow raised at the teen.

Michael let out a low breath before answering. "Me," he stated, "I'm not ready and you're afraid of what I'll do when it comes to fighting them." He sighed before continuing. "To be honest, I agree with you as well. I'm afraid of what they'll do if we don't act now, but I'm even more afraid of what I might do if I'm not ready or if I lose control."

The teenager took a moment to look down at his hands, both clenching and unclenching themselves, before looking up at Ozpin with a fire in his eyes. "But we can't wait forever, Ozpin," the teen affirmed, his tone unwavering. "If there is one thing our enemies have that we don't, it's time. We don't have the time to be patient while their plans play out. We have to act, and soon."

Michael turned to look back out at the city once more, his visage set in a solemn frown. "Because, when the time comes that they decide to strike and we do not act," he explained, his voice low and grim in nature, "I will not be held responsible for the lives lost. Not when I was the one who wanted to fight from the very beginning. I do not need another such weight bearing down on my consciousness."

The professor could only stare at the teenager standing next to him for the longest time. Michael didn't know for how long after he finished talking that they stood there, but it was long enough for him to notice something. As he stared out at the city with the professor merely observing him, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, something within the man's stare. There was a glimmer of something within those brown eyes that shined unlike anything else he'd seen in the man so far. As time goes on, many would be remiss to know what it was that Ozpin saw in Michael that night. But, maybe, that is simply a discussion for another time.

A little while after, Ozpin grabbed the teen's attention by clapping a hand on his shoulder. Turning to the man, Michael saw one of the first genuine smiles from him since the day he came to the man about his plans. He tried to fight it, he truly did. But the urge to smile alongside the man was too hard to resist. "Don't worry," he assured, sounding almost fatherly, "We won't allow them such a chance. We can't do anything now; however, I can promise you that we'll stop them."

Michael chuckled slightly as he went to grab something from around his neck. After gripping it within the palm of his hand, he opened his fingers to reveal a small, yet expertly carved, black dust crystal attached to a cord of leather. The teen stared at the small runes engraved on the surface of the crystal intensely, before allowing the smile to return to his face and tucking the necklace into his shirt. "I'll hold you to that promise, old man," he stated in a jovial manner, earning a chuckle from the man next to him.

"Although…" Michael raised an eyebrow as he turned to professor, who still sported his smile. As if amused by what he was about to say. "I find it almost ironic how much you preach about not wanting to be tied down. Yet, you are choosing to become a government sanctioned huntsman."

Michael thought about that for a second, letting the statement sink in, before laughing. "That's so true!" he bellowed, earning him a few angry and disgruntled shouts from within the building he and Ozpin were on. He didn't even think about the inherent strangeness of that, since there was a legitimate fight going on in the street not long ago.

Ozpin merely smiled at the teenager and allowed him to calm down before looking off in the direction where the fighting had moved to before ending. "I do hate to break this up, but I do believe we have somewhere to be," he informed, moving in the direction towards the stairs. Michael merely nodded and moved to follow, at least until Ozpin stopped and turned towards him once more. "You're right too, you know. However, you missed something," he stated, that fatherly tone from before making its presence known once more.

When Michael raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue, Ozpin merely turned to keep moving towards the stairs. He finally answered once he made it to the stairway entrance, his hand on the doorknob. "If there is one thing that the Grimm and our other enemies have, it's patience. But, there is something we Humans and Faunus still have," he called over his shoulder, glancing back at the teen. "It's the determination to keep fighting." With that, the professor opened the door and made his way back to the ground floor, leaving the teen with his thoughts.

Michael merely let a smile split open across his face, teetering upon the edge of manic and excited. He rushed after the professor in his excitement, only one thought crossing his mind the entire way.

This is gonna be one helluva year.

Author's Note:

So this is long overdue. Hey guys, it's KeyBlade again. It's been a long damn time since I've last done anything with this story, seeing as this story originally started back when RWBY first started. Which was years ago, but let's try to ignore that fact right now.

What I wanted to say right now was that I'm sorry to any and all of you who read this story in the past few years in the hopes that it would be updated. Part of me wants to blame this long delay on my major case of writer's block, which put me in this position in the first place. Another part of me wants to blame my classes for taking up so much of my time. But, regardless of what I think is the problem or not, I'm back and here to make up for it.

Now a lot of you are probably wondering, 'What happened to all the other chapters that were a part of the story?' To those of you asking, here is the simple answer:

I got rid of them.

Why? Because, in all honesty, when I went back to them, they were complete shit. I was younger, I didn't write nearly as well as I do now, and it honestly didn't line up with any of my original ideas. So another apology to you readers out there who legitimately enjoyed what I originally wrote. But hopefully you guys will enjoy the newer version much more than the older version of this story. I'm gonna be putting in a lot more time, effort, and thought into this one. Because I'm back and ready for action. No more classes. No more major distractions. This story is here to stay!

I will see you in the next update everybody! BUH-BYE!