"Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, by-products, of a forgotten past.

Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness – creatures of destruction, the creatures of Grimm, set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.

However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named 'Dust'.

Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life. But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return.

So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called 'free world', but take heed... there will be no victory in strength."

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul."

RWBY

-Volume 1-

-Chapter 1: Ruby Rose-

It was a cool night towards the end of summer, the streets of the town of Vale were starting to clear as people finished their shopping and returned to the comfort and safety of their homes. The sky was a pretty blend of soft pink and dark blue as the sun began to set over the city. It was a quiet night, the perfect night for what was about to happen; the start of something that looked to bring an end to the relative peace that the world of Remnant had been enjoying for over eighty years. A group of men dressed in black made their way down a nearly deserted street, and the few people that remained outside the shops of downtown Vale tried to avoid eye contact and hurried off home once they realised who they were; Junior's men. An infamous local mob boss and club owner, Hei Xiong, commonly referred to as 'Junior', was involved in several shady businesses not limited to extortion rackets, robbery, and even murder when necessary. But it wasn't Junior himself that led these henchmen towards a lone Dust shop at the end of the street, but a man who looked as if he considered himself high above the usual rabble that inhabited Vale, and he walked like it too. He donned a pristine white jacket and sported an unusual bowler hat that barely covered his burnt-orange hair. He held a designer cane in one hand, though clearly it wasn't to help with mobility, and a large cigar hung in his mouth. Thick black eyeliner rimmed the one eye not covered by his long fringe and a confident smirk crept across his slightly tanned face as they entered the store. Some could argue that he was an usually handsome man, and even without speaking he oozed charisma. But one thing anyone could agree on, was that he was quite clearly trouble.

The man strutted up to the front desk, behind which stood an elderly man with long grey hair and tired eyes. His sallow skin grew paler than it already was as the sinister group of thugs advanced on him. The orange-haired man stood only inches away, looking around the small store, surveying the tubes filled with Dust that lined the walls. "Do you know have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" he said nonchalantly, removing his cigar from his mouth and ashing it on the edge of the counter. One of the thugs pulled out a small pistol and pointed it at the shopkeeper.

"Please, just take my lien and leave!" he whimpered, throwing his arms in the air to show he had no intent on resisting.

The group's leader chuckled and put down his cane, leaning it against the counter, "Calm down, we're not here for your money." He turned to the thugs, "Grab the Dust."

The men in black opened the cases they were carrying and took out several empty canisters and proceeded to fill them with Dust from the tubes along the walls. The man turned back to the shopkeeper, tipping more ash onto the glass counter, "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

The shopkeeper stuttered slightly, lowering his arms, "Y-you're Roman Torchwick. The thief."

Torchwick gasped sarcastically, "Recognised in public! I didn't realise I had so many fans! Though, please, I'm much more than just your average thief-" Roman stopped mid-sentence and his attention turned to something behind the shopkeeper, the low sound of music playing through headphones. "What's that sound?" he enquired, his voice taking on a more serious tone now. One of the henchmen pulled out a short sword from the scabbard on his waist and made his way to the back of the store. There stood a short girl in a black dress and red cape and hood that was pulled over her head. Her music was clearly too loud for her to have heard what was happening, and it was unlikely she would have noticed anyway as she was absorbed in a magazine on weapons. "Woah…" she whispered to herself as she flicked through the pages, gazing at the complex and exotic weapons that belonged to famous huntsmen and huntresses, completely oblivious to the danger that slowly approached her from behind. The thug tapped her on the shoulder and pulled her hood down, revealing her short black and red hair and pale complexion. The girl spun around and took off her headphones, seemingly still not grasping the level of danger she was in. "Yes?" she asked politely, placing the weapons magazine back on its rack.

The thug lifted his blade, "Put your hands where I can see 'em!"

The girl looked down at the sword and back up to the thug, her face reflected in his dark red sunglasses. "Are you... robbing me?" she asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Yes!" the thug replied, clearly becoming more impatient.

"Oh…" The girl had finally clocked on and her mouth curled into a small smile. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, she kicked the sword from the thug's hand with one leg and flung him across the store with the other.

Torchwick pulled away from the counter and grabbed his cane, "What the-?" A flash of red shot past him into one of the other henchmen, throwing him through the shop window and out onto the street, littering the sidewalk with shards of broken glass.

"Ruby, don't!" the shopkeeper shouted worriedly, the girl was obviously a regular in his shop and he felt some responsibility to ensure she came to no harm. But there was no stopping her now, she fell into a roll on the street and came to a halt near the now unconscious thug. The rest of the group came rushing out of the store, weapons out and pointed at the young girl. "Get her!", Torchwick shouted at the hired goons, who were unsurprisingly hesitant after seeing what had happened to their friend. But before they could advance, Ruby pulled a large, scoped, red rifle from under her cloak and fired a single shot into the group of thugs, stunning and scattering them. The rifle began to extend and transform, and a menacing curved blade unfolded from one end, transforming it into a large and very intimidating scythe. She charged at the dazed henchmen, and with one powerful swing, sent two of them flying into the air and into the solid brick wall of a neighbouring building. She turned to the other two, who were on the ground scrambling for their weapons, and raced towards them. She swiftly booted one to the head with her foot and slammed the back of her scythe into the other one, rendering both unconscious. Her attention turned to Torchwick, who stood in the doorway of the Dust shop, puffing nonchalantly on his cigar.

"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening!" he said, seemingly unconcerned. He dropped his cigar and flattened it with the end of his cane. "And as much as I'd love to stick around…" he raised the cane, exposing a barrel on the end, "…I'm afraid this is where we part ways." A brilliant orange light exploded from the end of the stick, narrowly missing Ruby who dived out of the way at the last second. As she picked herself up off the floor, her eyes darted around the street looking for Torchwick who had seemingly vanished in just a few seconds. Her eyes caught a figure moving up the side of another building, climbing a ladder to the roof. Her brow furrowed as she gripped her scythe and raced off after him.

Torchwick gave a sigh of relief as he reached the roof and made his way to the other edge of the building, brushing dust and debris off his jacket. A sudden gunshot pierced the silence; Roman whipped his head around to see Ruby catapulting up to the roof using the force and recoil of the rifle on her scythe to propel herself. "Persistent…" he mumbled to himself. Although outwardly Roman presented himself as confident and cool, there was a slight worry building inside, this was obviously not your average teenager. The roof began to rumble slightly and a large gust of wind nearly pushed Ruby back off the edge of the building as a massive, ironclad airship presented itself, shining a spotlight on the two of them. The large door on the side of the ship opened and Torchwick hopped on-board, turning to face Ruby again with a malicious grin spread across his face, "End of the line, Red!" he yelled over the near-deafening sound of the airship's rotors and thrusters. He pulled a small crimson crystal from his jacket pocket and tossed it back onto the rooftop, where it landed at Ruby's feet; he aimed his cane directly at the crystal before firing another shot with incredible accuracy. The crystal exploded on impact and engulfed Ruby in a flurry of fire and smoke. Satisfied that he had dealt with the young troublemaker, Torchwick let out a cruel and unnerving laugh. His apparent victory was cut short as a bolt of purple light arced towards him; he ducked and retreated into the airship and up to the cockpit as the smoke cleared and a tall woman with long, blonde hair tied up in a bun revealed herself, stood over a wounded Ruby. She wore a baggy white blouse and a fitting black skirt that came up above her waist, her long legs covered by black tights and black heeled boots that came up to her knees.

"We've got a huntress!" Roman called nervously to the airship's pilot, who released the control stick and made her way to the ship's open door. Shadow masked her face, conveniently concealing her identity; she wore a short red dress with a golden trim exposing her slender, tanned legs, and black glass heels that clinked sharply as she paced the edge of the airship, eyeing up the huntress. Before the huntress could make a move, a fireball came hurtling towards the rooftop; a glowing purple shield of protective energy absorbed the flames as the huntress waved what looked like a riding crop through the air. Ruby let out a quiet gasp as her eyes widened, in awe at the sight of a true huntress at work. Her admiration of the fight was cut short as a mist of swirling orange energy began to move around their legs, a horrific screeching sound filled the air as the flame-like cloud grew brighter. The huntress swung her crop towards Ruby, pushing her out of the way as if by magic whilst leaping gracefully to safety herself just before the flames erupted like a volcano, tearing apart the concrete roof and sending debris hurtling into the sky. The woman in the airship began to ready herself for another assault before a barrage of glowing concrete shards flew towards the ship, rocking it violently. The huntress waved her crop, throwing more debris telekinetically towards the airship. Clinging onto a support beam as the ship rocked back and forth, the mysterious woman let out an infuriated grunt and flung her arms outwards, her eyes glowing with a sinister amber light. A fiery shockwave melted the debris being hurled at the ship and knocked the huntress off her feet, buying enough time for Torchwick to steer away from the rooftop and into the dead of night.

Ruby, still trying to process what happened, stood there in shock for a few seconds before rushing to the huntress' side, "Are you okay?!" she squealed as her protector pulled herself up off the floor.

"I'm fine.", she said sternly, dusting herself off.

Ruby's lips curled into a slight smile, "You're a huntress, Glynda Goodwitch! I've seen you in magazines, you're one of the best instructors at Beacon Academy! Can I have your autograph?"

Glynda stared dead-eyed at Ruby, obviously not taking the situation as lightheartedly as the young girl. "Come with me."

"You realise that your actions will not be taken lightly, young lady? You put yourself and others in great danger." The huntress paced up and down the dimly lit room. With four grey walls running deep with cracks and no furniture but a desk with two chairs and a lamp, it seemed almost like an interrogation room. Ruby hadn't really paid attention to where the huntress had taken her, but she could tell that wherever it was, it wasn't somewhere they handed out medals for trying to stop criminals.

"They started it!" she blurted out in self-defence, disappointed that she was being berated instead of rewarded for her, what she considered, heroic actions.

Glynda let out a disappointed sigh before carrying on, "If it were up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back… and a slap on the wrist. But, thankfully for you, it's not up to me."

A door behind Ruby opened and she turned in her chair to be greeted by a tall man with messy silver hair. He wore a dashing black suit with a black waistcoat decorated with golden buttons and a forest-green undershirt. A green ascot covered his neck and a pair of small, round glasses were perched upon his slightly crooked nose. His dark brown eyes gave off a sense of authority, but one of kindness too. He was carrying a mug of hot coffee in one hand a plate of warm cookies in the other. "Ruby Rose…" he said in a somewhat stern, but strangely welcoming voice, as he walked around the other side of the table and sat down opposite Ruby. He leant in slightly, eyes narrowed, "You have silver eyes." Ruby shuffled uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond. He dropped the plate of cookies and mug on the desk abruptly and started talking again before she could figure out what to say, "So! Where did you learn to do this?", motioning his head towards a holographic screen held by Glynda, showing what looked like CCTV footage of Ruby's fight with Roman and his men.

Ruby couldn't help but grin at seeing a video of herself taking on several armed thugs, but thought it better to try and stay serious under the circumstances. "Um… Signal Academy."

The man clasped his hands and leant back in towards Ruby, "They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed? That's uncommon for a primary combat school like Signal."

"Well, one teacher in particular." Ruby started eyeing up the cookies. How did he know they were her favourite? She looked back up at the man who gave her a slight smile and a nod, then grabbed a cookie and began devouring it. The man turned to Glynda, who rolled her eyes and continued pacing up and down the room.

"I see. It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty old crow…", he said, his eyes turning back to Ruby as she continued to gorge herself on the plate of cookies.

"That's my uncle Qrow!" she mumbled between bites. "He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now I'm taking out street thugs like a real huntress!"

The man took a sip from his coffee and smiled, "So I've noticed. And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

Ruby's face seemed to light up, she'd been waiting for that question, "I want to be a huntress!"

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years left at Signal and then I'm going to apply to Beacon! My sister Yang is starting there this year, she wants to become a huntress too, I mean our parents always taught us to help people so we thought, y'know, might as well make a career out of it." Ruby paused for a second to catch her breath, thinking maybe she should stop gushing, but couldn't help herself from carrying on, "I mean the police are alright but huntsmen and huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool, you know?!"

Glynda let out another sigh and rubbed her eyes. The man continued to stare at Ruby, a small smile on his face. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby had suspected from the moment he'd walked into the room but was only now sure of who he was. "You're Professor Ozpin. The headmaster at Beacon."

Ozpin gave an impressed 'hmph' and leant towards Ruby one more time, "So, you want to come to my school?"

"More than anything."

He turned to Glynda, who crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, then turned back to Ruby. "Well, okay."