I am releasing the first two chapters at once, simply because I felt there was a lot of setup in Chapter 1, and I didn't want you guys to become bored. "Why didn't you just combine the chapters?" You ask? Because I'm lazy and didn't want to combine them. Plus it would be pretty long. But with that out of the way, happy reading!

Trees hurt. You can fall from them, they can fall on you, their branches can scratch you, it's surprising how many ways they can damage your body. And if you're thrown against one by an Ursa, well, I'm sure it's not hard to imagine. Daedalus produced a grim smile, forcing himself to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The Ursa snarled at him, slowly closing the gap between them in the forest clearing. Rookie mistake. Daedalus used the opportunity to pull out his two sizable gold axes, and he charged at the Ursa. Surprised at his tenaciousness, the Ursa paused. Second mistake. Daedalus activated a semblance, rendering him completely invisible. A quick peek through the basics of the semblance revealed it could be upheld for a maximum of 41 seconds. More than enough time, he said to himself as he sprinted by the Ursa's left flank, slicing its legs. The Ursa cried out, and wheeled around to face its unseen attacker. Daedalus grabbed its front leg and pulled himself up onto the Ursa's back. He buried an axe in its back, causing it to rear up on its hind legs in pain. Daedalus slid underneath the beast, his other axe transforming into a large barreled six shooter. He lifted it to the Ursa's chin and fired. The large Grimm slumped over, dead. Daedalus flickered back into sight, smiling at his handiwork. Suddenly he gasped, as he felt a searing pain in his abdomen. He looked down to see a Death Stalker's stinger impaled through his stomach. In somewhat of an accidental vanity trap, he hadn't noticed the beast sneak up through the forest while he was fighting the Ursa. He lifted up in the air, as the Death Stalker prepared to deliver the final blow. The stinger began racing toward the ground, and Daedalus accepted death. Suddenly he saw a figure standing at the other end of the clearing. She(he assumed it was a she from the hair swept up in a bun) raised something in her hand, and his descent abruptly came to a halt. He slid off the stinger and fell, and as he hit the cool, leaf-covered ground, he passed out.

Glynda Goodwitch was tired of chaperoning these Search and Destroy missions. It had been fun for a while, but they got boring and repetitive quickly. So when she heard an Ursa cry out in pain, her curiosity and boredom caused her to tell the group to stay where it was while she went to investigate. She reached the clearing just in time to see a boy flicker into view next to a dead Ursa. She was so surprised by this that she didn't notice the Death Stalker until it was too late. It impaled the boy, and without missing a beat, she leapt into action. She reached for her riding crop and stopped the fatal blow from the Grimm by manipulating her energy shield into a wall. The boy fell harmlessly to the ground. Well, as harmlessly as you can fall after being impaled by a Death Stalker. She then proceeded to quickly defeat the beast, showering it in razor sharp dust crystals until it lay still. She rushed to the boy's side, and reached for her scroll to call Professor Ozpin.

"Ozpin. I need an emergency medical evac, a boy in the forest was impaled by a Death Stalker. No he's not one of our students. Coordinates 44° South, 37° East."

She ended the call and took off her cape, wrapping it around the unconscious boy's stomach, and applied pressure, as she waited for help to arrive.

Ruby sat on top of the dorm, stargazing. She had been doing it more and more often over the course of the third semester at Beacon. She was so entranced by the perfect night that she almost failed to notice the drone of the Bullhead's engines. Almost.

She stood up, and poked her head around a spire that was obscuring her view of the plaza. She watched with a mix of curiosity and concern as a hospital bed was wheeled out and was hurried toward the medical wing. She was about to go back to stargazing, deciding to investigate the next day, but as she was leaving she heard the tap of Headmaster Ozpin's cane. Her interest piqued, and she quickly made her way down to ground level via a large tree growing in the back. She then used her semblance to sprint past Ozpin and into the medical wing just as he closed the door. She sped behind a pillar in the back of the room and sat quietly.

She heard Ozpin's voice calmly ask, "So, why does a 15-year old boy suddenly show up in one of the most Grimm-infested areas of Remnant? He's a student at Signal, I assume?"

"He's not. I ran a face scan. Not just on Signal but all Huntsman and Huntress schools in all four kingdoms. No matches," Glynda replied.

Ruby could hear the disbelief in Ozpin's voice. "A boy with no formal training takes down an adult Ursa with ease?"

"I thought it was incredible too. He has potential."

The room was silent for a moment. Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kid must be incredibly skilled with weapons, she thought.

"I'll talk to him after he wakes up," Ozpin said, breaking the silence. Glynda turned toward the door and walked out. Apparently the conversation was over. Ozpin walked toward the door as well but paused as he touched the handle.

"Miss Rose, if you had asked tomorrow I wouldn't have withheld anything. Just don't fiddle with his morphine," he said gently, closing the door.

Ruby slid down to the bottom of the pillar, processing what she had just heard. So Ozpin had known she was there, so did he hold things back to teach her a lesson? Did the boy really take out an Ursa, or was he exaggerating to throw her off? Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by a groan from the hospital bed. Ruby slinked out from behind the pillar, and over to the bed, whose occupant had enough metal things sticking into him to pass for a rebellious fourteen year old. Ruby studied the boy. His most prominent feature was his light green hair, which messily came down over his face, obscuring one of his eyes. He was tall, she could tell he would tower over her if he wasn't lying down. He definitely looked as if something bad had happened. His skin was almost pure white from blood loss. She smiled down at him and put a finger to her lips.

"Sssh. It's ok. You're in a hospital...sort of. And it's late."

"Where are all the doctors then?" He asked. His voice was raspy and pretty deep.

"They're monitoring your vitals from across the floor. You're at Beacon Academy."

His eyes showed a hint of panic at the mention of Beacon, but he quickly recomposed himself.

"And what are you doing here, a random girl at the hospital bed of a boy you don't even know?"

"I was curious. What landed you here?"

"I was impaled by a Death Stalker." Ruby's eyes widened in shock. He smiled weakly. "Yeah. Luckily your assistant principal person was there." he said, scanning his eyes over the lowly lit room. It was all white, with fluorescent lights in the ceiling, allowing the two inside to see the rows of empty beds and the entrance to the nurse's office.

"Yeah, it doesn't look like much, Beacon. But trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. By the way, I never caught you name. I'm Ruby," she offered him a handshake. He gave a weak squeeze and replied, "Daedalus," he said, with a smile.

Suddenly Ruby's pocket started vibrating.

"Ah, that would be my sister wondering where I am. I gotta go." As she toddled toward the door, she "accidentally" bumped his morphine up. She yelled back, "Talk to you tomorrow!" and sprinted out.

Daedalus sat up in his bed, in the dim, empty room.

"So I'm at Beacon," he said to himself, "Might see my sister."

He smiled sadly to himself.

"Huh. Now that I think about it, she probably has no idea who I am." He laid back in his bed, asleep before he hit the pillow.