The man ran through the shadows of the tree's never once stepping into the light, even if it was right in front of him. The beast behind him tore through the forest, knocking over the great trunks and snapping them in two beneath its feet. The two burst into a clearing, the boy ceasing his strange movements.
The Grimm was large, with a crocodile face and a stegosaurus body. It was old, perhaps ancient. The greatest hunter in the forest. It chased not in weak minded frenzy, but for the simple fun of the chase. It made prey taste better.
Suddenly, a red circle glowed around the Grimm, and detonated. The Grimm cried out, hurt by the flaming blast, but not down. It stopped and looked for the cause of the attack, and lost its tail to a massive axe for its trouble. Rage flooded the Grimm's mind, and it spun faster than it should have been able to and snapped at the giant of a man who took its tail. Rage turned to pain as it jaws failed to hit the man, stopped by an invisible force, and was stabbed in the side by a slightly smaller, armored man with a sword. Lightning lanced out rom the tree's and strunk the beast on it's other side, stunning it for a moment, letting the sword and axe uses to jump to safety.
The man who acted as a lure suddenly appeared in the shadow under the creature's belly, and delt several quick dagger blows to its soft underside. The Grimm, knocked out of it's daze by the attack, stood up on it hunched and brought its front feet down on the man, who vanished before the attack landed. As the feet crashed into the ground, their shadows reached up and encircled the limbs, holding them in place.
The monster roared in rage. How dare these weak creatures cause it harm! It struggled and thrashed. A short person dashed out of the trees, and with a flick of their armored wrist launched a spike of ice at the Grimm's boney head. It shattered on impact to no effect, and the Grimm released a fiery retort from its maw, but a red shield appeared in front of the charing person, as the sword wielder raised his hand at them. The fiery caused little more than singes on the person's clothes, but it caused a piece of the Grimm's armor to shift for ventilation, and the axe wielder took the opportunity, his muscles increasing in size suddenly as he lept and came down, burying the axe deep in the monster's neck. It's movement stopped, as it felt nothing now. It disolved into ash as all of it's kind do.
Team RWBY watched all this in amazement, each with a secondary emotion. Ruby was excited by the incredible abilities. Weiss was curious about the Dust involved in the elemental attacks the person, who gender she could not discern, and how they used it without appearing to hold any. Blake couldn't help but check her shadow, a bit afraid of the possibility of it betraying her. Yang was fired up, wanting to fight them.
They had just begun at Beacon, as is normal, they were to be mentored by a second year team. In their case, team FLME. What they had just watched was a mid year examination of FLME from the year prior, sent by FLME with instructions to meet them at their dorm later that day.
"That was amazing!" Ruby shouted enthusiastically.
"That was impressive. A Crocildon is no easy Grimm," Blake stated.
"That was dust, right Wiess?" Yang asked the Schnee heiress.
"I think so, I'm not sure. He-She… Was anyone able to-"
"Nope."
"No."
"Not a clue."
"Ok, well, they didn't seem to use anything. I suppose there gauntlet could have dust in it, but the ice wouldn't have appeared above their head like that. And the explosion was probably their work as well, but I'm not sure how. The explosion wasn't a mine."
"The big guy with the axe seemed to have asemblance like your's Sis," Ruby said to Yang.
"But he didn't need to get hit for his," Yang responded," Not even sure why he'd need it. His muscles are huge already."
"What about the knight? He barely attacked, but with a wave of his hand shielded his teammate. He probably protected the axe wilder earlier too," Blake commented.
"True. They all seem so interesting! I can't wait to meet them and check out their weapons!" Ruby said happily.
FLME's dorm was in a different building exclusively for second years. The team walked down the hall with increasing anticipation. With the skill shown in the video, they could be great teachers.
Ruby knocked on the door. Almost as soon as she finished, the door swung inwards, revealing two things. First, was the 7 foot tall monster-of-a-man who opened the door, with massive bulging muscles and a broad, gruff features, he looked like a brute who could crush someone without trying. This effect was aided by the haphazard assortment of hide and animal bone making up his clothing, making him seem wild and ferocious.
The second was the room. Blue, intricately patterned wallpaper with white paneling up halfway, a massive white marble and gilded fireplace against the left wall with four armchairs in front of it and door on either side. A fancy red and yellow rug, and a large, dark dining table in the center of the room. And lastly a long book shelf that stopped at a door on the right.
The large man smiled warmly, immediately seeming less intimating, "You must be team RWBY! I'm Lionel. Come on in! Emeric is finishing up lunch, so make yourselves comfortable."
Lionel cleared the way, and the four made there way in, entranced by the room. Lionel's fram the blocked their view of a intricate gold chandelier above the table, which cast soft light across the room.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Lionel asked as he shut the door," It took Flae months to plan out and gather the dust for it."
"What do you mean, gather the dust for it?" Wiess asked.
"Most of the room illusory," he responded, passing a hand through the mantel," Flae's semblance let's him stabilize dust with his aura, making it last longer, or even through multiple uses. He has to charge the room once a month to keep the illusion working. The furniture is real, though their appearance has been modified to fit the style."
"Wow! That's so cool!" Ruby gushed, poking things to figure out if they are real or not.
"Oh, speaking of Flae…" the large man said, walking to the door next to the books.
"Flae!" he said after swing open the door," Team RWBY is here!"
"Ahh!" a surprised yelp sounded from the room, followed by an explosion and a louder yelp.
"Lionel! How many times have I told you to knock first! I prefer not getting lit on fire, thank you very much!" a voice barked playfully.
A person about half a head taller than Ruby made their way into the room. They were even hard to determine the gender of in person, with a skinny waist and soft, almost childlike features. Cute would easily describe them, save for the soot on their face, vest and dress shirt. Yet there face had hints of masculinity as well. A slightly square face, and head of short, combed over hair, and a a few other minor details aided in the androgynous appearance.
"Hello all!" they said cheerly," Welcome to our abode!"
They looked around. Noticing something was missing, they went into the room on the left of the fireplace. There was a thud, followed by a groan of annoyance. A moment later, a skinny young man shuffled out of the room with Flae shoving the man forward, still in his PJs.
"This is Melone. You'll have to forgive him, he tends to stay up late."
"Hi…" the man said sleepily, rubbing at his eyes.
"So that just leaves-"
The door on the other side of the fire burst open and a man, about a foot shorter than Lionel came out with a tray of sandwiches. The man himself was incredibly handsome, he sort of dashing night one imagines from the stories.
"Who wants lunch!" the man said with a smile.
"-Emeric, our knight and resident chef," Flae finished.
"Ah, hello friends!" Emeric said, setting the sandwiches down on the table, "Come, sit, we can eat and talk!"
"Although we agreed I was gonna make the offer…," Flae muttered playfully as he took is seat at the table.
The mother members of FLME took seats on the same side of the table, leaving team RWBY to take the other side.
As Emeric passed out plates and food, Flae said,"So, welcome to Beacon! I hope you'll have a good year. To start, any questions about what to expect, or about us?"
"What are your semblances?!" Ruby blurted.
Flae chuckled," Did Lionel tell you about the room?"
"Yes, though I don't see how it is possible to produce illusions like this with light Dust," Wiess answered.
"It isn't. The room used Light, Dark, Fire, and a couple other Dust types," Flae said, standing and moving over to the front door.
They touched the wall, and the illusion flickered away, leaving an empty room save for the bookshelf, and much more modest table and chairs. The walls, and furniture were covered in intricate patterns and runes made of Dust. After a moment, they touched the wall again, reengaging the illusion.
"My family had a history of articifering. I just happened to get a semblance suited to it, so I spent a lot of my childhood in study."
"Wow. So what kinds of things can you do with it?" Yang asked.
"Illusions, attacks, defenses, manipulation of the environment. You name it and I can probably manage it," they replied, reclaiming their chair from Melone, who was using it as a pillow.
"Wow! This sandwich is amazing. The meat is so juicy! And the sauce!" Ruby suddenly exclaimed, scarfing down the rest of here sandwich.
The others took a bite of their own, while Flae, Melone, and Lionel looked on amused, while Emeric beamed with pride.
"Wow, she's right!" Blake exclaimed.
"Mhmm!" agreed Yang with a full mouth.
"It is a very good sandwich. How'd you make it?" Wiess asked the chef.
"I roasted the pork for most of a day, and the BBQ sauce is my own recipe," Emeric said humbly.
"Emeric has been our cook since we started. Once we learned he was so good at it, I make some modifications to assorted appliances to make them multi purpose. I turned an old fridge into a smoker, for instance," Flae remarked.
"What about the rest of you? Your semblances?" Blake asked, getting back on track.
"Shadow Step. I can teleport in and out of shadows. I can technically teleport anywhere, but it's so inefficient, as it takes more arua and I can't do it as far," Melone mumbled, still not awake.
"Protection. I can create a temporary shield to protect against a type of attack. So a shield for fire, or a shield from a punch. And I can give this shield to anyone I can see nearby," Emeric said.
"And I can make myself stronger with my aura, making myself faster, stronger, and so on. I call it Buff," Lionel finished.
"Now, how about a quick test. How did we each apply our abilities in the fight we sent to you?" Flae asked.
"Well… Melone used Shadow Step to lure the Grimm while keeping out of ranged, and to deal the attack from below," said Blake.
"Flae, you used your semblance to create the explosion, lightning, and ice," said Ruby, focusing.
Yang said," Lionel, you used it to get to the Grimm quickly, chop off its tail, and kill it."
"And you, Emeric, shield Lionel and Flae from harm," finished Wiess.
Flae smiled," Good, a team already."
Met by confused looks, they continued seriously, "You all answered, one after another, without being told to do so. A team is able to do that. They know what each is thinking without asking. I sure that there will be friction at some point, always is, but very good start. Anything else before we ask you questions?"
"Umm… Are you a guy or girl? Even your voice is unclear," Wiess asked. The L and E of FLME hid their amused grins at the straightforward question. Melone seemed to be staring into space.
"That took longer than usual, and great job on being straightforward. Dancing around it is annoying. I'm both," they replied.
"...Huh?"
"I'm both male and female. Simple as that. Not really the best to explain it either. One of the humanities professors would be better than I. I simply am both. You'll see me in a male uniform about the same amount as the female. Though I will admit in the case of uniforms it is whatever is on the top of the pile. Makeup too, though only very little, because it is too much to really bother with."
"Oh, so if any of you ever want fashion advice, I'll help! Love shopping," Flae said, finishing cheerily. They then waited patiently for them to process it.
"I'm… not sure how to react to that," Wiess finally said.
"Most don-" Flae was cut of by Melone who suddenly slammed his head into the table, then whipped it up and shouted," I'm awake! I didn't pass out, I swear!"
Flae lost it, and laughed along with his team and RWBY for several minutes at Melone's expense.
"Well, as I was saying, most don't. And that's fine. It is a bit unusual, and new, afterall. Anyway," Flae said, waving the issue away, "Now then, on to what to expect."
"Our job is to act as your guides while you get adjusted to life at Beacon, assist in the facilitation of duels, help you train, help you with personal issues, and advise you on general. Why they decided second years would be capable of sage advice, I have no idea, and Ozpin doesn't really enforce it. Most second years shirk this entire thing, to be honest. If you really need advise, go to an adult. They'll be much more useful than us. Oh, and I will provide my service should you desire it. In exchange, you are responsible, to a degree at least, of our own standing, so try not to cause too much damage, ok?"
"Duels?" Ruby had perked up at the mention of fighting.
"Oh, right, that doesn't really get covered," Emeric began," So, you can duel other students for assorted reasons. It's basically a wager. So one might risk their… I don't know… weapon, let's say, and the other person a large amount of dust. This is a silly thing to duel over, but it's just an example. The two students duel, and the winner gets what the loser put up. MOst commonly, cubs send a representative to claim space from other clubs via duels. Occasionally someone puts up expulsion from the school in exchange for something more valuable, generally if a club is on the defense from another and on its last legs."
"Also, the two students must be in agreement about the terms, such if they will flight in a base or environmental arena, and who is officiating. Also, there is an option to decline a challenge. For individual students this is easy, but for clubs, their base funding is proportional to membership, and the more a club loses, in general at least, the more people leave. So they may not be able to maintain the fee for space usage, which is deducted from that funding," Melone continued.
"Have any of you won a duel?" Yang asked curiously.
"We have," Lionel said," It's how we secured the neighboring rooms. Flae paid for the renovations, if you are wondering. They sells equipment on the side."
The leader shrugged, "That is the normal use for Articifering. And if it pays well, who am I to argue. Oh, and there are some creative duels as well. Some fourth years last semester dueled to see who could kill the most Grimm, with points for each type of Grimm. And team duels happen fairly often, such as when we took these rooms."
"I feel like we've been doing all the talking though," Emeric noted," Why don't you four tell us about yourselves. We have the basics, but personalities are hard to get across on paper."
Several hours after team RWBY departed, Flae was summoned to Ozpin's office. As they stepped off the elevator, they were again amazed by the breathtaking view of Vale and it's lights, just outside of the windows of the tower office. Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, hands steepled.
"Hello Professor! What do you need me for? Or did you simply want to chat?" Flae greeted warmly.
"Evening. Take a seat. There are a few things I want to go over," Ozpin replied, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk.
"I assume one of these things is team RWBY?" Emeric asked.
"Correct. What are your thoughts on them?"
"They will make a good team, though I think Wiess will need some work. It is clear she is putting in the effort though. As for their skill, they seem uniquely skilled for being first years, especially Ruby. I just hope you didn't thrust her into this too soon."
"Only time will tell on that front. As for the other reason I called you here, I'm assigning you a mission."
"Assigning second years a mission? Isn't that a bit out of protocol?" Flae said playfully.
"Even so, your team would be well suited to this. I would like you to look into the recent crime spree."
"The dust one? Sure. If you let us into the restricted library."
"No. I'll give you several large crate of dust."
"Come now, we are second years. If you expect us to take a big risk like this, then we need compensation. How about space and funds to build a custom training room?"
"Several crates of dust."
"Funds to get some Zure-make weapons and armor."
Ozpin actually considered that for a moment," Your mean the weaponsmith, right? Wouldn't you be able to make better equipment?"
"Eh, not really. He's a better smith from what I've seen. But I can improve them with by own skills to make them even better!" Flae said excitedly.
"Hmm… I'll think on it. Let me know if you find anything. Maybe I'll be willing if you can capture the ring leader."
"Done!" Flae said, standing," Any idea where to begin?"
"Checking around the usual hideouts to start, I think. The hired muscle seemed be from a bar owner in the lower district, last time."
"Got it. Thanks for the tip. I'll let you know if I find something. Night Professor!"
With that, Flae left the office, leaving Ozpin pondering if he made the right move, and if Flae is aware of just what they are. If not, then the storm to come might just consume them all.
A/N: Welcome to my first story! This idea has been kicking around for a while. I've made some considerable changes to the elements of Beacon. I intend for much of the story to remain the same as far as RWBY is concerned, but FLME will have their own things to deal with. Bu RWBY will get some changes too. Also this is tentatively rated teen, as I have an idea that will make me have to increase it to mature if I decided to keep it, but that is a while off. Please, leave reviews for things to improve, including grammar and spelling mistakes, as well as what you think. Have a great day everybody!