A/N: Revamped, and hopefully a bit better than last time.
Disclaimer: Rooster Teeth owns the Dust, I'm just writing in it.
-RWBYS-
-Chapter 1-
-Enter Silver-
Silver was taking a stroll, minding his own business as he wandered through the streets of Vale. The sixteen-year-old was wearing a long, light gray overcoat that hid most of his body below the neck, but it was still possible to see slender, well-muscled limbs. His face was shadowed, both by the natural shadows and the ones cast by his long, messy hair.
"Well, this is boring. Nothing fun to do, nowhere to go, nobody to fight! Why can't something interesting happen?" the teenager asked the thin air. Reaching under his coat to his hip, he pulled out a small box-like object from his right hip. Roughly eight inches long, three inches high, and four inches wide, it had a handle set into one corner. Spinning the item by this handle, Silver continued his bored wanderings while wishing for something atypical to liven up his night.
"Now remember, we don't want to make a racket here. We go in, get the Dust, the old fellow's Lien if we have time, and we leave. No loud noises, and for the love of all that is ill-gotten don't cut the man! I don't need a blood trail."
Silver's face split into a grin as he ducked into a nearby alley, hiding behind a dumpster as a octet of criminals stalked past, trailing after a man dressed like something out of a movie. 'Now this might be fun. But what is with this guy? He's dressed like that psycho out of... what movie was it? Whatever it was, this guy cosplaying it ain't good for someone... But he got the droogs wrong,' he thought happily as he critiqued the criminal's style. He counted to ten after the group was out of his sight, then vanished in a blur of disturbed air and darkened dust. He reappeared out in the street, sitting nonchalantly on a bench. Anyone who saw his grin would have instantly called the authorities, because sane people did not grin like that. It was the grin of an adrenaline junkie who was about to get a major fix. As the group vanished around a corner, Silver sprinted at the wall of the corner building and ran up it, his long coat trailing impressively behind him. Atop the roof, he looked over the edge to keep an eye on the group of what he hoped was his night's entertainment. "Well, I need to take more midnight strolls if this pans out," he decided as he ran along the rooftop, easily keeping pace with the unsuspecting prey below.
The group came to a stop outside a shop called, from what he could see, From Dust Till Dawn. "I like the name." His grin turned into a frown as he watched the octet of black suit clad goons produce long red swords and walk into the store like they owned the place: four in front of the cosplaying criminal, four behind him. "Weird, I thought the place was closed. Oh, wait, they're going to rob it." His frown turned into an angry scowl. "That just ain't right. They don't need to shake down the poor guy." He stood from where he'd crouched by the edge, withdrawing a second, identical box from his other hip. A vicious grin spread on his face. "Time for my fun and civil service to coincide." He noticed a plastic bag fluttering in the wind. He grabbed it.
Inside the store
"Hey boss! Sorry I'm late, but there was a line outside the store; I had to kick an old lady to get thi- Oh."
The criminals and robbee in the front of the store all looked at the young man as he strolled through the door, then stopped dead as he saw the gun being pointed at his face. "You- over by the counter! NOW!" One of the goons barked harshly, gesturing with his sword.
"Oh-Okay! Just please don't hurt anyone!" the boy stammered, stumbling over to the counter with a sword and two guns held on him. Once he was pressed against the glass, he winked at the old shopkeeper and whispered, "Play along."
The old man nodded and said, "I'm sorry I asked you to work late today!" He stifled a yawn and made a few fake tears well up in his eyes.
The boy silently applauded the man's performance. One of the thugs approached him and pointed his sword at the bag. "What's in the bag, kid?"
"Nothing! Nothing you'd want! Really!" The boy tried to hide the bag from the man, who grabbed it, yanked it open, and pulled out a piece of paper. He blinked at what he read.
This note entitles the user to an instant, yet painful, trip to the intensive care unit.
Failing this, please list the funeral home of your choice below.
Thank you, you idiots.
As the man was looking at the teenager in confusion, many things occurred. Mainly, a flying body entered the conversation, promptly slamming into the goon and knocking him out. Both bodies continued before breaking a vase. The teenage boy looked up with a giant grin on his face. "Ten out of ten for the launch, that was poetry in motion! Zero of ten for the landing,that was probably expensive!"
The boss of the group signaled two of his men tow deal with the problem(s). One picked up the note, but didn't read it. "What was that, punk?"
"Read the note, sir!" The thug did so, making the mistake of lowering his pistol as he did so. THe instant he did, Silver made good the note's message. He spun around and lunged at the droog, twirling one of the boxes out from under his coat and hitting the red switch on it. A blade flipped out, expanded, parts shifting a locking as a three-and-a-half foot single-edged sword sprang into being within a second. "This store is CLOSED!" He swung it up at a vicious horizontal angle, flicking it smoothly through the goon's abdomen. The wound he left as he danced around the injured man was painful to see: a severe cut that reached into the organ cavity. Not instantly lethal, but a few hours untended and it would be fatal. Blood poured out of it. "Ah, that's a problem. You maight wanna take a stab at solving it!"
Another goon flew through the air, hitting and smashing through the store's plate glass window, followed instantly by a black-and-red blur. Grinning, Silver flickered out of existence and reappeared outside, whipping out another sword and sliding into a stance. "Nice night for finding a street show, eh?"
His odd comment was directed at the short girl beside him, who was expanding her scythe. She gave him an odd look, her silver eyes clearly asking 'are you utterly insane.' "Street show?" she asked, twirling the scythe in a ready pattern.
"We're in a street, aren't we?" Silver answered, tilting his head slightly to one side and smiling innocently.
"You useless morons, get them while they're distracted!" the mastermind shouted, pointing out the ruined window at the two vigilantes. The four remaining droogs hurried to obey, pulling out their swords as they rushed the pair.
"That's my cue. Shall we? Or will you be watching and not fighting?" Silver asked politely, gesturing with a sword to the group.
"I can handle it!" the girl reassured the silver haired boy, before jumping into action. He grinned and followed suit.
After the beatdown
The two teenage warriors surveyed the damage done to the street in silence: slash marks marred the stone, as well as impact craters from the few shots the girl had fired. Silver spared the scythe a moment's admiring glance: while not as advanced as his own swords, it was still impressive in the extreme. Shaking his head, he cheered, "Well that was certainly entertaining! I don't even know your name and I already like you!"
The girl, meanwhile, was not amused. "Fun?" she queried incredulously, an eyebrow raising. "That was fun? You- It- PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN HURT! YOU PROBABLY KILLED THEM" The last was roared at full volume, which would have been more intimidating if the pitch were lower, as she pointed at the groaning men.
As it was, Silver lowered his hands from his ears gingerly, peering at the girl in stunned silence. Well, stunned something-or-other. "Sweet Mother of Ashes, midget! Do you kill mice with that voice? Anyways, they'll live if they remember to stop the bleeding. And the people meant to deal with this sort of thing are already headed here, right on schedule." Looking around, he picked up his swords from where he had dropped them, then glanced around the carnage-ridden street. 'Hm, I swear there's something missing... If only I kn-' He then sighed at his own stupidity. Turning to his still-glaring ally, he asked, "Did you see the guy in white anywhere?"
The violent girl stared at him for a moment, then spun around to search for the vanished man. She saw a flash of white at the top of a nearby roof access ladder, and sprinted towards it. "He's up there!"
Silver stared in surprise when she used the recoil from firing her gun to clear the wall in a single motion. "Maybe my next weapon should have a gun, then," he muttered, running at, then up, the wall.
On the top, he found his temporary ally chasing the orange-haired man across the roofs.
Sighing, he watched as she cornered him, then paused to listen to whatever the criminal was saying. The word "persistent" reached Silver's ears across the roof, causing him to smile.
Then, everything went to hell. A low whine filled the air, and a large dark gray VTOL jet rose up from below the wall. A bright light flashed on, and Silver didn't wait to see what happened before he moved. In less than a second, he had managed to place himself between the scythe-wielding vigilante and the unknown threat.
'What the Ash am I doing? I don't even know this idiot!' Silver mentally berated himself, but nevertheless slid into a defensive stance. He grimaced, resolving that this fight was the end of his career of sticking his neck out for others.
"End of the line, Red! Last stop, stranger!" Silver heard the man's voice just before the spotlight vanished, leaving him enough time to see the exceptionally large, red Dust crystal arcing towards them.
'Shit! Even I can't dodge a Dust explosion that big with two people!' thought Silver as he watched the glittering red object fall toward them. He pushed the girl behind him again, and narrowed his eyes when the white-suited man raised his cane, which was now clearly a weapon. He grimaced, and did his best to make sure he was shielding the girl's body with his own. "Man... I never thought I'd die for a stranger. Who would've guessed?" He chuckled humorlessly.
The gun fired, and time stood still for him. He could see the burst of energy move, could hear the girl's heartbeat behind him, feel his own heartbeat accelerate, and smell the burnt ozone that the blast left in its wake. 'Oh, well. I guess there're less... noble ways to die.'
Of course, he didn't die, courtesy of a passing Huntress. Silver blinked as time resumed its normal pace, finding a blonde woman standing in front of him, wielding what looked like a riding crop. Of course, he was more interested in the glowing purple barrier that had saved his life.
"Wow, this is just perfect! What next, Ozpin offers us cookies?" Silver muttered, less than thrilled to see a Huntress. He didn't complain, however, when she launched a barrage of Dust projectiles at the jet. Neither could he suppress an approving nod when she summoned a lightning storm on top of the aforementioned aircraft. However, that didn't stop him from noticing the change of enemies in the jet's lowered panel.
Seeing the orange-red glow of fire Dust being manipulated, he prepared to dodge the attack. He needn't have bothered, though, as the ensuing fireball was not directed at him. Though he did have to jump back to avoid the next attack, which was, in essence, a miniature volcano directly underneath the three on the roof. He watched from one side, feeling rather useless, as Red and the Huntress launched a series of gun and Dust attacks at the jet. 'Yeah, that settles it. Next weapon has a gun form,' he decided. The next hint he had that there was a problem were the Dust Circles that appeared underneath the two female fighters. Taking the initiative, he put his speed to good use, removing the two females from the area and jumping back to his old position.
By the time the massive eruption of fire finished, the jet was pulling away. Silver grimaced, and turned to the women in time to hear Red squeal, "Can I have your autograph?!" The swordsman groaned and slammed himself in the forehead with the pommel of one of his swords. A Huntress, and Huntress-wannabe, and a psychotic Dust manipulator.
"Can this night get any more... unexpected?!"
Later
The answer to what he had thought was a rhetorical question was yes, Silver discovered.
He and his erstwhile partner in crime were seated at a table in a small, dark room, with the Huntress pacing around them. Silver grimaced when he saw Red's downcast expression. 'Come on, lady. Red was at least trying to help people. I was trying to alleviate my own boredom!'
"I hope you two realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly. You put yourselves and others in great danger!" The woman lectured while stalking around the small circle of light the two were sitting in. The anger in her voice was barely contained, and certainly not subtle.
"But they started it!" Silver almost cried at the note of desperation in Red's voice.
"If it were up to me-"
At this point, Silver cut her off. Smiling lazily, he suggested, "We'd be flayed alive and fed to the Grimms?" Seeing the woman glare at him angrily, he continued to amuse himself. "We'd be dead already? Locked up with no hope of parole? Forced to strip and do a tango? Hung by our fingers over a pot of boiling oil? Thumbscrews, whips, and ferrets?"
By this time, Red was staring at the as-yet unnamed swordsman in mild awe and disbelief. Awe, for daring to interrupt and mock a Hunter. Disbelief for much the same reasons. She did, however, take the opportunity to study the teenager while she could reliably see him.
He wasn't exactly tall, maybe five foot eight. He was fairly slender, but to what degree was hidden by his coat. His face was the only part of him easily visible: masculine features, clean-shaven, with a light tan and long, spiky hair that hung to the his shoulders. Oddly, she noticed, it was the same shade of silver as her eyes.
The Huntress was lecturing Silver now, and he ignored her entirely. Instead, he chose to study the girl he had nearly killed himself for after maybe five minutes of knowing her. 'Hm... She's pretty damn cute,' was his verdict. Red was fairly in line with Silver's taste in women: short-ish, pale skinned, dark haired, and able to kick the ass of almost anyone she wished. He noticed, with a slight grin, that she was a) staring at him, and b) had eyes the same color as his hair.
Allowing his grin to grow, Silver brushed away the hair that concealed his eyes, and Red stifled a small squeak of surprise. Instead of any more typical color, Silver's eyes looked like someone had melted a ruby and used it for his irises.
Sensing the Huntress' lecture was concluding, Silver shifted his attention back to her. "...But sadly, there's someone who wants to meet the two of you."
Shifting in his seat, Silver turned to look at the doorway, and almost did a double-take at what he saw. 'Professor Ozpin with... cookies and milk?' he wondered, trying to think of when he could have taken such a severe blow to the head that hallucinations would have been possible. "What is it, give Silver-a-headache Day?"
The older silver-haired man gave the young swordsman a curious look, raising one eyebrow. Silver shrugged it off. Nodding, Ozpin turned his attention back to the table. "Ruby Rose and... what is your name, actually?"
"To you, it's Silver. To my friends," Silver shrugged carelessly. "Well, they get to know my full name."
"Very well, Mister Silver, Miss Rose. I thought you two might be hungry," the professor said, setting the platter of cookies down in front of the two teenage melee fighters. The two shared disbelieving glances, then looked at the cookies, the professor, back at each other, then finally at the cookies. Both of the adults were taken aback by the near-war that erupted over the cookies, the entire plate emptied in a matter of seconds. Regaining his composure, Ozpin adjusted his glasses and gestured to a screen the Huntress now held. On it was a recording of their fight against the suit-wearing goons. "Where did you two learn to fight like that?"
"S-Signal Academy..." Red answered, but her hesitance made it sound more like a question.
"I taught myself." Silver's reply was quiet, utterly without his usual trace of humor.
"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed? And how did you, Silver, teach yourself to move like that?" It was clear Ozpin was skeptical of their answers, or had a motive outside simple investigation..
"Well, one teacher in particular." At this point, Silver decided to just wait. It was too much effort keeping two conversations straight at once.
"I see. It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder with that skill before. A dusty old Crow." Ozpin's explanation made sense to Silver: scythes were regarded as a hit-or-miss art. Either you could use it and were good with it, or you killed yourself. Sort of like his mode of fighting.
"Qrow? You mean my Uncle Qrow? He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now I'm all like-" At the point she began to make scythe-like noises, Silver calmly reached across the table and put a hand over her mouth. He was also chuckling from her unintended pun.
"I see. And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"
Silver felt... something... at the adjective "adorable." It was not a pleasant sort of something. However, he decided it was par for the course. Nothing else regarding the scythe wielder had made sense, so why should his emotions?
"Well... I want to be a Huntress." Silver's eyebrows rose at the lack of Ruby's usual enthusiasm. She was completely serious.
"So you want to slay monsters?" Silver resisted the urge to say 'No shit, isn't that what Hunters do?' However, he still thought it. He also thought Ozpin was fishing for something.
"Yeah. I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon. See, my sister's starting there this year." 'She has a sister. Good to know,' thought Silver, paying close attention. "And she's trying to become a Huntress. I'm trying to become a Huntress because I wanna help people. My parents alwa-"
"Red? You're babbling. Not good for job interviews," Silver teased, removing his hand from the excitable girl's mouth again. She stared at him with wide eyes, as though trying to figure out what, exactly, had just happened.
"And you, Mister Silver? Where did you learn to move like that?" Ozpin's attention was now solely on the laid-back teen swordsman, and he felt a little uncomfortable. The professor's eyes, behind his glasses, seemed to go through the shield of humor he usually erected around himself.
"I taught myself. Speed, flexibility, balance? Those are easy." To prove his point, Silver flippied upside down, before lifting himself onto his fingertips. "The swords part? The prospect of a few lot body parts encouraged me not to screw up."
"I see... And why did you want to learn to do these things?" Ozpin asked, not at all put off by the fact that Silver was now upside down, supported only by four fingers.
"It seemed fun at the time. And now it's turning out to be a great way to meet people!" Silver's cheerily given answer was nothing if not a bald-faced lie.
"And yet, you seem to be capable of more than we've seen." Before Silver could reply, the Huntress swept his hands out from under him, forcing him to twist in midair in order to land in a sitting position. The two glared at each other, but Ozpin interrupted before the hatred went any further. "Regardless, I take it you know who I am?"
"Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon Academy." The two teenagers replied in unison, though with very different tones. Ruby was slightly awed, while Silver was bored.
"Hello." Ozpin grinned suddenly, and Silver thought he saw a sense of humor akin to his own in the man's sudden immaturity.
"Nice to meet you!" Ruby cheerfully replied, shaking the hand the professor had extended. Silver smirked slightly at that, then nodded to the head of one of the world's most prestigious combat schools.
"So. It is your goal, Miss Rose, to attend Beacon, is it not?"
"More than anything." Silver honestly could not believe that the short girl was so serious about a damn school. But he could tell it meant a lot to her.
"Mister Silver, I take it you aren't vaguely interested?"
"Schools aren't really my thing, but... I could do worse. Do I have to pay for room and board?"
"Nope! Everything's free!"
Silver grinned, and nodded again. "I'll give it a try when I'm old enough. I'm only sixteen, you know."
Ozpin rolled his eyes and glanced at his subordinate, who clearly disapproved. Turning back to the two teenagers, he smiled evilly, took a sip of his coffee, and said, "Well, okay! Be on the next airship, in four days."
Some time later, on the ship to Beacon
"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"
Silver blinked at the loud outburst coming from further up the airship. The teenaged swordsman had removed his long coat and armor, leaving him in far more casual clothing that consisted of a light gray turtleneck, black slacks, and black combat boots. His hair was also pushed away from his face, letting his bright red eyes be seen far and wide. All of his other possessions were in a knapsack slung over his shoulder.
'Baby sister? I only know of one person that could be...' thought Silver, using a brief burst of his speed to rush up the airship in time to find his partner from his last excursion talking to a rather... provocatively dressed blonde.
"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees!" yelled the blonde, clearly overjoyed at the prospect of having her little sister accompany her to school. Grinning slightly evilly, Silver flickered in behind Ruby.
"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay? I don't want to be any kind of 'knees'! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees," protested the shorter, younger girl.
"But then you'd be boring, Red!" Silver whispered directly in her ear, then jumping backwards to avoid any possible violent reaction. He was in no particular hurry to be on the receiving end of Ruby's scythe.
"Eek!" Squealing, Ruby spun around towards the unexpected noise, flushing in embarrassment.
Silver broke down in helpless laughter at the expression on Ruby's face. "Sorry, Red, but that was too good an opportunity to pass up!" Grinning and stifling a few chuckles, he stood and approached the two girls amicably. "Sorry I ran off before we could properly introduce ourselves, but I had to run."
"Oh! You're the guy with the swords! Sorry, you just look different without the coat on." Unless Silver was tragically misjudging things, Ruby seemed genuinely pleased to see him.
"Yep, that's me! Swords, sarcasm, and cheap party tricks, at your service, Miss Rose." Grinning, Silver made an extravagant bow to the small scythe-wielder.
"Oh... You already know my name, but I don't know yours..."
Silver took pity on Ruby's disappointment, and didn't give her the usual pseudonym. "It's Blanc. Blanc Argent, but only among friends. To everyone else, I'm Silver." Extending a hand, he continued. "Nice to meet you without the, you know, criminal element."
Ruby giggled slightly at Blanc's easygoing humor, then glanced at her sister. Looking between the two, she made introductions. "Blanc, this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long. Sis, this is Blanc. He helped me out with Roman. You know, at the Dust store?"
Yang's eyes lit up with recognition, and she enthusiastically seized Blanc's hand in a bone-shattering grip, shaking it to death. "Oh, so you're the swordsman she's been talking about! It's great to meet you in person; I mean, you helped my sister get accepted early!"
Silver winced, suddenly wishing for Ruby's mouse-killing voice again. In a pained voice, he managed to say, "It's a real pleasure to meet you, now may I please have my hand back before all the broken bits are ground into dust?" He added a smile to lessen the bite of the words.
"Oh! Sorry!" Behind her sister, Ruby shook her head at their antics.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!"
The voice was disembodied, and came from the news screen. The three turned to find a familiar Huntress staring out at them. Blanc narrowed his eyes in dislike, and began to pull out and put on his armor. He still disliked the woman, for some reason. "Who is she, even? Please... Tell me she's not in charge of room assignments!"
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."
Blanc pulled on the last piece of his armor, and was once again Silver. "What an ironic name."
"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
"Blah blah blah, so on and so forth," Silver concluded, staring out the window beside Ruby. He didn't know why, but it felt normal to be around the small scythe-fighter.
"Oh, wow! Look! You can see Signal from up here!" Silver half-turned to look at the cheerful girl beside him. She was looking down at the town below, nose almost pressed to the glass. "I guess home isn't too far after all."
Silver smiled slightly. "Home is where you fit in, Ruby. On that basis alone, I'm never home."
"Spoilsport."
"Optimist."
A retching sound from the front of the airship caught their attention, drawing them away from their lighthearted banter. A young man with blond hair was shaking violently, and began to run towards the restrooms. Silver shrugged, ignoring him past saying, "He's just overflowing with good ideas, isn't he?"
"Blanc! You're horrible! And -Oh, Yang, gross! You've got puke on your shoe!"
Silver grinned as he stood back and watched the sisters' antics. If this was what life at Beacon would be like, he decided, he could live with it.
A/N: Whew! That was painful!