Chapter 1- Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt

Disclaimer- I do not own RWBY, that honor goes to Rooster Teeth. I just made the OC.

Also, shoutout to whoever made the story image for inspiring me to make this.

Vale

'It's a beautiful place to be. Not my favorite place, but still not as bad as Vacuo or Atlas. Not that I've actually been there, but from the people and pictures i've seen, they are not the most hospitable places to be.'

These are the thoughts currently going through a black cloaked figure's mind right now. The figure moved unseen through the street, passing civilians without attracting even a glance. Of course, they wouldn't see the figure even if they did glance. Not being seen is an important skill few realize. It allows one to get away with things others could not. As the figure moved like a shadow down the street, the number of people in the area drastically dropped. There was no time to ponder this as the reason for it was in plain sight. In front of a shop, appropriately named Dusk Till Dawn, was what could be described as a one-sided battle.

A red figure, obviously female, weaved through a group of thugs with practised grace. Her speed reminded the shadowy figure of itself, although significantly less refined. Of course, this didn't matter as each thug was taken down with one hit. The red girl, after dispatching the last thug landed just in front of a man with orange hair and a cane.

"You were worth every cent. Truly you were." muttered the man in a disappointed tone. He stepped forward, removing the cigar from his mouth and stubbed it out with his cane. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around…" he raised his cane, pointing it at the red girl like a gun. "I'm afraid THIS is where we part ways." He fired at the red girl.

The girl used the recoil from her scythe, a SCYTHE, to move out of the way before she was hit. The figure gained a look of curiosity. It had only seen one other scythe wielder before, and that was back in Mistral. By this time, the man who had fired was already half-way up the ladder. The Red girl saw him climb onto the roof and followed, using her weapons recoil as propellant. She was not going to let someone like him get away so easily.

The shadowy figure just watched, amused, and very curious. It slowly, at its own pace, slithered up the wall, as if it was ignoring gravity. As it neared the top, an explosion rang out, along with the roar of engines. It paused momentarily, wondering what it would see, before sliding over the edge of the roof.

What it saw was nothing short of amazing. Ice raining from the sky, fire bursting from the ground. It was certainly a spectacle. There was another girl now, or rather, another woman. As a bullhead, no doubt the source of the engine noise, flew away, the figure realized something. Small black and purple cape, blond hair, glasses, and a riding crop. This was not who it was looking for, but she could lead it to the person it was after.

"Your a Huntress…" the red girl spoke to the other woman with a tone of reverence. "Can I Have Your Autograph!" she pleaded with her silver eyes wide and-

Silver

This caused the figure to freeze. It was also the first time it got a proper look at the girl. Young, no older than 15. Black hair, tinted red towards the tips, and incredibly pale skin. This girl had many features in common with the shadow, but those eyes were what stood out the most. Silver, brimming with untapped power. Those eyes so much like its own. The blond woman grabbed the younger girl and dragged her away. Not wanted to lose them, the figure merged with their shadow, silently following them.

Later

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady." the blond woman curtly scolded. "You put yourself and others in great danger" the woman continued. "They started it!" the red one replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If it was up to me, you would be sent home with pat on the back…" the blond woman droned. At those words the red girls world looked so much brighter, only to come crashing down with the blonde's next words.

"...and a slap on the wrist" she said, before smacking her riding crop on the table in front of the young girl. The girl let out a small shriek of fear before the blond sighed. "But… there is someone here who would like to meet you." she said before moving over to allow…

There he was, the man described to the figure, right here. 'So, this is who he was talking about.' thought the figure. The man walked toward red, cookies and milk in hand, before greeting the girl. And what he said caused the figures eyes to widen in surprise.

"Ruby Rose" he greeted

Rose

The shadow lost itself in thought, trying to put the pieces together. It continued to do so until a certain word brought it back to reality.

"-Qrow!" said the red girl, Ruby. "He's a teacher at signal!" The figure was once again lost in thoughts, only this time, the pieces were already together.

An Unknown Time Ago

"Huuuh, I need a drink…" sighed a man currently removing his scythe from the back of a ursa. Said man had black/grey hair and wore a black and white dress shirt with the top buttons undone and a tattered red cape flowing behind him. He also had a light stubble along his jaw and had startling red eyes. The man had spent the last few hours slaughtering grimm and was ready for sleep. He wouldn't have minded so much if he hadn't ran out of booze awhile ago. He was far from home, but that was not a huge issue, he was always away. The issue was that he was in a despicable swampland west of Mistral. (Anybody see where this is going?)

The man kept trekking through the swamp until he came upon a small village he was looking for. "Heh, lets see what we can find." He continued inward, hoping to find a Inn where he could stay the night. As he walked the streets, the low-lifes nearby leered at him, but otherwise did nothing to impede his progress. They knew better than to mug a huntsman, especially one on a mission.

The man appeared to shake slightly, as if a shiver was crawling down his back. Or more likely, his instincts were telling him all was not well. He could not discern anything amiss, but remained tense and cautiously walked toward what looked like an inn. Even though his instincts told him to leave, he had to move forward, he needed information. And what better place to get information from than a bartender in a shady inn.

As he entered the inn, the smell of cheap booze and other indescribable odors assaulted his nostrils. He also noted that the place was crawling with more low-lifes, thugs, and even a few mercenary huntsman. They most likely were contracted by less than respectable people for less than respectable jobs.

His instincts flared, bigger than ever, and he scanned the room, trying to find the source. That's when he saw it. It was too late though. He slumped to the ground in defeat, slowly gazing up to look at the victor. She had brownish hair, yellow eyes, and her weapon-Oh her WEAPON- was the most sinister, powerful and attractive weapon ever devised. It was-

SLAP

He was smacked out of his stupor as the Inn-keeper, no doubt used to such things walked away, signaling one of the maid workers to tend to him. The man just grinned and let out a small chuckle before lifting himself off the floor. The maid lead him to a small table, then asked if he would like anything. "Yeah, If you have any booze, i'll take that, but if you can give me the…'special' treatment, that would be appreciated." he casually said while giving the maid a wink. She let out a faked giggle before nodding her head, and she could be heard slightly grumbling about lousy wages as she went away. He would have been content to get a room and sleep already or find information, but he was prevented from doing so.

His instincts were still warning him.

It was not as strong, but that slight uneasiness was still there. He trusted his instincts. The man glanced around the room, as if to examine it. It had an old school texture to it, as well as being lit by candles. However something caught his eye, but it was not because it was anything out of the usual. It was BECAUSE it was so normal that he noticed it. Sitting in one of the less well-lit corners, with its back to the wall, was a figure in a thick black cloak, covering its entire frame.

It seemed to blend in with the darkness, and he had to focus on it or it would disappear momentarily. With a small smirk, he hoisted himself out of his chair and made his way toward the figure. As he approached the shadowy corner, the background noise sort of… quieted out. It did not disappear, and it did not get softer. It was strange. The man reached the table and pulled a chair up, placing it backwards so he could lean on its back-rest. The figure only lifted its cloaked head slightly, as if questioning his motives.

"Hey." the man said casually, like he was seeing an old friend. "..." silence was the only response. The man was not deterred. "Sooo… what brings you into this lovely town?" he calmly asked. The figure briefly hummed, as if to say 'no reason'. The silence was not startling, it was the feeling this figure was giving off. It was not evil or bad, rather, it was a feeling of nothingness, but also…

The man knew this feeling, and he grinned at the realization. He used to have that feeling all the time, before Ozpin started sending him out into remnant in a search against their enemies. "You're bored aren't you?" the man questioned, a gleam in his eyes. "You're looking for a job that pays well, and involves a little fun?"

The figure lifted its head higher, its pale chin showing from underneath its cowl. It hummed again, in a contemplative manner, pondering what he said. The man put on a questioning expression. "Am I wrong?" The figure didn't answer. Instead it got up and started heading or the door. As it passed, the man quickly said "I'm Qrow, by the way, and if you're looking for some excitement, try heading over to Beacon academy. The headmaster, guy with grey hair and a green scarf, might have something for ya. Also, if you find a blond lady with a riding crop and a attitude problem, he's probably nearby"

Qrow normally didn't trust people like this, but the feeling that the figure gave off was too much like his own from before. Besides, Oz can use all the help he can get. The figure paused for a moment, before humming in acknowledgement. As the figure was about to move towards the exit, Qrow asked one more question.

"Hey, I never caught your name." he looked at the figure, noting that t tensed up for a moment, before relaxing and uttering one word.

"Eris" said a distinctly feminine tone, in a soft voice.

The figure then moved toward the door, exiting the inn. Qrow casually pulled out his scroll, typing and sending a quick message.

'Hey, I made a shady new friend, I want you to meet em'

Present

The figure hidden in the shadows was brought back to reality as it realized everybody but the headmaster has left. However, That was not what brought it out of its memory, it was the voice talking directly to it.

"Qrow told me to expect you. A shadow found in the dark corner." Eris was surprised to say the least. Very few could perceive her presence, fewer still could pinpoint her location. She slowly emerged from her shadowy form. The man merely raised his mug to drink from it.

"You know, usually there is an object creating a shadow…" He said, as if trying to imply something. Eris knew then how she was located. The blond left the room, but a shadowy blob remained were her shadow was. It would be easy for anybody with experience to notice it. Of course, she could have fully cloaked her presence if she tried, but hiding in another shadow is so much easier.

"I don't know anything about you, and this is hardly the place to get to know each other. Would you mind coming to my office at beacon sometime this week? We can sort out the formalities there." the headmaster said with a warm voice. "By the way, my name is Ozpin, a pleasure to meet you." he said while extending his hand to the imposing figure. The figure hesitated, before extend its own hand to shake his. However, what Ozpin was not expecting was the daintiness of the figures hand. It was easily smaller than his own, and had smooth pale skin, with no sign of battle on them.

Ozpin dropped his curiosity for now. "I sure we can make a beneficial partnership." he calmly stated in a friendly voice. The figure merely raised its head to meet his (It was deceptively short), and hummed in agreement. He only saw for but a brief moment, but Ozpin thought he saw a two flashes of silver from under its cowl.

The figure then leisurely existed the area, merging with the shadows once more, and darted down the street, leaving black rose petals that quickly faded away in its wake.

If you didn't get it, the story was a modified version of the one Qrow told Yang and Ruby.

Also, If you're having trouble imagining Eris's shadow form, it looks kinda like Darkrai's from the movie. (Pokemon)

The name also follows the RWBY theme of colors (sort of). Eris is a dwarf-planet, which means it's kinda like a moon, and it's always dark out when the moon shows, and Eris wears black and has a shadow semblance… so yeah. LOGIC