Outsiders Chapter 1, a rwby fanfic

Remnant...

A world, left fractured, incomplete, mere pieces without a fixed point to return. It is a world that is all but the remains of a forgotten history, of a time that man has long since forgotten. Yet, within that world there are Legends. Epics. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, 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.

...

IN THIS WORD, THERE IS NO SMALL, HONEST SOUL

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity." -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Outsiders

The roaring of the crowd was deafening to Yang Xiao Long's ears as she had her arms wrapped around the broad neck of a Beowulf, her lilac eyes burning red, and her golden her set ablaze. The black beast was thrashing around wildly, screeching and roaring as it tried to throw her off of it. It tried to scrape and claw at her limbs, but it couldn't reach her, nor could it throw her off of it. Her grip was that of a vice. It only grew tighter the more it struggled. The more the Grimm struggled, the closer it was to death.

"WHAT AN ASTOUNDING TURN OF EVENTS!" the colorful narrator boomed as the crowd continued to scream in a wild frenzy. "THE BEOWULF IS STRONG, BUT OUR COMPETATOR REFUSES TO LET GO! I DO BELIEVE SHE'S AIMING TO SNAP IT'S NECK! CAN SHE HOLD ON?!"

'God, do they ever shut up?' the girl thought. They weren't necessarily wrong, though. She was trying to break it's neck, stop it from moving. She already had to deal with an Ursa earlier, along with a Creep and a few Boartusks, but she already wasted enough time here. She wanted to finish this up quick. As she tightened her grip, she felt the Grimm become weaker. It was starting to lose the ability to breathe. It eventually stood up on it's hind legs, clawing away at her arms. Her Aura was already depleted, thus the claws cut deep into her flesh. She bit back a hiss of pain, and instead continued to apply pressure. It's strength waned from it's struggle, and began to fall back. Once she was on her feet, she used her superior strength to throw the Beowulf to the ground. She had it now. The Grimm realized this, and tried escape.

It was too late. With a swift tug, a loud *SNAP* echoed throughout the arena. The Grimm ceased it's movements. Silence settled as she loosed her grip, standing up to her full height, panting. Her eyes and hair remained in their state, while sweat fell from her body. As seconds ticked by, the Beowolf's body slowly began to break apart, dissolving into mist. Once it did, the crowd erupted into roaring cheers. Yang thrusted her fist into the air, a sign of declaring her victory.

"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! ONCE AGAIN, THE GRIMM FALL TO THE FEROCIOUS MIGHT OF THE DRAGON!" the narrator shouted in excitement as well. "HER AURA IS ALL BUT GONE, AND SHE'S TORE HER WAY THROUGH THE GAUNTLET! NOW, IT'S TIME FOR THE GRAND FINALE!" The crowd grew even more ecstatic. Yang, for her part, simply looked at the gate, where all of her enemies emerged from. She stepped back, and cracked her knuckles and shoulders. The tension had yet to leave her body. "THAT'S RIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S TIME FOR THE BE-ALL END-ALL! THIS WILL BE THE LITERAL BATTLE TO THE DEATH! ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE OUR REIGNING CHAMPION, THE DRAGON!"

Yang glared at the gate. She could hear the sound of an elevator door whirring up. They were on their way here.

"AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE BY FAR THE MOST PSYCHOTIC HOMOCIDAL MANIAC TO EVER WALK THE PLANET! HE'S KILLED GRIMM AND PEOPLE ALIKE! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GIVE IT UP FOR OUR CHALLENGER...!"

The gate opened.

"THEEEEEEEEEE RIIIIIPPEEEEER!"

As soon as the doors were open, a knife was sent flying, whistling through the air, aimed straight between the girl's eyes. Yang effortlessly dodged it, bobbing her head to the side. However, that was hardly the only projectile. More knives came flying with the intent of turning the blonde into a pin cushion. She dodged the incoming knives with ease, barely moving at all from her position. The number of knives thrown was quite staggering as she evaded them. One of them had nearly struck her face, leading to her grabbing it with her bare hand. The sharpened edge cut into her skin, causing blood to drip from her hand, and run down her arm. With a scowl of distaste, she threw the knife right back at the owner. It slipped back into the darkness. The crowd fell silent.

Seconds passed by. Three seconds. Five seconds. Eight. Thirteen.

Finally, her opponent emerged from the shadows. The one called Ripper was actually a Faunus, possessing dark red hair that fell down to his waist. His clothes were left in utter taters, looking more like rags than actual clothes. The top was nothing but ripped up cloth that hung by a thread from the look of it, and worn-out shorts he had on had several splatters of red, likely dried up blood. There were several scars on his body was well, most of which seemed to be from cuts, burns, or whiplashes. He looked to be in his late teens, probably close to the same age as her. He would have looked very cute, if not for the manic grin on his face, the deranged look on his eye, and the horrible burn on the left half of his face. Blood was dripping from his hands, creating splatters along the floor.

Yang winced. His hands were cut up, likely from his own knives. "Well..." she said slowly as she fell into her fighting stance. "Here's to a good fight, short stuff."

Ripper's only response was a mad laugh, flicking twin knives into hands from his belt, and charged straight at her, his grin toothy and sharp.

-scene break-

"You know the job, right?" came the point-blank question when Belladonna arrived.

The Forever Fall forest was beautiful this time of year, with the leaves resembling a bloody red color, slowly plucked from the branches by the wind, and dancing through the breeze. The view that was overlooking the entirety of the forest was even more beautiful, as it showed every tree spread out for as far as the eye could see. Down below, a train was slowly making its way towards it's destination, guided by the tracks.

A train that belonged to the Schnee Dust Corporation.

The amber-eyed girl nodded solemnly, as she held her weapon in her hand. "Yeah," she replied to her partner for the time being. "Take the cargo, and deliver it to the White Fang. It's...easy, as far as deliveries go."

"Right." Her partner in crime nodded. "The hard part is getting through the security they set on the train. Well...hard for those that aren't us, that is."

The cat faunus stared at the cargo train. Her grip tightened. If she could have it her way, she wouldn't be accepting this job...but right now, they needed supplies. The White Fang was offering supplies, and more, if she could complete this task with her cooperator. Plus, it was always good to have connections to people in high places. And her cooperator was certainly high up. Her cooperator was a young man, around his late teens to early twenties. He had red hair spiked backwards in a windswept fashion, the upper half of his face concealed by a half Grimm mask. He was garbed in a pair of black pants, black shoes with red soles, and a red dress shirt. Over the shirt was a black trench coat with a red interior and slit sleeves. A large emblem was on the back of his coat, depicting a white tulip design covered by a red rose design.

She knew who he was. Adam Taurus, one of the leaders of the White Fang. The right-hand man to Sienna Khan. You couldn't find any better source of connection that him. That was why she couldn't say no to this job. It was too much of an opportunity to let it slip away. They needed all the resources they could get!

Were this any other time, she would have refused...but she made the choice.

Family over others. She had to take care of and protect her family. No matter what it took.

"You ready?" Adam asked her. She gave a nod. "Alright...let's go."

The two jumped, heading for the Schnee Cargo.

-scene break-

Traje de Luchas.

It was the most high class, most well-known and darkest club one could possibly find in Vale. The flashing lights, the wild jazzy music, and the intensive guard detail, it was the one place criminals, drug dealers, murders, scumbags, corrupted business dealers, anyone who played around in the underworld could be found here.

Some came here to make deals. Some came here for the sake of fun. Some came here to relieve some stress. Some came here to find some...pleasure.

Truly, it was the den of the darkest of Vale's underworld.

The band that performed, providing the musical entertainment for the guests, began to play once more, as the lights began to dim. Everyone in the room went quiet as they looked at the stage full of women, dressed in revealing red devil outfits with little tails and horns and covering something in the center of the stage. The band started playing a catchy tune and the dancers started bouncing their hips in time with the music.

("Ladies and gentlemen, we have a little change in performers tonight. We proudly introduce the Williams Orchestra, the Casey Trotters, and...Weiss!")

The dancers all pulled away and revealed a beautiful, petite young woman with long white hair going down her back. She was scantily dressed in a white and silver one piece outfit that only covered her body, without sleeves or legs to cover her limbs and a micro-skirt that barely went down below her hips. A pair of beautiful white wings, obviously fake, were pressing up against her back, rather uncomfortably she might add, and was pushed in front of a microphone as the music started picking up.

Weiss Schnee was left at the front of the stage as the dancers trotted around the stage with their constant kicking and moving. She looked back ahead at a very familiar sight, an audience blacked out by the intense light overhead leaving nothing but moving silhouettes. She sighed away from the mic as she resigned herself to the situation at hand. She couldn't escape without causing a scene and she wasn't going to be let go until this song was over. Well, it's just like all of the other times she's done a gig like this. When she was being watched like this...

It was time to blow them away.

She moved some hair out of her eyes before stepping up to the mic and taking hold of its stand as the girls danced behind her. She closed her eyes as the jazz music echoed...

"~I'm a country girl, I ain't seen a lot, but you came along and my heart went POP!~"

"~You took a little street cart through my heart, and an apple of love fell off my apple cart!~"

"~You looked at me, my heart began to pound, you weren't the sort of guy I thought would stick around, Hey but it don't have to be eternally; my bad, bad angel put the devil in me!~"

Weiss tapped her foot and subtly shook her hips as the dancers kicking their legs up high behind her, "~You put the devil in me~"

The regular customers and patrons of the club turned in their seats and gave their full attention to the new girl with the captivating voice and performance, whistling and clapping for the fresh breath of life she gave this place.

"~You lured me in with your cold grey eyes, you simple smile and your bewitching eyes; one and one and one is three, my bad bad angel...the devil and me!~"

"~You put the devil in me~"

"~So now my dear, I ain't the girl you knew~"

"~Cause the angel's got heaven, but I get you~"

"~And the tree of life grows tall you see~"

"~My bad, bad angel, you put the devil in me!~"

"~Oh, you put the devil in me!~"

"~You put the devil in me!~"

"~My bad, bad angel, you put the devil in me~"

The band let out one last long, loud chord before they went silent. The dancers all fell into place perfectly and Weiss ducked her head as the lights dimmed into darkness. The criminals and degenerates in the bar stood up and clapped, whistled, and pulled threw roses for the young performer. The white haired girl gave a soft sigh of relief. Another show done and over with.

'The things I do for love...' She thought in sorrow. She wasn't entirely sure how long it had been since they all met in the first place. She must have been...what? 17 now? Okay, that was sort of scary. She wasn't sure how old she was now, but then again, none of them ever really kept track of time. After all, everyday was just another day of trying to get by in a world like this. Everyone was doing what they did best; their own jobs to ensure they had what they needed. Yang fought in the underground arena, Blake accepted jobs in the White Fang, and she did small gigs in joints like this. She didn't really like it, to be honest. The disgusting looks the men gave her were vile. The only one she ever allowed to look at her that way was Ruby.

Also, just because she was a girl didn't mean she didn't know how to fight back. Case in point; the brawl that erupted not ten seconds after the song had ended. A group of thugs busted into the room, all armed with guns or scimitars or batons and whatnot. They were all dressed in black suits and bowler hats, along with red sunglasses. The one leading the group, however, was dressed differently than them. He bore slanted, dark-green eyes and bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye. He wore a black bowler hat with a red band and a small feather, and black eyeliner. He was dressed in a red-lined white suit and a small gray scarf, complete with black gloves with rounded sleeves, as well as long black pants and black shoes. In his hand was a black cane with red highlights.

"Hey!" one of the guests, a drug dealer named Viridian she recalled from small conversations she heard from the back rooms, stood up from his chair and waltzed up to the group. "What the hell do you think you're-"

*bang!*

All it took was for the orange-haired man to raise his hand up to Viridian's forehead, and a resounding "bang" echoed. The drug dealer fell back, a giant hole right in his forehead. All of the guests screamed, sans those who were in agreement. Meanwhile, the man grinned. "...you have no idea how long I've waited to do that to your smug look, Vir," he said with satisfaction before he looked around. "And I see just about every big name in Vale's nice underground is present and accounted for!" The audience did not really heed his words as they were all busy scrambling for cover to trying to get out through the other exits. Their behavior made the mobster sigh in frustration. "Gee...just when you want people to listen to you...they up and go make all hell break loose."

It was irony, she thought, that she completely understood someone like him. The man stood up on top of a table, aimed his cane upward, and fired off another round.

The room went deathly silent.

"There," he smirked. "MUCH better."

Weiss couldn't help but sweatdrop. At least he knows how to calm a crowd. The mobster then jumped down from the table. "Now then...let us get down to business... For those of you who don't know me, the name's Roman Torchwick. Remember the name, folks, because you'll all be hearing it again soon enough!" the mobster declared as he strutted about the room while his mooks kept every other thug in place. Most of the people here were high profile criminals, and so their security detail should be very trained to deal with them...but the guys in the black suits? They were tougher. Weiss didn't know who they were, but she recognized the orange-haired mobster, Roman Torchwick. He was the man responsible for so many Dust robberies over the years. She doubted anyone didn't know his name, given how many times he's successfully stolen large quantities of money and dust. Weiss bit the inside of her mouth. She should have known about him beforehand. Why was he here? That question was soon answered as he continued his speech. "You see, ladies and gents, I'm going to keep this as nice, quick, and as SIMPLE as possible, so you idiots can understand."

He then gestured to one of his goons, who nodded and waltzed right up to him.

"You see," Roman smiled. "As of right now...I'm taking over this joint."

With those five words, all hell broke loose. The goons he brought whipped out their weapons, ranging from firearms to red bladed swords. The guests became even more unnerved, while some of the detail tried to fight back. It didn't end well for them, as they were cut down or riddled with bullet holes. Soon, the majority of the security detail of Traje du Luchas was slaughtered, all for one act of disobedience. Those band and dancers screamed out with the guests, pedaling away while Weiss remained where she was, looking around. It was a rock, and a hard place, she realized. It was going to be hard trying to get past all of these goons.

"And there you have it," Roman smiled wickedly. "That, my friends, is what happens when you try and 'be the hero.' So, any more volunteers?" No one stepped up. "Good!" He then gestured to his men, who then began to stalk around the guests. "Now, I'm a very good man, you see. I'm not going to kill you people. Oh no, it would be a rather messy affair if I did that, so instead...I'll kindly ask you to hand over everything of value."

Some wanted to raise a stink, but blades were aimed at their throats. Soon, they began to comply. Gold, jewelry, briefcases with large sums of money, Dust, anything worth material value was thrown inside a burlap sack. The black clad men slowly made their rounds, gathering the money. Weiss, for a moment, felt greed take her over as she watched every sort of valuable being thrown into the sack. If she could steal at least one of those bags, their lien troubles wouldn't be any problem for a good long while. However, she soon banished the thought. If she tried to do that, she'd get herself killed...or worse. After all, it wasn't hard to miss those familiar, disgusting sneers on the men's faces as they drew close to the dancers on the stage, herself included.

"Damn, that's a fine chicka," one of the men said, loud enough for her. For the girl's part, she remained steadfast, and glared back in defiance. "Pretty young...what do you think a nice piece of ass like this is doing here?"

"Who cares?" his partner replied with a lecherous grin. "I'm loving the eye-candy."

She suppressed the urge to shudder and lash out in indignation, knowing that she could get killed. She settled for a glare instead. "Heehee, she's got a real stink-eye too!" one of them cackled, circling around her, his eyes roaming her body. "Goddamn, that looks like a tight ass...think she's a screamer?"

"Not much of a chest, though," the other remarked. Weiss felt her hands twitch. "But she's reeeeaally hot." He looked at his friend, smirking. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

His partner shrugged, smirking back at him. "Boss never said we weren't allowed to have fun on the job."

Weiss clenched her fists. The more she listened to their blather...the more she wanted to throttle them.

"Which do you prefer, front or back?"

"I'll take it up front," the man replied before moving closer to Weiss. "So what do you say, little angel baby? Feel up for some...fun?"

His hand went to her rear. As soon as his finger even touched her skin, Weiss' eyes went wide, livid with a burst of rage. In a split second, she grabbed the man's wrist, pulled him in, and pulled the silver dagger from it's hiding place, jamming it straight into his throat. Blood gushed from the open wound, and the gangster was left gagging as the red liquid gurgled in his throat. Without losing momentum, she rammed her knee into his private jewels, and kicked him away, down to the floor. His partner's eyes went wide, and tried to pull out his gun.

Weiss was faster. Her knife slashed at his hand, causing him to drop his firearm, and in a swift motion, charged straight forward. The blade went straight through his heart, killing him instantly. With a kick, he was down on the floor.

The commotion caught the attention of everyone. The guests stared at her with wide eyes, unable to believe what had just happened. The goons stopped their collection, and turned to find two of their comrades dead. Roman, who had been sitting down in his chair and relaxing, pulled the cigar out of his mouth, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Weiss, however, was still livid, as she rounded on the still shocked gangsters, and snarled. "Don't ever touch me again, you fucking pigs!"

She was angry. She had every right to be. No one sexually harasses her like that and gets away with it. The only person she ever allowed to touch her like that was Ruby, and no one else. Roman soon recomposed himself and let out a small grin. He slowly clapped from being impressed. "Well now...looks we have a fighter here." All it took was a snap of the fingers, and the goons were surrounding her. Weiss' icy blue eyes glared back at her. Roman stood behind them with a smug smirk. "So...think your a hero, do ya, snow white?"

"Hardly," she spat. "I only let one person touch me...and none of you are that person. Now, if you would be so kind..."

She slammed her foot on the ground. In response, a brilliant icy blue glyph danced beneath her feet. From the glyph came some kind of giant, garbed in glowing armor. As the light dispersed, it revealed silvery armor, with a giant sword in hand. The goons were shocked by this, and Roman's eyes went wide, the cigar dropping from his mouth.

"...get the fuck out of my way!"

-scene break-

Run.

Run fast.

Don't stop.

Faster, and faster.

Ruby Rose repeated that mantra as she dashed through the woods, the snow crunching beneath her feet. Her breath grew heavy with every step she took. But she couldn't stop now. This was bad...very, very bad. The request she took was supposed to have been easy. Just eliminate a few Beowolves roaming around near the edge of the city, shouldn't be too much trouble. However, no one had told her that there wasn't just Beowolves...no, there was freaking Ursa, a flock of Nevermores, and a freaking Death Stalker! Worse, because of the request, she hadn't packed much ammo for her scythe. Gah, if only she knew...she really needed to take Blake's advice, in that she needed to stop underestimating everything just because it sounded easy.

She'd definitely make a note of that...provided she survives this. After running for a good while, she came to a stop, now in a large clearing. At least now she had some space. She can make do with this. As she cleaned off her cloak, battered as it was from the elements, she heard the familiar sounds of cawing, growling, snarling. Her silvery-eyes narrowed, and took out her weapon of choice.

The item she carried unfolded until it became a giant mechanical scythe. Its blade was stained by the blood of Grimm...as well as the blood of humans...

Shortly after, familiar black beasts began to emerge from the forest. From the howls of Beowolves to the growls of Ursai to the hissing of King Taijutus to the cawing of Nevermores. Just about every type of Grimm found in these forests stood before her in a pack thirsting for blood. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "...note to self," she muttered as she prepared herself for a fight. "Make sure to have plenty of bullets."

An Alpha Beowolf let out a howl, and charged at her. The silver-eyed girl glared back at it, and charged forward, scythe tailing behind her, as were the rose petals that danced from her.

Then, she swung.

Once, there was a tale of four girls. Each with different backgrounds. Each with different hopes. Each with a seldom wish.

One was a little red girl, who aspired to become a hero, like the ones told in the books she was raised on.

One was a little white girl, born into a family of wealth, but constantly shadowed by the danger of the Faunus.

One was a fierce yellow girl, who wanted to find her mother, and look after her sister, the red girl.

One was a quiet black girl, who was ostracized for her heritage, and wanted to change the status quo.

They went about their lives, hoping to one day make their dreams come true. Perhaps, in the distant future, they would have achieved such heights of grandeur, guided by the beacon of light that paved the way for them, in a world under siege by the malevolent darkness.

But...that was not to be.

Tragedy struck each one of them, dashing their hopes and breaking apart the lives they once lived. They were alone in this world...until they found one another and banded together.

This is not a fairy tale, where four girls dreamed of becoming heroes.

This is not a fairy tale, where four girls journey to defend the light.

This is a fairy tale of four girls...who try to survive this bloody world of evolution.

-Chapter 1: Strays-

*Two Months Later*

The Trans Continental Railroad Station.

Unlike the aerial means of transportation, it was land-based, and far faster than using cars. A railroad system that spanned the four kingdoms respectively, traversing areas that were otherwise too harsh to travel, such as Grimm territory. To ensure the trains' safety, Huntsmen and Huntresses were assigned to guard it, though every now and then, cargo trains were moving back and forth. One such cargo train was on it's way to Vale, speeding towards the city. The Grimm who wandered paid little attention to it, as they found no source of life inside.

That wasn't quite true. One of the cars, which carried crates of food and materials, had four occupants. The occupants were four girls. They were all different, with the youngest being 15 years old.

The first was a a gray jacket on top of an orange tank top that bares her midriff. Her hair was done into a ponytail, which was long, colored blonde and becoming lighter in color at the tips and a small cowlick on top of her head. She had a pale complexion and lilac eyes. An emblem resembling a flaming flower sat on the sleeve. It was tattered and worn out, with several tears along the arms. The same could be said for her tank top, which had a few tears near the bottom. Completing her attire were gray cargo pants, which show the rim of her dark undergarments, and white sneakers. High on the left leg of her pants was a red shield-shaped patch with imagery of three Ursa masks. A little lower on the right leg of her pants was a patch of her emblem. Around her wrists were golden armbands which resembled vambraces, which had red accents.

The second was a girl with long white hair, pulled back in an off-center ponytail. Her skin was quite pale, and had icy blue eyes, which was emphasized by her eye color. Close to her left eye was a singular scar, which ran horizontally. Her attire was rather simple, which was a pale blue jacket with short sleeves, and a pure white blouse, along with a light blue skirt, which had a dark blue snowflake pattern on it on the right side. Much like the blonde, her jacket was slightly teared, but less so. She also wore transparent, black knee-high socks with another snowflake pattern, also colored light blue, along with pure white high heels. At her hip was a long rapier, with the hilt resembling a revolver, different colored vials set at where the chamber would be.

The third was a girl with a light complexion. She had long, wavy black hair, and her eyes were amber, complemented by light-purple eye shadow flaring backwards. Her eyes were slightly tilted upwards at the ends, giving her a somewhat catlike appearance. This was actually quite on the mark, as she was a Faunus, with black triangular ears with a light pink canal hidden behind a black bow. She wore a white v-neck zip-up shirt that was black along the bottom and had mid-length sleeves. Her belladonna flower emblem was printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt. She wore black pants that had a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg, and a black belt with them. Attached to the inner side of the belt was a black, somewhat curved, banner-like piece of fabric that hanged from the back and extends forward to her hips. On the underside of that was a thinner, longer, similarly-shaped purple piece of fabric. Her black high-heel boots came halfway up her calves and had a pair of belted straps across them. While the girls' jackets were worn and tattered, her clothes had a few stains on it, along with a tear around the chest and sleeves, as well as the pants, exposing bits of her skin. There were also a few scars revealed by those tears. Her weapon was resting on the wall next to her, resembling a large blade cased in a large sheathe.

The last of the girls was the youngest. She a young, silver-eyed girl dressed in a white sweater and black vest with red laces, along with a dark black skirt with tears along the hem, and a bright red cloak. The sleeves of the sweater were ripped, and the cloak was slightly worn out, having a few tears near the end and around the hood. Additionally, she wore black knee-high nylon socks and black shoes, which had dried mud stains on the soles. Her head was laying softly on the white-haired girl's lap, sleeping rather peacefully with a red rectangular object sitting in the holster on her hip.

The girls remained silent throughout the ride as they headed toward their destination. The eyes of those conscious were set in determined glares.

"Gah, my arm still hurts like hell..." Yang said in discomfort as she rubbed her arm. "You'd think Aura could do something about that."

"That's your own fault, Yang," Blake chastised. "I think you should be glad the wounds on your hands healed, though." True to her word, there were several bandages wrapped around her hands, primarily at the palms. "You should be more careful in the future. Underground fights always have Aura-piercing weapons lying around somewhere.

"Yeah...but you know what they say: The greater the risk, the greater the reward. And because of that, I was able to help us get by for quite a while."

Weiss sighed. "And we managed to scrape by a few supplies too," she said before frowning, folding her arms. "Although, are we sure we should be heading to Vale?"

"We can't risk Atlas," Blake stated. "It's too dangerous. Especially given what we've been doing lately. The only one of us that is 'technically' doing something legal is Ruby."

"Good point." Weiss sighed. Out of the four Kingdoms, the best bet they would have next is Vale...as Vacuo and Mistral are on the look out for them.

In the long years they've been traveling together, they've done a few things to warrant the attention of said kingdoms' authorities. Yang had participated in underground brawls, which usually end in bloody fights to the death, in order to both hone her abilities and obtain the lien needed to pay for living expenses. That, and a part of her enjoyed fighting...though her more guilty conscious lamented how the fights end with her opponent killed by her hand. Blake was much the same, but the need of her family was much greater. As a Faunus, she was eventually scouted by the White Fang, due to her previous jobs in thievery, though she didn't join, instead opting for accepting requests in exchange for supplies. Weiss had chosen to sing at rather shady places, and due to her appeal, she earned more than enough to pay for travel, living expenses, and food. However, half of the time, she was no longer able to perform at certain joints due to the patrons either being to handy, or just that infuriating. More often than not, it was them touching her.

No one touched her but Ruby.

Speaking of said girl, she contributed to the group by taking up Huntsmen missions. Mostly Grimm extermination. It is a way to hone her skills and fulfill a portion of her dream of becoming a Huntress like her mother was. Although...they knew that dream was no longer possible for her. After all that's happened to them, any chance of a normal life was out of the window.

All that was left...was to survive.

By any means necessary.

It was them against the world. The odds seemed stacked against them...but they had each other.

"Now that I think about it..." Blake closed her eyes. "How long has it been?"

Yang shrugged. "Dunno...we're 17 now, right?"

"I think so."

"Then...13 years now?"

"Really? Wow...it's been that long, huh...?"

"Mm..." The girls blinked, looking at Ruby, who shifted in her sleep as a smile formed on her face. "W-Weiss...can't...eat...anymore..."

The girls giggled softly at their youngest member's words. "How much you wanna bet she's dreaming about cookies?"

Blake smirked. "I think that's a given."

-scene break-

"...have you found them yet, Glynda?"

"No, I haven't...Ozpin, are you sure about this? Those girls are..."

"I am well aware..." He interjected. "However...I still believe they all possess the potential."

The blonde woman sighed, pinching the bridge. "I still think this is a bad idea," she said, voicing her concerns. "While I will admit, that they have suffered great hardship...they're dangerous. Yang Xiao Long participates in illegal fights that always end with her opponent dead, and as for Blake Belladonna..."

"They are simply doing whatever they can to survive," the Headmaster of Beacon replied. "Besides...I believe we out it both Summer and Taiyang to look after them. However, whether or not Jacques wants his daughter back is up for debate."

The female instructor remained silent. She knew the relationship between Weiss and her father was...to put in the nicest manner possible, strained to the point of irreparably fractured. Ever since the day Weiss Schnee was kidnapped, and somehow managed to escape, Jacques had made no actual attempt to try and find her. True, he had hired investigators and Huntsmen to find his lost daughter, but to this day, he had made no attempt to take her back. He wasn't even commenting on the fact that she performed in shady clubs, sometimes with her in scantily-clad clothes.

Her older sister, Winter, had tried to find her, but to no avail. Nevertheless, she never gave up in looking for her little sister. If Glynda had to make an assumption...Winter seemed to be the only family member that genuinely cared about Weiss.

As for Blake Belladonna, she didn't know much about her. Her parents were killed, and was forced into slave labor before being released, thanks to the White Fang attacking the facility. Her life from there was a mystery, but she had taken up the job of being a thief somewhere along the way, and then came to accept requests from the White Fang, in exchange for supplies.

As for Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.. The latter's mother, Raven, disappeared after she was born. And Ruby's mother, Summer, and their father, Taiyang have been killed years ago. Their uncle, Qrow Branwen, tried gain custody of them them after hearing news of his teammates' demise. But by the time he made it to Patch, they were gone. He tried for years to look for them, but split between his duties as a Huntsman and his missions from Ozpin, his time searching on his own had been limited. He only hoped that they would cross paths during his missions.

In short, four girls had somehow come together, and traveled together...and when Ozpin learned of the troubles those girls got themselves into, he could honestly say that he was shocked beyond all belief. No child should go through what those girls have experienced for years. Fighting tooth and nail and committing crimes just to survive in this world.

Hopefully, they would be able to find a home here at Beacon...at least, that was his greatest wish.

"Have you..." Glynda looked down. "...informed Qrow?"

Ozpin sighed, eyes weary. "And what should I tell him, Glynda?" he asked her tiredly. "That his nieces are criminals? That Yang has killed people in order to get money to get by? That Ruby is hunting Grimm to make ends meat? That both of them are in constant danger?" Again, he sighed. "It has been a long time since I have found myself at a loss."

The professor didn't reply to that. She knew Ozpin had a point. Qrow would most definitely not take the news well. After all...how was he supposed to react, knowing that they had stained themselves in the blood of others?

-scene break-

"Urk...oh god...I think I'm gonna barf..." A young blonde male grunted as he leaned against the wall of the airship he was currently on. He had dark-blue eyes and his hair was rather messy. He wore a white chestplate and shoulder armor, and underneath the armor was a black hoodie with reddish-orange sleeves and an emblem hidden underneath the chestplate. He also had on blue pants with a white patch on the left knee, as well as sneakers with "left" and "right" written in black on the respective shoes' soles. Currently, he had a hand held over his mouth, his face slightly green.

He was trying to keep himself up on his feet, and trying to keep his stomach from blowing. Seriously...this was torture! How could people stand riding this thing?! He felt like he was about to blow chunks any second!

"Um..." a voice called out beside him. "Are you...alright?"

"He looks like he's gonna blow chunks!" a second voice, quite chipper he might add, squeaked. "Think he might barf all over the ship? Eeew, does that mean it's gonna stink?! Oh, wait! Maybe he might barf out rainbows! Like that girl in the comic I read! Do you barf rainbows?"

The first voice sighed. "...Nora?"

"Yes Ren?"

"Please stop bothering him."

The boy looked up, holding his mouth, to look at the two. The one with the seemingly boundless amount of energy was a girl around his age with short orange hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a short pink skirt, pink sneakers, and a pink blouse with a black collar. Her hands were garbed in pink fingerless gloves. A heart-shaped hole was present in the area between her collarbones. The one trying to calm her down was was a boy around their age with long black hair tied in a pony tail with a pink streak on the side and pink eyes. He was dressed in a pair of white martial arts pants, green slippers, and a green martial arts tunic with black and gold edging and pink cuffs.

"H-hey," the blonde greeted, albeit with some difficult. "S-sorry, but...I'm having a..."

The black-haired teen nodded in understanding, but presented a small bottle. "Here," he said. "It should help."

The blonde slowly took the bottle in his hands. "Th-thanks..." He unscrewed the cap and drank its contents. In a matter of minutes, he felt his churning stomach begin to settle down.

However, the aftertaste was...rather disgusting. He cringed when he felt the disturbing feeling touch his tongue, causing his face to crunch up. "Tastes yucky, huh?" the orange-haired girl asked with a frown. "I hate the yucky taste!" A second later, she grinned. "That's why I bring PANCAKES!"

"Don't mind Nora," he told him. "She's been like that for as long as I can remember." He extended a hand in greeting. "I'm Ren."

"Jaune," the blonde said, accepting the hand. "Nice to meet you. So...are you two heading to Beacon too?"

"We are." Ren nodded in confirmation. "Both of us got accepted after graduating from Raijin Academy."

"Raijin?"

"Yep!" Nora grinned. "It's AWESOME! You get to break people's legs!"

Ren sighed. "What Nora means to say is...it's an advanced combat school. I suppose the best way to describe is a step below academies like Beacon or Haven."

"Ah. So it's like a school built for preparing students for the big leagues?"

"I guess you can put it like that."

"How 'bout you, Jaune?" Nora asked. "What school you'd go to?"

"Ah...oh...um..." Jaune stuttered. "I, uh...I was at Glaive Academy for a while, but...family problems came up, so I was pulled out early."

He really didn't want to admit that he never graduated from a Combat School because his family pulled him out out of concern for his safety due to bullying issues. That and his sisters nearly murdering the bullies that used to torment him. But it only served to damper his confidence as he needed his sisters to stand up for him. He didn't like the idea of them standing up for him, but he understood where they were coming from. Back when they were younger, he often looked after the younger of his older sisters from bullies, thus becoming their target. He didn't mind it, honestly...but the bullies had left a few shiners, despite his large Aura reserves.

Then again...it didn't help that those days he was so exhausted from the fights that he ended up with utter exhaustion.

"I see," Ren nodded, deciding not to pry further, much to Jaune's relief. "So, how do you think Beacon will be?"

The knight chuckled nervously. "Dunno...but I'm sure it's gonna be tough."

"Sweeeeet~!" Nora cheered with a wide smile. "Oh I can barely wait! It's going to be SO AWESOME! We'll be together again, Ren, taking down every bully in the way! We're gonna break their legs!" she paused. "Well, not, TOGETHER together! I mean, your the top student, and I'm, well, me! Ooh, do you think they have pancakes? I hope they have pancakes! OH, WAIT! What about teams?! Are we gonna be in teams?! It would be so awesome if we ended up on the same team! B-but what if we don't?! Oh, WAIT! We can bribe the headmaster-no, wait, that wouldn't work! He has the school!"

The two stared back at her as she continued to ramble on at rapid pace, leaving the blonde blinking rapidly before looking at Ren. "...does she...do this often?"

"Sadly," Ren said. "Yes, she does."

-scene break-

"Whew~!" Yang whooped as they stepped out of the Vale Tram Station, stretching out her arms. "Finally! That was getting stuffy back there in that car!"

Blake nodded silently in agreement before looking at Ruby. "How are you feeling, Ruby?" she asked. "Still sleepy?"

"Y-yea..." the silver-eyed girl nodded, rubbing one of her eyes. "Still kind of sleepy."

"Well, try to hang in there." Weiss encouraged tenderly. "We'll find a place to rest, soon."

"Yeah," Yang nodded. "Although, speaking of finding somewhere to crash," she looked over at Blake, who already took out her Scroll. "How much money do we have left over?"

"Well, based on the amount of jobs we had the past month, in addition to your winnings, we have about two thousand Lien." Blake estimated.

Weiss hummed as she put a hand to her chin. "That's not too bad," she muttered. "We could find a cheap hotel around here somewhere."

"Sounds good to me," Yang nodded. "But, before that..."

A loud growl echoed around the girls.

"...let's get something to eat. I'm hungry!"

"Yeah...I am pretty famished too."

"Great!" the blonde grinned. "Let's go find ourselves a-"

"Not so fast, Yang!" Weiss snapped, looking at Blake. "Blake, do you think you can find us a good restaurant? One that ISN'T expensive?"

The black-haired girl nodded, smiling knowingly at Yang, who groaned. "Ugh...you guys still on that?"

"Yang, you nearly blew out all of the money we had for ONE meal at that place," the snowy-haired girl spat out. "Honestly! How can anyone even afford to dine at such a place?! It's ludicrous! The dishes were far too expensive!"

"Says the former heiress."

"Emphasis on former." Weiss countered. "They've long since abandoned me..."

Yang's eyes softened when she saw the hurt look on her face. They were fully aware of Weiss' upbringing. She was the second-eldest daughter of the Schnee Company, and later named Heiress when her older sister, Winter, had chosen to become a Huntress in Atlas Academy. After she managed to get away from her captors, she later learned that her father had made no actual efforts to find her. He sent out Huntsmen and detectives, but they were completely lackluster. He never actually TRIED. It was as if he was only using her kidnapping like propaganda to bolster his image.

And that didn't sit well with her. As her hand began to shake, a familiar small hand wrapped around hers. "It's okay," Ruby told her. "C'mon, let's just get something to eat. After all," Her smile grew wide. "Your not you when your hungry!"

"...yeah...you're probably right..."

"Alright, it's settled~" Yang grinned. "Blakey, let's find ourselves the best fast-food place in town!"

Hearing this, Weiss frowned. "What is it with you and fast-food?" she questioned. "Your going to get fat."

"Please! With all the fights I get into, I'll never get fat!"

"It still isn't healthy!"

Blake sighed. "I'll be going on ahead," she said, though her words were ignored, as the two girls were already into another argument about food. "Want to come with, Ruby?"

"Sure!" Ruby nodded. Soon, they departed, leaving the brawler and former heiress to themselves, and to their argument.

Unfortunately...none of them knew what awaited them in this city.

Strays: END

So...yeeeaaaaah, this is what I promised you guys from Colorless Memories. A darker retelling of RWBY, except our favorite team aren't in Beacon, they're either orphans or runaways, meaning we have some serious tragedy in their lives. Ruby and Yang's parents (sans Raven of course) died in a Grimm outbreak on Patch, Weiss was kidnapped by a group of people who wanted revenge on the Schnee Dust Corporation, but escaped. Blake's parents were killed by Anti-Faunus racist pigs and was thrown into slavery, until the White Fang attacked the slavers, leading to her escape. The four girls met while surviving out in the streets, and the rest is history, as they say. I'll be going more in-depth on that later on.

As for Jaune...has anyone heard of the Butterfly Effect? A single action can affect the outcome of a series of events. The girls wandering around the world trying to survive has changed Jaune's life considerably. He was enrolled in a combat school, but was pulled out because of bullying. He received home-schooling then, so he at least has more of a fighting chance when up against Cardin.

Also...some of you might have noticed that line about Ruby. I want to make this clear; this is not the same naive little girl who dreams naively of becoming a hero; this girl is a "survivor." Every one of them is. They have gone through so much shit to survive. Yang fights in the underground and killing her opponents for money, Weiss sings at shady businesses, Blake takes jobs from the White Fang, and Ruby takes on Grimm...and the occasional human being who dares to lay a finger on the people close to her. I want everyone who reads to understand...that NONE of these girls are the girls of Team RWBY you know of.

With that said...I hope you enjoyed this story. Shout out to Code-Emperor07, who helped me write this chapter. Couldn't have done it without ya, man.

Until next time, guys.