DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the world of "RWBY", which is owned by Rooster Teeth. All the characters in this story are created and owned by Rooster Teeth and I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Remnant. I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story. Please support the official release.
The story begins with our hero, Jaune Arc, on his way to the school of his dreams, Beacon academy. The journey had been long but thankfully without major complications. Grimm weren't interested in parties of one, not enough negativity to go around. He had been travelling by motorcycle for a week now and the city of Vale was a welcome sight.
"We made it, girl," he said giving his bike a pat.
Llamrei, named for his great-great-grandfather's legendary warhorse. The times had changed but the traditions remained and every knight needed a noble steed to take him into battle. His had been a gift from his father for his 14th birthday. It had a matte white finish with gold trims and the family crest on the fairing. His mother hadn't been too thrilled about the gift but there wasn't anything she could do about it and his father swelled with pride over his incredible gifting intuition.
The pleasant memory tugged his lips into a smile. He wondered what his family was up to. Did they miss him already? Were they worried?
Without a doubt but crossing the wilderness meant going through areas lacking CCT coverage. There simply hadn't been the opportunity to inform them of his progress. He could already picture their thrilled expressions knowing he had arrived safely. He revved his bike and headed on towards Beacon.
After fighting through the rush hour traffic he finally arrived at the school grounds. He removed his helmet to free his blonde mane and get an up-close view of the academy. His father, his grandfather and every Arc before him had all attended Beacon. It was now his turn to write his own tales of heroism.
Looking towards the horizon he spotted a tiny spec, an airship, heading this way. He could feel his stomach turning just thinking about flying here. His mother argued that it was the safest way to travel and she was right but he couldn't risk a repeat of last time, the incident still haunted him to this day.
With his future classmates approaching he had plenty of time to park Llamrei and slip into something more comfortable. The choice fell on a white hoodie with two yellow arcs embroidered across the chest and a pair of worn blue denim pants. For his combat gear he decided on black, hard plastic shin and knee guards and for his upper body a set of gilded shoulder and elbow pads.
Ok, so maybe he didn't exactly look the part of the fairytale knight but it didn't matter. Victory often lie in deceit and underestimating him in battle would be a grave mistake. Besides, full plate armors were heavy and with his aura reserves and semblance they didn't add much to the table.
The kevlar reinforced hard plastic was light and durable and as for the gilded armor pieces, those served a different purpose... they complimented his family crest and tied the look together. All in the name of vanity.
Lastly, his weapons. He strapped the family heirloom, Crocea Mors, to his hip and his second sword, Ferrum Bellum, to his back. He had gone through a wide variety of weapons, both real and improvised, but somehow he had always found himself drawn back to the humble longsword. For the longest part of his life that honor had belonged solely to Crocea but apparently forging your own weapon was an important step in becoming a huntsman, or so his father had claimed.
Enter Ferrum Bellum, Crocea's identical twin. He had gotten the idea from his many sparrs. There had been situations where he had resorted to using his scabbard without shifting it into its shield mode. It allowed him to parry his opponents attacks and strike in a moment's notice. It was basically a tourney sword, so why not have an actual one in its stead. The only difference between the two had been some minor modifications to the scabbard. Modifications that he of course brought over to the original as well. Something his grandfather hadn't been too thrilled about.
After gearing up he dropped off the rest of his belongings at the designated area and proceeded to the courtyard. He had an hour to burn before the headmaster would address all the newcomers and more importantly, inform them off their sleeping arrangements. He found it strange that the dorms had not been prepared for their arrival but his thoughts were cut short when an explosion rang across the school grounds.
His ancestral blade had already been drawn half way out of its sheath and his body turned in the direction of the sound. He spotted two girls arguing with a third one joining the fight. Thankfully, it stayed verbal and ended as quickly as it began. The girl that had been at the center of the dispute, the one dressed in red and black, fell flat on her back. He decided to go over and help her out.
She looked like she could use a break.
"Hey... I'm Jaune."
"Ruby," she took his hand to get back up.
He immediately noticed her silver eyes. He had never seen such a trait before. A couple of folktales had mentioned them in passing but his imagination hadn't done them justice. They were a beautiful sight to behold.
"So, I didn't see you on the airship, are you a student here?" asked the girl.
"Yeah, I mean, I wasn't… it's actually a bit of a story."
She tilted her head, "Care to share?"
"I have motion sickness."
"That doesn't sound that bad."
"It is, I can't travel by air without losing my lunch. When I was younger, there was this school field trip where I threw up on the teacher. Everybody called me Vomit Boy after that."
She giggled at the story, "Vomit Boy, I'll have to remember that one."
He went pale, "Please don't."
She laughed at his reaction.
"Well, then I'll call you crater face."
"Hey, that explosion was an accident."
He narrowed his eyes at the girl, "Okay, so no stupid nicknames. Deal?"
"Deal…"
They shared a brief smile before an awkward silence fell between them. Ruby was the first to break it.
"So I got this thing," she said and unveiled her weapon.
"Whoa, is that scythe?"
"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle."
"Impressive."
"So what've you got?"
"I've got these swords," he drew Crocea Mors from his hip but only pointed at his second blade with his other hand. Drawing from the back was difficult but it made carrying the 2 swords a lot easier. He was sure his new acquaintance wouldn't mind. The swords looked identical, anyway.
"Ooh!"
He then transformed the empty scabbard, "I've got this shield too."
"Wow"
Putting the two together he showed off their final form, "And when I really want to put the hurt on my opponent, a two-hander."
"So what do they do?" the reaper asked.
"They, don't do anything, they're just weapons."
She gasped at the statement and started comforting her scythe, "Don't listen to him, Crescent Rose, he doesn't understand what we have."
He cleared his throat to get her attention, "What I meant was that on their own, they're just weapons and I'm just a guy but when we're together, my sword and I, there's this connection. I can't explain it but it's like my sword is a part of me. My aura protects it from harm and it in turn lends me its strength. We draw from each other and achieve things neither of us could otherwise do on our own."
"You do understand," whispered Ruby before shaking herself out of her daze, "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so... I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it."
"Wait, you made that?" he was astonished. He could barely follow sheer complexity of it. A collapsing blade as well as a functional firearm. It truly was a work of art.
"Everybody at Signal forges their own weapon."
"You forged it?"
"Yup!"
"Furnace, hammer and anvil?"
"I mean… I designed her… and had the parts ordered… I guess the 3D printer did most of the work... but I assembled everything all by myself and sharpened her afterwards."
"It's okay, it's still one of the coolest weapons I've ever seen. Mine can't really compare. Crocea Mors is a hand-me-down and Ferrum Bellum is entirely based off its design. I didn't bother with any sort of personal touch other than the two-handed mode. Truth is, it already felt perfect the way it was. I didn't have the heart to change it."
"Well, not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."
"Thanks."
"So how come you're all alone? Don't you have any friends you'd rather be with?"
"No, none of my friends came to Beacon because I didn't go to a combat school. I never received any formal education. My father and grandfather trained me since I was 6. You'd think they'd go easy on me cause we're family but those two must've been the strictest teachers in all of Sanus."
"I can relate, it was the same with me and my uncle..." she started looking around, "hey, where are we going?"
Only now did it dawn on him that they had been walking for the duration of their little chat, "No idea… I think the garages are somewhere in that direction… or was it there… maybe there's a directory somewhere," he stopped his babbling when his eyes landed on Ruby who was struggling to keep back her laughter.
"You don't know either, do you?"
"Nope"
He sighed in frustration but Ruby's good mood was infectious. He couldn't help but join her laugh at their situation.
