**The first step of a new journey is always the hardest to take. Will this journey be worth the endeavor? Do I have what it takes to see this to it's end? I shall try my best to persevere to whatever outcome...Please leave a comment telling me your thoughts, I welcome all opinions that are well-minded. Without further ado: please enjoy my first work of fiction.**

DISCLAIMER: The following is nonprofit, fan-based fiction. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (Rest in peace, Monty)

Legends of Remnant

Chapter One

Dark clouds veiled the sky that night as the storm loomed over the city of Vale. Lightning illuminated the city in brilliant flashes while thunder roared overhead as rain pour relentlessly from the clouds. The storm ensured no one would dare to step foot outside on a night such as this. None, that is, with the exception of five individuals. These five bravely trudged on through the woodland terrain just east of Vale against the violent winds, all of them completely soaked from the rain. But not even with the elements set against them would they be deterred from their path: for they were Huntsmen on a mission. Or rather, one of them was a fully-fledged Huntsmen, while the four younger members were only Huntresses-in-training, each dressed in the girl's uniform attire of Beacon Academy. Their mission was to locate a lone Beowolf reported to be roaming close to a nearby independent settlement and eliminate it. The settlement, a small community with a population numbering around fifty, wasn't located too far from Vale: an aircraft could have made it in less than thirty minutes. However, due to the geography of the area, there was no feasible landing space for an aircraft, which meant the Huntsman and his trainees would have to make there way there by foot. This didn't bother the veteran of the group in the least bit, as he was well accustomed to long travels out in the wild.

He was a man of average height and build with a head of messy grey hair and small, shaded spectacles over his brown eyes. He wore a dark green shirt underneath a black buttoned-up vest and black jacket over top, a scarf around his neck the same shade of green, and black pants that reached down to his black, mud-covered shoes. He carried a thin, black cane with a silver handle at his side, the handle sporting a thin, silver attachment coming off and up towards his hand, resembling that of a saber's guard. He walked a few paces ahead of the other four, his eyes scanning around the dark woods warily. Although he didn't make any indications outwardly, something was triggering his instincts. Even amidst the chaos of the storm, there was an underlying stillness that made him uneasy. Before he could ponder on this anomaly, though, a sudden yelp broke his concentration. Turning to look for the noise's source, he saw one of the four girls laying sprawled out in a puddle of mud, a terrified look of embarrassment on her face as her hazel colored eyes welled up with tears.

"You're so clumsy, Sienna..." sighed a small girl as she approached her mud-covered teammate, her hands placed on her hips. "Did it occur to you that we're on a hunting mission? Hunting. Meaning we need to be stealthy so as to not give away our location to our prey." She sighed again, indicating her growing frustration.

The girl, Sienna, hastily picked herself up, "I'm sorry, Azura, I didn't mean to...I must have tripped on something." she hastily explained as she tried to wipe the mud and tears from her face. She stood at 5'2", with medium length brown hair just barely reaching her shoulders, her bangs parted in the middle to either side and she had a short ponytail in the back. She also had an incredibly bushy tail that dipped down under her skirt and snaked up her back, curving out at the base of her neck in a perfect S shape. Although, her tail looked more like that of a wet dog thanks to the weather.

"Hmph! And here I thought the Faunus didn't have any trouble in the dark." Azura huffed as she glared up at Sienna, her arms now crossed over her less-than-ample chest. She was short, barely making it to 4'8", and had a short black bob cut, with her bangs sweeping off to the left.

"That's enough, Azura!" a stern faced blonde cut in, her arms crossing her rather ample chest, a black wand gripped in her right hand resting against her left shoulder. "You know that even a Faunus would have trouble seeing in a storm like this. Why must you always lash out at her?", her green eyes glaring from behind thin glasses as she towered over her petite teammate. This only further increased the agitation building up within Azura as she turned her sky blue eyes towards the tall blande, her hands now bunched into fists as her sides.

"Nobody asked her your opinion on the matter, Goodwitch!" she retorted angrily as a bright flash of lightning tore through the sky, followed shortly by a loud crack of thunder. "So just mind your own business!" Their eyes remained locked, neither giving an inch as the tension continued to rise, until the fourth member of the group broke the tension with a small fit of giggles.

"It's funny you should say that." she asked, idly attempting to wring some of the rain waiter from her, soaked medium length auburn hair. "You do know that Glynda is our duly appointed leader, right? So when anyone messes with her comrade, it is her business. You should try a little harder to control that short temper of yours." she grinned malevolently at the livid anger registering on Azura's face now, knowing how insecure her partner could be about her height.

"Would you like to try saying that again, Undine?" she challenged in a dangerous tone as her black gloved hand made it's way to a navy blue satchel hanging at her side.

"If you think you're up to it..." Undine's eyes narrowed as her grin widened and she reached for the wakizashi* strapped horizontally across her lower back.

"Enough!" Glynda interrupted, the stern authority of her tone catching the other two off guard. Her fierce gaze shifting from one girl to the other, disapproval etched onto her expression as she began her lecture. "This is our first official mission as Huntresses. While we may be here to shadow a professional Huntsman I will not have you two getting into it out here and making us look incompetent in front of Professor Ozpin!" Taking this as his queue, the Huntsman took a few steps towards them, clearing his throat as he rested his cane in front of him between both hands, striking a dignified pose of formality.

"Your leader is right: now is not the time to fight among yourselves, for there are far greater threats in our world that can only be overcome if we stand together. I know this hasn't been an easy adjustment for all of you, but the pairing process for which teams are assigned has been a long upheld tradition for the students who attend Beacon. You have each proven yourself as capable individuals just by being accepted, but that was just the first part to becoming a Huntress. It is vital that you learn to cooperate as a team, because the bonds your forge here at this school will impact the kind of Huntress you will become. So try to be mindful of how your partners might be feeling-" his gaze focused on Undine, who seemed unable to meet his gaze as her eyes remained focused on the ground beneath her feet, "and let go of any prejudices you may have: because you are all equasl as students of Beacon Academy." he finished with his gaze settling on Azura, who also averted her gaze from his.

He transitioned his gaze now to Sienna, who had still been trying to wipe the mud from her clothes, but gave up when she realized it was to no avail. "And do let your mistakes burden you: each lesson learned helps us grow as individuals. And believe me, I know a thing or two about making mistakes." he smiled at her and she smiled back, nodding her head slightly agreeing with his words. Ozpin straightened his back slightly, turning his gaze to the last member of the team.

"You four are students of Beacon, and the members of team GAUS*, and have some of the greatest potential I have seen, if I do say so myself. I have the utmost confidence you will learn to come together as the Huntresses you were meant to be. But for now...how about we take a brief respite out of this storm?" he then indicated what looked like the entrance to a cave embedded in a rocky outcrop by the hillside. It was only then that each of the four trainees realized how cold the rain had made them, and they all agreed on the shelter. They quickly made their way the entrance, Ozpin stopping briefly to gather a small bundle of sticks on the way.

The cave wasn't very tall, and most of them had to duck in order to enter, with the exception of Azura. But for what it lacked in height, it made up for in space, with each girl occupying a corner of the cave. Ozpin then set about setting up the bundle of sticks in the middle of the team. This caused the four girls to exchange confused looks between each other, before Azura decided to voice their thoughts.

"Umm, Professor? What exactly are those for?" she asked tentatively.

"For a fire, of course. I wouldn't want my students to catch a cold now, would I?" he answered, a smile forming about his features as he continued to set up the 'fire-pit'.

"But what good will a bunch of wet sticks do?" it was Undine who inquired this time.

"True, it would normally be difficult to start a fire with these. However, with this-" he produced a small, red crystal of Dust from his pocket, "I believe we shall has a nice fire to warm ourselves by." He placed the crystal in the center of the pile and rose up, remaining slouched to avoid hitting his head on the cave's ceiling. He then stamped his cane onto the crystal, shattering it and causing a multitude of sparks. The shards and sparks quickly ignited the pile of sticks, and to the surprise of the four girls, the fire held, and it's warmth filled the cave. Seeing the joy on their faces, Ozpin turned and made his way to the cave's entrance. He place one foot back out into the cold rain, and turned back to his underlings.

"You four just stay put here, I'm going to have a look around real quick." he then turned to face the night, but stopped as he heard Glynda call out to him.

"But, Professor, we're here to observe a professional Huntsmen in action...shouldn't we go with you?" she asked.

"Actually, I believe your instructions were to adhere to everything I say, Ms Goodwitch." He faced them once more with a smile. "And right now, I think it's best that the four of you rest here. You will have other field assignments, and opportunities to see a professional work. I won't be gone long." and once more, he turned to leave, saying one last thing over his shoulder before doing so. "Whatever you do, stay together at all times." and with that, he left.

Once the cave was no longer in sight, Ozpin broke into a mild jog, a serious expression on his face as he continued through the stormy night. He couldn't explain it, but something just didn't feel right. A sense of dread and danger, enigmatic in nature. He was relieved they had been fortunate enough to find that cave for his students, he did not want them to get caught in harm's way. He was close to their destination now, but the closer he got, the stronger the dark sensation grew. He saw the natural rock wall formation that served as the main shield from Grimm attacks. The top of the wall had been laid with spiked contraptions, and served to keep most Grimm out. It wasn't a perfect, impregnable defense, which is why Huntsmen were often called in for assistance, as well as for reassurance to the citizens. A Large metal door had been constructed where a gap in the wall was, serving as the door. Embedded into the rock was a small device that emitted a red light. Ozpin approached the device and produced his Scroll, holding it up to the red glow.A small chime sounded and the light changed from red to green, and shortly after the mechanism powering the door kicked on and opened the heavy door. As the door slowly opened, groning loudly all the while, moonlight began to break through the clouds and the rain lighten as the storm rolled on in the distance. As the doors finished opening, Ozpin stepped inside, but immediately halted as his eyes widened to what he saw.

Nothing could have prepared him for this.

Meanwhile

Back at the cave

The four members of team GAUS remained huddled around the fire in silence, with the exception of the storm overhead. However, the silence became more noticeable as the storm passed, until only the light patter of rain outside could barely be heard over the crackle of the fire. Was hugging her knees to her chest, glancing tentatively over at Sienna, whose head was nestled into her own knees. Her mind was repeating Ozpin's words over and over. What he said made sense to her, of course, but something also angered her about his lecture. She lowered her gaze and stared into the flames, her mind entangled with her emotions in conflict.

"Let go of my prejudices...but does Professor Ozpin even know what I-...No, how could he know! None of them do! And I'm not prejudice! It's not prejudice to hate those who took everything from you!" she argued to herself. "But...I suppose it IS prejudice to hold a grudge against someone who had nothing to do with it. I know she had nothing to do with it, but I've still scorned her just for being a Faunus... Mother would be ashamed of how I've been acting. I...I should apologize to her for my recent behavior."

She straightened herself up, and looked over to her comrade again. Her now dry, bushy tail curling up around her legs as she buried her face in it. She sat there perfectly still, her narrow shoulders gently rising with each breath of air. Azura couldn't help but think the Faunus girl may have drifted off into a slumber. Nevertheless, she decided she would try calling out to her.

"Sienna?", she asked softly, not wanting to actually disturb her if she really was asleep. However, to her surprise, Sienna's head shot straight up, a confused expression on her face.

"Yes?" she asked, a nervous tone in her voice.

"I just wanted...to apologize for my outburst earlier. It was not very mature of me to act the way I did." Azura blushed slightly when she noticed the surprised looks she was now receiving from her three teammates. She could feel their eyes on her, and it caused her to shift uncomfortably where she was sitting as she tried to not let it get to her.

"Oh...It's okay! Really! Anyone would be cranky if they were out hunting in a storm like that." She bashfully lowered her head, the tip of her tail rising up to partially hide the lower half of her face. "Besides, I did scream pretty loud when I tripped. Totally lame, right? I probably did scare off the Beowolf...so I totally get why you were angry."

"But that's not it...and it's not okay!" Azura said as she shuffled herself over to Sienna until she was only a couple feet away. She bowed her head slightly and closed her eyes. "I shouldn't have taken such a tone with a teammate. I'm sorry, Sienna." She felt a hand softly on her shoulder which caused her to look up. Sienna's eyes sparkled brightly with the light of the fire.

"I forgive you, Azura." she smiled, "Really, I do! So...don't worry yourself over it, okay? We're all a little stressed because this is our first field assignment And this weather didn't help at all!" she finished with a soft giggle, her tail having receded from her face and was now behind her in it's natural S-curved posture. This response gained her a blank stare from Azura, but only momentarily before she then smiled.

"Are you really so kind-hearted..." she mused, mostly to herself as she manuevered herself so she was seated next to her partner and continued to enjoy the warmth of the fire before them. Silence resumed, save for the light patter of rain outside. The peace was interupted once more, but this time is was Undine who spoke.

"Wow, I, for one, did not see that coming." she grinned at the cold look she got from Azura. "Kinda makes me feel like apologizing."

"What for, exactly?" Azura asked apprehensively.

"For picking on your height, I know it bothers you...I just like the rise I get from you." her grin persisted as Azura's face flushed slightly.

"Ahtch eh it- it does not!" she stammered. "I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet!"

"And you certainly haven't filled out either..." Undine muttered, the corners of her mouth curling up more mischievously.

"What was that?" Azura's eyes narrowed as she stared at her comrade who seemed about ready to lose herself to a fit of laughter.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" she quickly stifled her would-be laughter. "Anyways, it's more than that. It's...well...I had the wrong perception of you. I guess I never took the time to really get to know you these past few months. We were a team, but we weren't really a team. I thought you seemed like one of those entitled types, y'know? I kinda thought you were just giving Sienna here a hard time because she crushed your entrance exam scores. Guess I was judging a book by it's cover...so I'm sorry." as she finished her apology, her grin shifted into a genuine smile. However, this time it was Azura who gave her a smirk.

"Yea, I know...but she crushed yours too!" her eyes locked onto the auburn haired girl's, the fire radiating from their eyes was intensified by the competitive spark ignited in each of them.

"Okay, she did, so what? I still beat your score!" Undine's rebellious grin returned as she taunted the smaller girl.

"Barely! I say you got lucky. In a one on one fight would be another story all together." Azura averted her gaze, turning her nose up and to the right in a very high and mighty manner.

"You wanna go, shorty?" Undine was getting worked up now.

"If you think you're up to it, tomboy!" Azura returned her gaze to her rival, and the tension was unbearable.

"Tiny tits!" Undine jeered.

"Wha-?! How dare-" Azura's bewildered anger was interrupted as a clap that resounded loudly throughout the cave. It was Glynda, and she had a furious expression, like that of a mother who had lost all patience with a pair of squabbling siblings.

"That. Is. Quite. Enough! If you two want to fight that badly, I won't stop you. But it will not be while we are actively on duty. Once we get back to Beacon, I will personally consult Professor Porter tomorrow about arranging a sparring match between the two of you. In the meantime, I insist you two settle down before Professor Ozpin returns." and with that, she closed her eyes and retained silence. However, Undine was bubbling with excitement. She looked ready to burst.

"Aww yeah! It's on now! Shorty: you're going down!" there was a wild spark in her eyes and she stared triumphantly at her partner. But Azura was unphased.

"Is that right, Undine? Because I have news for you: the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Azura rose up from her seat and extended her arm straight out to Undine, pointing at her with her index finger. "So prepare to fall"

"Really? That's all you got?...That was...pretty lame." Undine feigned a sad expression on her face. "I mean, I don't think I want to fight anymore...way to kill the mood."

"What? No it wasn't." Azura protested.

"Actually, I think I'll agree with Undine on this. That was kind of lame. " Glynda chimed in, surprising the other three with her response. However, her postured remained the same: eyes closed and arms folded across her chest as she rested against her side of the cave's wall.

"Well what would you have said then?" Azura challenged, her pride slightly bruised by the insult of being labeled 'lame'.

"I'm not one for idle threats. When someone challenges me, their defeat is certain." her calm, yet stern expression remained still.

"Well I would have said something like 'I may be short, but you'll be looking up at me after I kick your ass to the ground, bitch' or...um..." All eyes were wide with surprise and turned to Sienna, who hugged her face closer to her knees, shyness overtaking her once more. "...or something..." she whispered timidly.

After a few moments of stunned silence, they broke out in laughter. Even Sienna gave a big smile as she giggled softly. As the laughter slowly resided, her smile remained and her eyes wandered to each of her teammates. A joy was beginning to bubble to her surface, a joy she had not felt in a while, it warmed her from the inside out more than the fire in their cave did.

"I'm really happy to be on this team!" she sighed happily. "I'll admit, I was really nervous we weren't going to work well together, and we could probably still improve on our team work a bit-" a murmured chorus of "mmhmm"s made that statement a unanimous decision, "but I'm not worried anymore! I think this is, truly, the start of something great. I'm so happy to be on a team with all of you." a few droplets of happy tears glided down her face. Her three teammates smiled at her, and her smiled at them widened even more.

The team resorted to resting in silence after that as the minutes ticked by. But Ozpin had not returned yet. The minutes droned on, and the light rain outside gave way to a clear sky filled with stars. The air was still, with only the crackle of the fire to disrupt the silence. But even the flames began to die down as an hour passed by ever so slowly. And still, Ozpin had not returned, and an uncertain atmosphere began to settle on the four Huntresses.

"I wonder what's taking Professor Ozpin so long...Do you think we should...maybe...go make sure he's okay." Sienna asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder and looked to see Azura was smiling at her.

"I wouldn't worry about him. He's a professional Huntsmen, not to mention one of the best in the four kingdoms." she said, giving Sienna a light pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah! Old Oz is awesome. I've heard some stories about him, he's like a super Huntsmen or something!" Undine chimed in, reassuring her partner.

"He's a legend..." Glynda said softly, the admiration in her tone making it sound as though her thoughts were far away as she idly stared as the remaining embers of their fire.

"Whoa, Glynda...Are you crushing on the Professor?" Undine snickered Glynda gave her a very unamused look.

"Of course not." she said flatly, "But I do respect the man. He's wise, talented, and a great Huntsmen. His philosophy and the passion with which he follows his beliefs is admirable. It's no wonder Headmaster Rubick plans to pass the title on to him when he retires this year, there is no one better suited for the job." she looked up from the embers and was immediately puzzled by the sly grins she was getting from her teammates.

"Yea, you're totally crushing on the Professor, Goodwitch."

"Definitely crushing, big time."

"A forbidden romance never fated to be, how romantic!"

Glynda shot them a very annoyed look before muttering "You're all so immature..."

The three girls giggled about the uncomfortable position they had just put there stern leader in. But as the light from the dying embers diminished, and the cool of the night began to settle into the cave once more, Sienna couldn't help but voice a thought that was secretly shared by all of them.

"I hope he comes back soon..."

End of chapter

*Notes*

*For any who might not know, a wakizashi is, essentially, a shorter katana. Like a samurai short sword...if my knowlege isn't mistaken.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a scholar. Just a nincompoop who believes too much of what he reads on the internet.

*Team GAUS is pronounced Gauss...if that wasn't obvious.

**And so the first step in this journey has been made, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm a big RWBY fan, and I really wanted to try writing something to give back to the community, since many of you have written some marvelous stories that I have enjoyed immensely. This story's concept I've had has been stuck up in my head for so long, I thought I could breeze it out, effortlessly.. but once I sat down to write it: the block hit and scenes I saw in my head I couldn't grasp the words to paint with. I really wanted to have this out sooner, but decided to take some time and polish it. I hope I didn't droll on too much.

So please leave a review for me, if you've the time. Follow if you liked it enough to want more. But in the very least, I hope to receive a couple reviews, if it's not asking too much. Love it, hate it, somewhere in between? You can feel however you like, but please, if you can, just tell me why you love/like/don't/hate it. I won't claim to be a fantastic writer, in fact I worry I may had dribbled on too long.

Lastly, I apologize for all the OCs in this...but there will be more. There aren't a whole lot of details concerning the events prior to the show's beginning, so I let my noodle conjure up a few. While none of this is or ever will be canon (unless I'm unconsciously a psychic...pfft, as if!) I do want this to coincide with the canon of the show, or in the very least I shall try to not contradict the canon.

...I lied, ONE MORE THING: I want to update regularly, but I'm an irregular guy with irregular work hours, and regular writer's block/taking too damn long with polishing. I shall try to not keep anyone wanting more waiting for too long, but I don't want to rush out trash. I hope you understand. Have a good day/night, and thanks again for reading.

...Lied again...I promise from now on, that the notes in front of and ending the chapters WILL be shorter. That is all. Once again: thanks for reading.