Prologue

Ember was tired, she was beyond tired, she was jetlagged, her legs and feet ached from walking through Patches woods, and the combined weight of her backpack and saw cleaver was starting to hurt her shoulders and hips. She pushed along the path regardless finally coming to a clearing with a small boarded up warehouse she shared with a friend.
Once inside she pulled off her combat clothes and undid the binder she made to keep her chest down before she flopped back onto the dusty old couch with a grunt, looking at her metal facemask engraved with large wolf-like teeth. It had been 4 months since she was last in Vail because of a certain bowler hat wearing cunt, Mistral to Vacuo and back again to meet with some of his 'friends' while he was preoccupied with bigger things here. All the while earning the name 'The Masked Hellbeast' from the mess I usually end up leaving behind.
Before she could slip into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness she felt the scroll in her pocket vibrate. She pulled it out with a smile, already knowing who it was.

{Hey Ember, Roman says we've got a meeting with some big shot tonight at ten.}
She rolled her eyes {No rest for the wicked eh? Hey where's Blaze, I was expecting her to put me on my ass the moment I walked in the door.}
{She's with me, she was getting antsy waiting around so I took her for a walk. Be back soon.}

Not even ten minutes later there was a knock at the door. Sliding from her position on the couch as quietly as possible with a metal arm she made her way over, collecting her revolver from the coffee table. Her body tensed up as she reached the door, ready to fill any poor fool that decided it would be a good idea to break it down with enough rounds to drop a Nevermore. But she relaxed when a pair of pink and brown eyes looked up at her through a crack in the boards covering the window. She undid the heavy lock and opened the door only to be floored by a small black blur, "Hey Blaze, missed you too." Blaze was a small shadow based dragon with glowing purple eyes. Neo just shook her head with a smile as she looked down at them, but Ember eventually got the cat-sized dragon up around her shoulders, and dramatically motioned for the other girl to come in.

This short ice cream themed girl was her only and closest friend and roommate, this was the closest thing they had to a home, to having a family.

She followed Neo back into the room before she stopped and looks up her, "What's up?" was all she was able to get out before the ice cream girl reached up and snatched the black wig off her head, revealing short pink and black hair and dark, wolf-like ears.
"That's better." Neo signs reaching up to ruffle the taller girls hair.
"Sorry, guess I forgot I was wearing it." She said as she pulled two half-glasses from one of the cabinets and filled them with whiskey.
"A quick drink and we'll go to this meeting," Ember said, turning to find a pair of concerned mismatched eyes staring up at her. Was she always this damn gorgeous? She shook the thoughts from her head focussing on the mute in front of her trying to get her attention by placing her hand on Embers forehead.

"You ok? You feel a bit warm." She signed still looking up with those brown and pink pools.
"Yeah just a bit tired, and you know what I say about a tired brain."
Neo rolls her eyes at this and pushes my face from hers and walks away. Ember places a hand on her heart to keep it from bursting out of her chest. She grabbed a bottle of iced coffee from the fridge and downed half before pouring one of the whiskeys in it.

"Thanks for coming along Summer, I don't trust anonymous tips like this, and I hate having to drag you away from the girls on game night." Qrow said, looking over at his teammate.
She just smiled and shook her head, "It's fine Qrow, we had to cancel tonight's activities. Yang's still getting things ready before going to Beacon, and Ruby's in town picking up some things for Crescent Rose. Besides, I could use a distraction from how old I'm getting." She said with a light laugh as she patted his shoulder.
Oz had called him back early to check out some tip about their little Maiden attacker. So now he was sitting behind some crates in a warehouse on the docks of Vail with his team leader.

"You sure he said ten o'clock tonight?" a muffled voice said. Summer started to draw her weapon but Qrow quickly put a hand on it, shaking his head.
Peaking around his corner of the crate he was able to make out two figures, one was dressed in a white and pink jacket with brown pants and had an umbrella resting on her shoulder.
The other figure was taller and wore an odd black hat that folded up on both sides of their head and a tattered black long coat with a dragon outlined on the back. They had something that looked similar to the hilt of Ozpin's cane and some pitch black, gruesome looking weapon with saw-like teeth hung from a holder on their back, something seemed familiar about them though.
It wasn't till they turned to address the woman beside them that he saw the blood-red scarf and eyes and the metal wolf mask that covered the bottom half of their face. He paled a little and ducked back behind the crate, "Is it the people we're here for?" Summer asked, her voice barely audible even to him.

Before he could give her an answer there was loud clank followed a thud from the crate, "Well well well, what do we have here?" Both Qrow and Summer looked up to find two glowing red eyes looming above them. They jump back, the huntsman kicking the crate as they did to put some distance between them and the masked person.
"Ya know, I never expected this shit from Torchwick." He exclaimed from his perch on the box, "Ok so a few of the deals he sent me to make went bad, but hiring someone else to take me out, that's a bit low even for his standards, don't you think Neo?" The girl, Neo apparently, just nodded wordlessly. "Thought so. Anyways, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say bandits or mercenaries?" He finished pointing his weapon at us, the serrated edges glinting in the moonlight.

"Wrong, we're Huntsmen." Summer exclaimed drawing her weapon.

This made the dark clothed mans shoulders drop as he lowered his weapon, "You have no idea who I am then, do you? Well, now I just feel silly."
"Oh, I know who you are." Qrow finally spoke up, "You're the Masked Hellbeast, the one who left several mangled messes throughout Mistral and Vacuo over the past couple of months." He drew his weapon, preparing to fight for his and Summers lives if necessary.
"Ah so my reputation does proceed me, I'm a little flattered, but more so impressed that you decided to hold your ground against me." He said as he pressed a button on the curved handle causing the serrated teeth to retract into the main blade. "Sadly my actions have painted me an unflattering color. They attacked first with intent to kill, I merely just acted in kind. Plus they where bandits and mercs, I refuse to kill anyone innocent."

"Then just come peacefully." Summer offered. Sorry dear, but I don't think it's going to be that easy.

"Ooh, tempting offer, but I'll have to decline. I still have to hunt down a certain ginger tonight and serve his ass to him on a silver plater." They ready themselves and the man just rolls his eyes, "Yeah kind of figured it would come to-" He was cut off as Qrow launched into him, but his attack was blocked by the cleaver-like blade as the previously twohanded weapon folded in half. He kept up with several of Qrows quick strikes before ducking and rolling off the crate in one swift and fluid movement. He brought the weapon back up in its two-handed form to block Qrows overhead strike. They held that long enough for Qrow to get a better look at what facial features he could see, but it struck him as odd they looked so young for someone with this level of experience. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Summer engaging Neo and forcing their fight out of the building before he was violently shoved backward.

The man he was fighting stood ready for him to attack again, even baiting him with a finger wag. Switching his sword into its scythe form charged the masked man, only to see his opponent draw a large revolver from inside his coat, the barrel separated into two parts as energy arched along it as he fired off three shots. Qrow dodged them, only then remembering where they were.
"Son of a-" two voices called out before being drowned out by the sound of a warehouse full of purified Schnee Dust Company products exploding.

Glynda was not in the best of moods, mainly from having to drag a young girl to the local police station and report the incident to Ozpin. It certainly wasn't made any better by the loud explosion noise that came from the docks.

Where Ospin had sent Qrow.

The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose, Why do I feel like this sort of thing's going to happen a lot more often.

They both stared in awe and horror at the remains of the building. The inferno blazing inside would have been beautiful if her only friend wasn't in there as well. The woman she had been fighting fell to her knees with a shocked expression, "Oh Dust, Qrow." Was all she could manage, but Neo was already making her way over to the collapsing structure.
"Hey wait, you can't it's too dangerous." The cloaked woman had gotten to her feet and was holding the girl back.
No, she isn't gone, I know she isn't. There was no way she would be killed by something as trivial as an explosion. A few tears made their way down her cheeks, she wanted to call out to her but all that came from her was silence.

One of the large doors came flying off and landed a few feet from them with who she guessed was Qrow laying on it clutching his stomach, the only evidence of him ever being in the fire was a few holes burnt into his cape and a missing part of an eyebrow. Neo looked up only to see Ember emerge from the inferno, facemask in one hand Midnight Stroll in the other, eyes glowing brighter than the flames behind her.
She would have looked like a total badass if she hadn't collapsed face first onto the pavement. Neo quickly checked her back for any injuries before flipping her over and doing the same to her front. Good, it's just exhaustion.
Her eyes opened a little revealing their usual shade of dark red. She reached up and wiped one of the tear trails away, "Give up on me so soon?" Neo shook her head and elbowed Ember in the stomach.

"Tell me, do you know who I am?"

"Tell me, do you use that line on every cute girl you interrogate?"

Ozpin couldn't help but shake his head at that, too much like her mother. It also didn't help that he had asked Ruby the same question. Well, best get right to it else I get to hear more of the infamous Victoria back sass. "I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy."
"And I'm Ember Victoria, Queen of all Hellhounds."
Ozpin just chuckles at this "That wouldn't surprise me honestly, given who your mother is."
Neo could fell her friend tense up at the mention of her mother, "Violet was a great huntress, strong, fearless, kind, and most of all she was a talented blacksmith. But enough about her for now," He lifted the saw cleaver up onto the table, "This is quite the dangerous weapon for a 17-year-old to be running around with. It was made to ignore a persons' aura, and it causes wounds that are almost impossible to heal with aura." Ozpin stated, getting both the mute and the Faunus to look at him with surprised looks, "Actually, it was created in a fairly odd town over the mountains, I believe it was called Yhar-" He was cut off by a fist slamming down on the metal table.

"Please get to why we're here Ozzy. If you're here to send us off to jail, send us already." Ember said, voice cold and even.
"Very well. Qrow, Summer, please come in." Qrow entered first standing to his right. Summer paused at the door talking to someone outside before taking her spot to his left. "I am a man who believes in second chances," Qrow hands him two folders with the two girls pictures on them, "in exchange for a cold cell, I've enrolled you two into Beacon Academy under a rehabilitation program. But due to your track records, the council has requested that I assign a guardian to help keep an eye on you. So Mr. Branwen and Mrs. Rose have volunteered to do so."

The news caught the two adolescents completely off guard as they looked at each other seemingly having a silent conversation. Ember turned back setting both hands on the table. "When do classes start?"

The walk back to the safehouse seemed longer than usual, mostly because they were sore and tired. There was a grumble and a string of curses from behind her, serving as a reminder that they have new housemate for the next two weeks.
"When you say out of the way you mean it," Qrow grumbled, trying not to trip on the roots that littered the old path. "So how long have you been using this safe house?" He asked as he pulled a flask from his pocket and put it to his lips.

"Ever since we ran from the orphanage, so almost 8 years," Ember answered causing the older man to choke, which had brought a smile to her face. Neo just looked up at her face, the face she had been missing for months. She took in every inch of it, not for the first time tonight; her pink hair with dark highlights no longer hidden under the black wig, her currently dark red eyes, the amused smile revealing a pair of sharp canines, the faint scar that ran down across her lips.
"What's up?" The shorter girl blinked a few times before realizing the question was directed at her. Ember was looking down at her now, an eyebrow raised. Neo just shook her head and looked forward picking up her pace to get ahead of the Faunus hoping she didn't notice how red her cheeks had got. She turned back to look at Qrow who just shrugged.

By the time they got back Neo had climbed up onto Embers back and was currently fast asleep. "Home sweet home," she says quietly, handing Qrow the key so he could open the door while she moved the girl on her back into a bridal carry. After ascending the spiral staircase to the loft area where they had set up their rooms and settled the ice cream girl into her hammock, she returned to the main living area with an arm full of blankets and pillows only to find the Huntsman already passed out on the couch.
With a sigh she threw a blanket over him, setting the pillow on the coffee table. He'll get it if he needs it. With that done she climbed back up to the loft and made her way to her bed pulling off her clothes and pulling on a black tank top and sweatpants before proceeding to flop down onto her bed and passing out immediately.

AN: Hey everyone sorry if this first chapters a bit of a mess, I'm trying to find a good perspective to write from. This is going to be an interesting mix of RWBY and Bloodborn, so please do stay tuned!