RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and Monty Oum.


Chapter 1:

Welcome to Vale

Two weeks ago…

"Move it people!" the armored man growled into his transmitter, "We're on a tight schedule!"

"Unless this mech can carry more than one crate Halley" Jacob answered back, "we'll be stuck at moving one container at a time!" There a dull metallic thud as the crate was deposited on the concrete.

The man called Halley checked his watch. They only had a few minutes left to remove and load everything on to the waiting bullheads outside of the warehouse.

"Roof, status?"

"Scope's clean, nothing going on up here man." Came the reply. "Seriously? Are you going to check in every minute or what?"

"I'm just being careful!" Halley retorted.

He rubbed his head for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. This was the strangest job he'd ever had as a mercenary. Their employer had contacted them months ago for a job that would be the first among a series of heists. At first everything went smoothly. The early ones were no-brainers, grab a few dust crystals, fuel, and even fabric materials… And then everything changed. The targets became increasingly harder and put them at risk with open conflict with their targets on more than one occasion. Like this one.

The Schnee Dust Company was a household name, often hailed as the premier dust company in the world. Based in the Kingdom of Atlas, but having branches in all of the kingdoms and most of the outlying towns, to say its reach stretched far and wide was an understatement. Their revenue came from selling everything from car parts to military-grade Dust and aggressive marketing. However, what was less known about the company was how far it went to elevate itself or its secret deals with the military of Atlas. Aside from brutally, though not openly, putting down its competitors on the market, media critics and even activists, the company also developed and manufactured, apart from existing military hardware, prototype weapons.

For security reasons, the weapons themselves were never built and delivered to the customer. Instead, the materials were shipped and manufactured at some secret on-site industrial complex, likely guarded by trained professionals or even military personnel.

That's what this is… Halley thought. Our client is probably some up and coming competitor who thinks he has one too many balls to spare.

"What is taking so long?" A disembodied voice asked over the comm frequency.

"Nothing, Mr. Hood" Halley reassured his client's agent. Voice distorter, probably a false name too. "There have been no complications; we should finish slightly ahead of schedule."

"Good. Good." Came the reply. "My employer has found your service satisfactory, and has arranged a fitting reward for your services."

There was a click, signaling the end of conversation.

Halley's relief quickly evaporated when he heard a metallic screech. One of the cargo containers slipped from the mech carrying it, resulting in its door opening.

He signaled the operator to cut his comms. After he complied, Halley checked the contents to see if there was any damage.

"Close it up," He ordered, "bring it outside and act like nothing happened."

Halley exhaled as the mech moved away.

Droids.

Not the latest model, but with firepower good enough for anyone who could afford it. What made it unusual was that the manifest said this warehouse only had parts to manufacture droids, not fully built units. Halley smiled to himself as he reactivated his comms. It looked like his hunch about his mysterious employer's identity was right after all.

Minutes later the warehouse had been emptied of the cargo listed. Four unmarked bullheads hovered like fat insects, already locking their cargo clamps onto the containers. A fifth bullhead was curiously devoid of any such mechanism.

The agent was waiting outside monitoring their progress. He noticed Halley approaching him.

"Your payment is in there." The agent said without preamble, indicating the fifth bullhead. "Plus a bonus my employer saw fit to give you. We'll be in touch"

With that, the agent walked towards the last bullhead and boarded it via its lowered side winch.

"Hey! Check this out Halley!" Jacob called as the airships flew away.

For the second time that night Halley was surprised. Inside the bullhead left behind was a large amount of weapons and military gear.

"What about the money?" Halley asked amidst the cheers and congratulatory pats.

Friendly jeers and laughter erupted at their leader's inability to relax.

"On the pilot's seat," Jacob replied "checked it myself."

"Good." Halley said. "Money we can spend freely, but weapons are only useful when we're working. We can use these in the next job they give us but try paying for those dancers you guys like so much with ACP rounds."

More laughter.

"So you know, I've been thinking…" Jacob said as he flew the airship flew over the city of Vale. "After we unload the gear, how about you join us for a change at that bar I've been telling you about?"

"You've told me a dozen times already how hot the owner is Jake." Halley snorted. "I practically have a picture of her in my head."

"Well yeah, but the girls in the club also get-"

"-a little wild. Yeah, you told me that too."

"C'mon!" Jacob pressed. "That's why I counted the money before checking out the gear! You won't have an excuse to bail out this time."

The rest of the group picked up on the conversation and began to needle Halley to accept.

He sighed.

"Fine, I'll go. But I'm not dancing."

"Who says we dance when we're over there?"

Cheers erupted among the other mercenaries and Halley swore that his long time friend and partner had the biggest grin ever on his face.

"I'll introduce you to-"

Jacob's sentence was cut short when a massive explosion rocked the airship. Fire blossomed from the rear, engulfing those unlucky enough to be seated behind the pilot seats.

"Shit! Oh Shit!" Jacob cursed as he fought the controls.

We've been betrayed! was Halley's last thought as the burning airship hurtled towards the city like a comet.

There was nothing left of the group of mercenaries or any evidence of the incident that night as the bullhead crashed. The flammable liquids secretly mixed with weapons caused a massive inferno that took the Vale Fire Department hours to contain.


"And that covers the investigation of the second airship accident of the month."

"Thank you John. In other news, Vale continues to be plagued by a series of robberies committed by an unknown group. The group appears to be getting bolder as they recently robbed an entire warehouse belonging to the Schnee Dust Company containing a large quantity of Dust as well as other goods. The CEO of the world's largest Dust Company had this to say…"

The blonde didn't catch the statement, having walked out of hearing distance from the television. Her flight had arrived late in the evening and the nearby hotels from the airport were either full or booked in advance. She could have gotten a reservation for herself easily enough due to her family's status, but she told her father that she would make it on her own. He seemed to approve at the notion, but extracted a promise from her to keep away from seedier districts in Vale.

She remembered rolling her eyes back then. While she did have a habit of keeping to late hours, her nights out had purpose. They weren't spent on the awkward experiments that hormonal teenagers were so obsessed with. Still, it was the one of the conditions she had to put up with in order to enroll in Beacon Academy. One more harmless oath, and an easy one to keep at that.

She checked the map on her phone to make sure she was on the right track. The good thing about the hotels being booked was that she could do her personal errand first. It was after all the main reason why she was here. She only told her father half the truth. Becoming a hunter was a second priority, her personal mission came first.

She took in the sights, sounds and smells of the city, committing as much of the detail as she could to memory. So far Vale didn't seem too spectacular compared to the Atlesian capital. It was by no means a bad place; it simply had a subdued atmosphere to it. It was nothing like the Atlesian capital were you could see several nightclubs open or all-night movie theaters and generally people still up and about looking for some entertainment to pass the night. In sharp contrast, there were few people on the street in Vale and any bars that were open didn't look too cheerful or welcoming. It seemed as if everyone just kept to their business and ignored what was happening around them. This included the commotion ahead.

A group of four men were beating a bald, old man who could obviously not fight back. She sighed. It seemed that even Vale had its share of scum. Worse, no one seemed to be coming to help him or even call the police.

She could walk on and ignore this. Or she could draw unnecessary attention to herself on her first day in Vale.

One of the blows landed in the old man's gut causing him to collapse. He began to cough blood.

The lilac eyed girl made her choice.

"Okay boys, that's enough!"

The group stopped, eying the source of the voice. They saw a teenager with long blonde hair that was, unfortunately, hidden behind a massive bag strapped to her back. On each hand were bags slightly smaller than the one she carried on her back but no less heavy looking. She wore a light brown jacket with a fur collar, while her white pants ended on brown, knee-high boots. Despite the seemingly heavy burden she bore, the girl had an air confidence different from the horribly misplaced invincibility mindset of most teens around her age.

She looked like a tourist.

"This ain't no concern o yours blondie!" The apparent leader said dismissively.

"Yeah! Beat it or we're gonna beat you!" Another one said, approaching her threateningly.

As the thug reached within striking distance, the blonde lashed out with a powerful front kick, sending the man flying backwards.

"Get her!" the leader spat.

The two remaining thugs moved simultaneously, experienced in double-teaming a single opponent.

The lilac-eyed girl side-kicked the first thug and before her leg even descended, hit the other incoming opponent with a round-house with the other leg. Both thugs were flung in opposite directions. The leader wore a look of terror on his face, his prior smugness having vanished. To the untrained eye the attacks looked like it had happened in a single move. The teen did not look the least bit tired.

As he turned to run, the girl used an iota of her aura to propel herself forward, quickly closing the distance. Her boot connected squarely with the thug leader's back. As he groaned in pain on the pavement she moved forward and stomped on his hand, the one that he had used to hit the old man moments ago, eliciting a howl of pain.

Minutes later someone finally alerted the police. A couple of patrol cars and an ambulance were parked on the street, their lights flashing silently.

"We're going to need your name and take your statement on the incident, miss" the police officer said.

The girl just stood there, with her ridiculously large bags in tow. There was no emotion on her face as she eyed the old man being helped by medics and the thugs who were in equal need of medical attention, not just handcuffs.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble." the police officer said reassuringly, mistaking her silence for reluctance. "We use it for filing charges and to corroborate anything the victim says. It makes it easier to lock guys like them up."

The girl turned to look at him.

"Yin Xiao Long"


Author's note: Well, here it is, my first fanfic. This idea was originally just a one-shot RWBY fanfic centered on a conversation but I realized that the significance of it would be lost on most readers. There would be too many questions asked, and the readers would have to fill the void with their own theories. As such I worked on the idea until I had a rough draft of the plot (which I already have as of the moment) on what would take place in the story.

While this chapter might be dull or a bit slow for some, rest assured that almost everything that happens has a purpose.

As to the main character's name…I can imagine your reaction already. But unless the internet lied to me half a dozen times, it appears to be a valid name. It also suits her purpose in the story.

Reviews are welcome of course.