Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, and thank god I don't because I don't think I could do it any justice. That being said, I do claim the originals.

Introduction: Welcome to what I call the result of spending time practicing a hobby instead of writing midterm papers. This is a story, with varying levels of complexity that I had thought up after watching too much RWBY. But before i keep prattling on about the story, I'd like to issue a warning: there will be OCs and a plot that might screw with the actual lore of RWBY. While I will attempt my best to keep things reasonably within standards, I'll most definitely be making adjustments. That aside, I would like to welcome you to this version of RWBY. Please sit back and enjoy, maybe it will draw you in.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Chapter One: Thirteen

Part One: The Task

XxXxXxXxXxX

"The task for you today is simple at first glance. However, should one look beyond the text, a person could bring out many questions regarding it. Who has it? What is it? Where is he? The deeper you inquire, the more complex something is, and the less simple your task becomes. The test for the teams is this: bring me a package being carried by thirteen within two days. There is only one, and I will allow you to infer what you will with that. How you achieve your goal...is up to you."

Cryptic. That was really all Weiss thought when she looked at the scrap of paper given to them by Ozpin. It was not as if it was hard to interpret; after all she was Weiss Schnee, a superior being compared to her company. Well, not too hard. Weiss turned the paper over several times, examining it closely. Crude. Maybe it wasn't as easy as she had thought. She couldn't say so, obviously it would tarnish her image and she wouldn't have that. Thankfully, a certain blonde bombshell was there to assist with that.

"What the heck are we supposed to do?" Yang Xiao Long scratched her head, turning the gears in her head to produce a theory. The group sat on their beds in their rooms.

"I've got no idea." Piped up Ruby Rose, turning the paper every which way, and almost tearing it in the process. "We're supposed to find something and bring it back to him right? Do we work together with other teams?"

"I would think so. There's only one package and we could probably use all the help we could get."

"But what if he only takes it from one group. What would happen to the others?" Weiss turned and asked the group. "Do we all get credit? I mean, if he only credit's one team wouldn't the others be inclined to backstab the others?"

"Perhaps we should find this "thirteen" and ascertain the package's size first." Blake spoke up finally. "The paper says the package will probably be moving along Highway Five, and then either go through Passenchael Road to Downtown or Lichtinhere Street. Both have a post office." She produced a map from one of her pockets to point out the streets.

"Then...should we split into two teams?" Yang twirled a lock of her hair, "It'll make things easier to find it."

"I don't think we should separate. Passenchael and Lichtinhere go two different directions in the Commercial District. If we need help the other group has to run several blocks to even get close. We should stay together and watch the Highway. If we can find it moving on the highway we have a better chance of finding it later." Weiss crossed her arms and pointed to a building close to the Passenchael exit. "We just need to know what we're looking for."

"Maybe there's a further message? Let's see...Oh, the back."

Ruby turned over her paper as Yang pointed to the nonsensical writing.

Spark of lightning, charged forever,

Thunderous spark and vermillion blaze,

Thirteen stars marked as Red, does he carry the package.

The others leaned over as Blake read it aloud for the group to ear. "It certainly isn't good prose...or poetry."

"Better than those books you read?" Blake glared daggers at Blondie, earning her a chuckle from said blonde haired brawler.

"Hmm...'Marked as Red,' so I guess that means the thirteen is red? Well that should be simple right? I mean that just narrows it all down to anyone wearing red and painted red." Ruby put the assignment paper away, "Anyways, I think Weiss has the right idea! Let's go team!" Ruby raised her fist and pointed towards the airship dock, "Uh...which ship do we take?"

Yang smiles and pats Ruby's head, "Don't worry, I'll guide you guys in town! I should also go check on my bike at the workshop, see if they finished tuning it up." Yang jumped off her bed and bowled out the door.

"Hey wait! We have to change and gear up! Wait! Yaaaannnnggg!" Ruby and the rest of team RWBY ran after their energetic team mate to stop, or stall, her.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After a brief trip to the locker rooms and loading for bear, as well as the uneventful trip to the commercial district, the team found themselves outside of a red brick building. The sounds, and stench of oil, were the telltale signs of a mechanics workshop. Several mechanics milled about, idly chatting or working on some sort of vehicle. Yang grinned and walked towards one of the younger mechanics wearing a dirty, oil stained jumpsuit with a shark riding a motor bike emblem emblazoned on the back.

"Ugh, why are we here in this dirty place? This place is so unsanitary and noisy!" Weiss griped as she stood on the block with Blake. The heiress had decided to maintain a level of distance away, to prevent the heat and other disgusting things from reaching and getting to her. The two watched as Yang and Ruby followed the cheerful man into the garage to discuss something.

"Yang wanted to pick something up. I'm sure she'll be quick about it." Blake leaned against the lamppost they were near and produced a small novella to flip through. "Just wait a moment..."

"So, is it ready Andrew? You said you would upgrade it for me in exchange for the parts." Yang leaned over the Latin looking man's shoulder as he wrote on a paper.

"For you my lady, of course. But I need to warn you, even if it can blaze at ludicrous speeds, it has become far from dust efficient." Andrew grinned and spoke in a suave Latin accent. He stood up straight and pulled off his dirty work gloves, "Of course, if I had Crasher's bike I could just reverse engineer his engine."

"Really? You could? That'd be great! Ya know where he is?" Yang perked up and clapped her hands together smiling broadly.

"Hmm...if you would my lady, I could find out. I believe he's got the radio pack still. I just need to give him a call. Though if I remember the last time our team spoke, he was on a job for Star of Polaris..." Andrew walked over to a dust powered radio set and tinkered with it, adjusting the frequency carefully.

Ruby got a closer look at Andrew, last name Ramirez, as her sister waited patiently. He wasn't exactly a tall muscle man. Lanky, tanned, and rather messy with an air of gentlemanliness. He wasn't a total slice of beefcake, to borrow from Yang's vocabulary, but he certainly was good looking. She could guess that he was perhaps in his twenties or so. "Hey sis? I'm gonna go check on the others. How long do you think this will take? We still have a mission to do."

Yang snapped out of her reverie of imagining her new bike, "Huh? Oh, yeah. Um...not long I think? If you guys want you can go ahead of me. I'll catch up."

"What is taking so long!? Are you guys still talking to these brutes?" Weiss came stomping in, followed by Blake. She looked around the shop, frowning.

"We'll be done really quick, don't worry about it! Besides, the other teams are around too to help right?" Yang waved her hand dismissively at the heiress.

"What! But what if we don't get credit for it! What if we all fail because we're wasting time here waiting for you to do something trivial!"

"What did you just say?" Yang turned and glared at Weiss.

"I said this is pointless and trivial and we're wasting our time here!" Weiss shouted. Yang launched her hand forward and caught her neck in an iron grip, her gauntlet locked and ready.

"Don't you DARE call this pointless. Trying to find a close friend I haven't spoken to in a while, and getting my bike is NOT pointless! Finding something we have such little information about is MORE pointless than this. Because do YOU know what it looks like?" Yang growled at Weiss, waiting for a reply. When she didn't receive one, Yang let her go and pushed her back slightly, "Exactly. So just shut up and let me do this. After this you can choose what to do." Yang turned her back to Weiss and focused back on Andrew, who was now talking to someone.

"Yes, si, indeed, sure. Here, Yang? Crasher." Andrew offered Yang the phone. After a brief glance, Yang took the phone from Andrew, and walked off to a corner to talk. Andrew looked up and took a sip from his thermos, grinning at the three ladies, "My ladies, may I offer some coffee? Tea? Cookies perhaps?" Ruby looked up quickly at the notion of free cookies.

"Pass." "No thank you sir." Blake and Weiss turned down the offer. Ruby looked at Andrew expectantly and simply stated:

"Cookies please?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Howdy Tex. How's my fair blondie doin' this evenin'?" Yang heard the familiar accent over the radio. Only one man had an accent that sounded Asiatic and Southern at the same time.

Yang grinned at Crasher's speech quirks, or mannerisms as he would call it, "Sup Crasher? Slam into anything recently?"

"Nah, nothin' like that. Just been doin' work. Vale's number one courier service has lots of jobs ya'know?"

Yang leaned against the wall, listening carefully. She noticed a humming sound, like that of an engine. "You at work now?"

"Well, yeah, always at work. Gotta earn a livin' ya'know, since I couldn't get into Beacon. Still working for Star of Polaris, still travelin' around with packages."

"I'm still sorry about that...You know I didn'-" Yang nodded and began to apologize before Crasher cut her off.

"Not gonna hear it Yang. It was an accident and it was my fault. Don't think too hard about it. Anyways, I like this job. Get to travel everywhere. Though, half the packages they give me seems to be jinxed."

"Jinxed? What do you mean? Actually, you in town today?"

"Yeah, I'm in town. Going down Lichtinhere I think? If you're up for it, let's go to that corner cafe on Lichtinhere and uh...Jackson. All sorts of stories to tell, and I'm a day or two early for my delivery. Also, when I say jinxed I mean bad things happen all the time. Guess it comes with the number."

"Awesome, I'll meet you there. But, what's your number? It isn't something stupid like triple six right?" Yang laughed as she twirled the phone's wiring. She laughs as Ruby devours all of Andrew's cookies, while the young man stares aghast.

"It ain't that funny, trust me. My number's thirteen. Everyone's got a bag with red colored stars on 'em you know? I got thirteen of them because I was the thirteenth of all the new recruits to be selected...Uh...Yang? You there blondie?"

Yang's jaw dropped and she went silent for almost a minute.

"Earth to my darling little dragon, what'sup?"

"Sorry, hey I'll meet up with you there alright? Think you can be there in an hour or so?"

"Yeah, I'm actually on the Highway right now. I'll be there after I check in at the company checkpoint." Yang heard the engine rev softly in the background.

"Sure, I'll talk to you then. Crasher, over 'n out." Yang put the phone back into its place and looked at the group.

"My dear Yang, I had no idea your sister could go through this many cookies in one sitting. It's truly terrifying." Andrew remarked as he pulled away the empty plate.

"Yeah, I dunno about that. Hey, when can you get my bike ready to go? Now?" Andrew looked at bike the rest of his crew wheeled out earlier.

"Aye, if that's what you want. What did Crasher say? He in town? I mean, he did kick me off the phone as soon as he heard you were here."

"Yeah, and more importantly..." Yang looked at the group, "We've got a lead for the package."

That caught the team's attention, and a series of what's.

"What do you mean we have a lead?" Ruby asks as Yang helps prep the bike.

"Thirteen red stars. Ruby, I want you to come with me, we're gonna go talk to Crasher. Blake, Weiss, I want you two to overwatch us. I've got a really good feeling about this."

"Hold on, I'm not agreeing to any stupid plan till you tell us what you mean!" Weiss crosses her arms and glares at the energized blonde, earning a frustrated sigh from Yang.

"Alright, I just spoke to Crasher, who's a courier. And guess what his number is? Thirteen. And the stars for his company? Red. Happy? I think this is going to work for us." Yang climbed onto the motorcycle, gesturing for Ruby to get on as well. "We'll go talk to him and see if it is true or not."

"Why not all of us? I don't see why we should just split up. Not to mention, can we even trust this guy? "

"Because I think he'd flip out if he had to meet two other women outside of my sister and I without the proper time to get fancy."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Roman Torchwick stood near the ledge of the tower the Organization was using as an observation post while his minions prepared the airship. He watched the highway carefully, eyeing each motorist that passed by. It was the beginning of evening, and there were certainly less vehicles than there were earlier. He looked up as Crimson handed him a phone. Roman took it raised it to his ear, "Well now, what have you got for me?"

"I've found what you were looking for. The package you couldn't steal in Serjeva? It's being delivered somewhere." Junior's gruff voice came from the phone.

"And where is that Junior?" Roman narrowed his eyes.

"Before that, my fee?" Roman rolled his eyes and snapped for Crimson. She produced a laptop and typed some things onto it.

"It's being transferred now. Continue?"

"Courier thirteen from Star of Polaris Courier Service. He's in town and he's got the package. That being said, he'll be on the highway, if not already on the highway."

"Are you sure about that Junior?" Roman looked at the highway again, he spotted a single black and red motorcycle roaring down the road. The man on it carried a messenger bag with the Star of Polaris emblem emblazoned on it.

"My sources don't lie. Black and red bike, long coat with the courier emblem on it. He's going to be hard to miss. Just so we're clear, you know what the package is right?"

"Thank you Junior your services have been fulfilled. We'll contact you if we need anything else." Roman snapped the phone close and ended the call. "Secure the package. We'll need it for our plan." Roman looked behind him at the rest of the city and grinned, "Soon. Very soon. And then Vale will experience quite a fireworks show." Roman turned and boarded the readied airship, waving off the rest of the suited minions to fulfill their orders.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes:

Yes? No? Maybe? I haven't written in ages and I feel as though I could use some practice. Well, this is it. I know I need work, so any recommendations or tips or criticism would be cool. Flames? Maaayyybee not.

Also, I acknowledge that there might not be a "Southern" or "Asian" in the universe, but bear with me; it's the best way I could come up with describing things. I think this may extend to other areas.

There is one note about the OCs I'll be using. Will they appear a lot? Perhaps so. This story is not entirely focused on team RWBY (but that doesn't mean they'll be taking a side seat.) How many OCs will I use? I cannot say, but I doubt the main OCs will be more than seven. While I would open the floor to having more, I would much rather have a few and develop them into living characters. Not Mary Sues that are one trick ponies and flawless, but people who are actually (hopefully at least somewhat) interesting to read about.

Edit: Did a minor bit of editing. Grammar, spelling, consistency. Added small introduction.

Encyclopedia:

Courier Service: Despite technology advancing to it's current state, the use of a courier service is still extremely popular. Indeed, it may be easier to send things via mass parcel deliver such as the postal service; but some people are willing to pay higher for a more secure deliver. Enter courier services. These men and women from varying companies carry goods around the world for a fee. Couriers are paid a commission when they first receive the mission. To prevent them from running away with the package, the person who is receiving the package (usually someone alerted in advance) pays the rest. There have been instances where couriers have stolen packages, but the enforcement force for couriers (other couriers) are extremely effective at recovery. Notable examples of excellent courier services include Star of Polaris, Wind of Velar, and Box Droppers.