A/N: This fanfic was started the week that Episode 16 was released, but due to my procrastination, I never got around to begin uploading it :P Anyway, this will follow the actual Volume 1 episodes, and the gaps in between them as well. It will involve some romance and shipping, and some minor language at times.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the RWBY characters, they belong to Monty Oum and RoosterTeeth. I only own the OC's. All rights belong to Monty and RT, this story is made by a fan for entertainment purposes only.
Amber Dawn twirled one of her arrows around between her fingers, boredom taking its toll on her as she waited for her order of Dust to be filled by the elderly shopkeeper of From Dust Till Dawn. He was gathering her requested yellow crystals as her gaze wandered over the shop, coming to rest on a red hooded figure standing at the magazine display near the back of the shop.
Amber stopped twirling her arrow and slid it into her quiver slung against her side and reached into her pocket to retrieve her money to pay for her crystals. Just as the shopkeeper handed the last of the yellow crystals to Amber, a group of men entered the shop behind her, lead by a redheaded man with a cigar and a cane wearing a white coat.
Amber accepted her crsytals and was just beginning to open her pouch to put them inside when she felt one of the men grab her by the upper arm, the arm that she held the Dust crystal with. She turned to the offending man, ready to start yelling at him when she saw that a second man was aiming a pistol at her. She went pale and turned to see the redhead man flick the ashes from the end of his cigar and lean on the counter displaying a multitude of Dust crystals.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" the redhead man asked, crossing his arms casually as the man with the gun redirected it from Amber's face to the shopkeeper's chest. He held up his hands almost instantly.
'Please! Just take my Lein and leave!" He begged, but the redhead made a shushing sound.
"Calm down, we're not here for your money." He explained, then turned to the other men."Grab the Dust." He ordered.
One of the men placed a case onto the counter and opened it. Inside were about ten Dust containers, which several men took and began to fill from the dispensers lining the walls.
"Crystals, all uncut." Another thug ordered the shopkeeper, who cautiously complied, opening the glass and gathering all the uncut crystals, placing them on top of the counter for the thug to put inside another case.
"Take hers as well." The redhead, who seemed to be the leader, ordered, pointing his lit cigar at Amber's clenched fist inches away from her pouch.
A thug reached towards her hand, but suddenly one of the other thugs was thrown across the shop, landing in a heap beside them. Amber turned towards the red hooded person, which was revealed to be a head of dark maroon hair.
Several thugs approached the person, but they were suddenly knocked to the ground as one unfortunate member was launched right through the front window of the shop.
Amber turned to see a young girl in a red cape and black skirt slowly rising to her feet, holding a strange looking weapon, a knocked out thug sprawled a few feet behind her as a massive red and black scythe formed from the weapon in her hand. Amber could hear the rock song playing from the girl's headphones from where she was standing.
Suddenly the girl smirked and began to twirl the scythe around her back several times before slamming the end of the long curved blade down into the street, clicking a button on her headphones, silencing the song.
"Okay..." The leader remarked, then turned to the remaining thugs. "Get her!" He ordered, indicating the scythe girl outside the store. "You, hang on to Blondie here." He turned to the thug that was still restraining Amber's wrists. "Make sure she doesn't go anywhere."
Amber glared at the redhead man angrily, already tensing to knock the thug into next week when she suddenly heard a loud gunshot from the fight outside. She turned just in time as a bullet whizzed between her and the thug, which momentarily made his grip slacken on her arms, giving her a split second to attack.
She slammed her shoulder into his chest, winding him almost instantly, then slammed her elbow into his stomach, which made him release her arms entirely. She punched him right in the face and made him stumble back into a shelf then she ran outside, reaching behind her back to retrieve Rising Sun, her crossbow.
As she slid to a halt beside the scythe girl, the redhead man came out of the shop, grumbling to himself before stating. "Well Red, and you Blondie, it seems that it has been an eventful evening.' He dropped his cigar and crushed it with the end of his cane. "And as much as I'd like to stick around." He suddenly pointed the end of the cane at them, a small lense opening at the end of the walking stick. "I'm afraid this... Is where we part ways."
He suddenly pulled a trigger on the grip of the cane and a glowing red bolt shot out of the cane, hurtling directly towards them. The scythe girl suddenly aimed her scythe at her feet and shot up into the air, while at the same time, Amber aimed her Rising Sun at the incoming bolt and fired, causing the bolt to explode when it hit her arrow between them.
In the few seconds that the blast took, Amber looked around for the redhead man, just as the scythe girl landed beside her, also searching the street for the escaped leader. They both turned to see him climbing a fire escape ladder across the street.
"I'm going after him." Amber stated, charging across the street as the sound of sirens reached their ears. With a moment of concentration, Amber launched herself up into the air and grabbed the ladder, quickly climbing to the top in mere moments, while the scythe girl aimed her scythe at her feet and suddenly fired what seemed to be a gun in the weapon and hurtled up to the roof in the same time it took for Amber to reach the top.
Together they saw the man at the other side of the roof. "Hey!" The scythe girl yelled.
Less than a second later, an airship rose up from the other side of the building, shining a searchlight into their faces, momentarily blinding them as the man climbed inside.
"End of the line you two!" The man called over the engines, holding up a red Dust crystal. He threw it towards them, and raised his cane, firing before either of them could even raise their weapons.
Suddenly Amber was grabbed by the arm and thrown aside, landing heavily on her back a few feet away as the crystal exploded in a blast of heat and red smoke.
Amber scrambled to her feet and aimed Rising Sun, only to see an older bespectacled blonde woman with her arm extended, a purple energy between her and the airship.
With a wave of her arm, the energy shot towards the airship and began to repeatedly batter it, and causing it to rock from side to side. The redhead man moved into the cockpit, only to have a woman with a red dress step out in his place, her face hidden in the shadows of the airship.
With a quick wave of her arm, in which Amber noticed a wand like object, the blonde woman fired another bolt of purple above the airship, which caused a dark storm cloud to form above.
With a swipe of her wand, she caused the stormcloud to start pelting the airship with massive icicles that impaled through the metal hull of the ship.
Suddenly the woman in the airship launched a fiery blast towards the blonde woman, who easily blocked it with yet another wave of her wand. Several pieces of her hail were knocked out of the air in mid fall between them, and landed around her feet, glowing bright orange with heat.
Suddenly the area around the blonde woman turned almost white from intense heat that Amber could feel from over ten feet away, then it suddenly exploded under her, but she backflipped out of the way.
Several chunks of the roof lay scattered around, but began to glow with purple energy as the blonde woman waved her wand and formed a giant spinning spear out of the debris, then forced it towards the airship.
The redhead man - who Amber assumed was now piloting the airship - tilted the airship at the perfect moment, causing the blonde woman's spear of debris to glance off the surface of the hull. However, she waved her wand and split the spear into three separate trails, which snaked through the air around the airship until the woman inside released a massive blast that vaporized the debris in midair.
Suddenly the scythe girl aimed her weapon at the woman in the airship and began firing. Amber imitated her, seizing the opportunity at the woman's lack of defense. She could only fire two arrows in that time, both of which were caught by the woman in one hand, while blocking the girl's bullets with the other.
Snapping both arrows in half, the woman waved her hand and caused the roof under their feet to heat up. The scythe girl dove to safety, but Amber was suddenly launched through the air and tumbled a few feet and painfully hitting her head against the roof as the blonde woman cartwheeled gracefully to avoid the explosions. She gave her head a shake to refocus her blurred vision.
In those few seconds, the airship turned and had flown far out of range, quickly vanishing in the clouds overhead.
The scythe girl collapsed her scythe down and placed it into a cradle on her lower back, turning to the woman she said. "You're a Huntress..."
Amber sprang to her feet and grabbed Rising Sun nearby, just as the woman noticed who exactly she was.
But before she could say anything, the scythe girl asked. "Can I have your autograph?!"
With a resounding snap, the woman slapped the girl's hand with her wand, which Amber saw was in fact more akin to a crop. The scythe girl held her stinging hand as another airship arrived, this time a gray haired man was waiting in the open hatch.
"Both of you, get in." The Huntress ordered, striding towards the new airship and sliding her crop into her knee high boot. Amber returned Rising Sun to her back and quickly followed, taking a seat beside her and rubbing the back of her head distractedly. It was still painful after her rough fall.
The scythe girl slowly climbed in as well, sitting across from Amber with her head hung and still holding her stung hand.
The flight was devoid of any further conversation until they arrived at the Vale Police Department a few minutes later. The gray haired man hopped out first and went inside without a word. The Huntress stepped out and turned to the girls. "This way."
Amber followed her into the lobby with the scythe girl a bit behind her. The officer at the front desk noticed who was leading them and instantly handed the woman a key. She took the key with a nod and turned to a long row of offices, leading the two girls down the hall until she opened one of the many doors and gestured for them to enter.
"Leave your weapons here." She ordered, pointing to a nearby bench. Amber placed Rising Sun against the wall and detached her quiver, placing it beside her crossbow before entering the room, unarmed.
The scythe girl visibly hesitated at the thought of being separated from her weapon, but she gently placed it beside Rising Sun and walked in with her head hung low.
"We will return to speak with you two shortly." The Huntress stated before closing the door. The sound of her high heels echoed down the hall for a few seconds... then there was silence.
Amber was patient enough in most circumstances, but the silence was starting to get to her. She pulled out one of her yellow Dust crystals and began to twirl it in her fingers, just like she did with an arrow at From Dust Till Dawn. The scythe girl was sitting at the table in the middle of the room, tapping the tips of her index fingers together.
The minutes went by, then they heard the unmistakeable sound of the Huntress' high heels coming down the hall, getting louder by the step. Amber sat down in the chair beside the scythe girl, who had looked up when they heard the Huntress approaching.
She opened the door, holding a flat tablet device under her arm, her crop in her other.
Without even a preliminary greeting, the Huntress began pacing around the room, stating. "I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly ladies. You put both yourselves and others in great danger..."
The scythe girl blurted out. "They started it!"
"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back..." The Huntress said, looking at her tablet as she stopped pacing in front of the door. The scythe girl looked hopeful at that, but the Huntress suddenly turned to face them and added sternly. "...And a slap on the wrist."
With a snap, she slammed her crop onto the table, which made the girl jump back in surprise, moving her hands away from the crop's stinging wrath.
"But... there is someone here who would like to meet you." She explained, opening the door. "Miss Dawn, you may leave. Your weapon is where you left it, and there is a taxi waiting for you outside ready to take you home, free of charge."
Amber glanced at the Huntress, then at the scythe girl, and slowly rose to her feet, returning her crystal to her pouch as she walked out of the room, passing by the gray haired man in the hall.
"Professor Ozpin." Amber greeted him, who was carrying his signature cup of coffee, and a plate of cookies.
"Miss Dawn, I expect your arrival tomorrow at Beacon." Ozpin nodded as he entered the room with the girl and the Huntress.
Amber retrieved her quiver and Rising Sun and heard Ozpin say the name, "Ruby Rose." before the Huntress closed the door behind him. She assumed that he was greeting the scythe girl, but thought nothing else about it. She strode out of the police station and entered the awaiting taxi, arriving home within twenty minutes.
The next morning, Amber had completely forgotten about Ruby Rose in her excitement of finally going to Beacon. She had already packed the week before, so all she had to do was head to the airport and board the airship to Beacon.
Grabbing Rising Sun and her quiver, Amber called for a taxi to come pick her up, and within minutes, the same driver that had delivered her from the police station arrived with a warm smile.
"Headin' back ter da station, little lady?" He asked as he helped her put her suitcase into the back seat.
"No, the airport." Amber replied, climbing in and closing the door. "I have an airship to catch for Beacon."
"Alrighty then!" The driver smiled, driving through the morning traffic, arriving at the Vale airport within half an hour. Amber gave him the fare, grabbed her bag, and hurried to the awaiting airship. She still had a few minutes to spare, so she sat down beside a news screen, which was reporting the robbery from last night.
"The robbery was lead by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department.'
Amber stared at the picture of this Roman Torchwick for the last few seconds that it was displayed before the report changed over to another event, a Faunus civil rights protest that went badly. At that point, Amber wasn't listening, having spotted Ruby Rose standing nearby with a girl with extremely long blonde hair.
At that moment, the news screen vanished, only to be replaced by a hologram of the Huntress from the night before. Amber sat up straighter, but then realized that it wasn't really her.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon." The Huntress greeted the assembled crowds.
Beside Ruby Rose, the blonde girl asked audibly. "Who's that?"
The Huntress continued. "My name is Glenda Goodwitch."
Ruby's companion gave an "Oh!" after having her question answered so quickly.
"You are among a priviledged few who have recieved the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Glenda's speech ended, and she faded from view.
Ruby and her blonde companion approached the window that Glenda's hologram had been in front of, and for the briefest second, Ruby and Amber locked eyes with dawning comprehension.
Neither said anything, but they knew that it was in fact the person from Roman Torchwick's robbery last night in from of the other.
"Look! You can see Signal from up here!" Ruby turned to her blonde companion, who was also staring out the window. "I guess home isn't to far after all."
The blonde put her arm around Ruby's shoulder. "Beacon's our home now." She said reassuringly, but everyone turned to see a blonde boy with white armour struggling not to throw up.
"Well, I guess the view isn't for everyone." She commented, watching the boy fight for control of his stomach.
"It was a nice moment while it lasted." Ruby commented.
"I wonder who we're gonna meet!" The blonde asked.
"I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy." Ruby replied "OH! Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoes!" She pointed to the blonde's foot, where a bit of the boy's puke had somehow landed.
"Gross gross gross gross gross!" Yang exclaimed as she looked around for something to clean it with.
Amber decided to intervene, so she raised her hand and used some of her Semblence to blow the vomit off her shoe, leaving it completely clean.
The pair turned towards Amber, who lowered her hand and simply said. "What?"