Well, I'll be honest, this is my first attempt at a fan-fiction, and it may be a bit too ambitious. I've tried writing before (with original works) but I've never finished one before. I plan to change that with this story, and I'd like to have any feedback you have. This is just a short prologue to start. It's a long ride, and I don't think I'll finish here (there's a time-skip in the plans and I'm thinking I'll make afterward a sequel) so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

Three years ago, shortly before a new year begins at Beacon Academy

A gray haired man prepares to pack it in after another long night. It was always like this before a new year, a few late nights to make sure everything all worked out. A procedure of checking, double checking, and triple checking to ensure the best possible outcome. Years of using the same process would lead most to give up on being so thoroughly prepared. After all, if it worked last year, and the year before that, and decades before that, why wouldn't it work now? But that was not in his nature. He trusted his instincts, but he'd made enough mistakes to know the worth of the old adage "better safe than sorry," if only to let him sleep better at night when things didn't work out anyway. He was looking forward to a rest but something stopped him. Something was coming, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

"So it's time…" he sighed, worries of his work being replaced by a cynical acceptance of the times ahead. He stopped short of the door leaving his office, turning instead to a large display on the wall opposite. With an aura enhanced tap from his cane, the massive piece of furniture slid aside to reveal a staircase leading down along the wall. His mind wandered to times past, the words spoken at these encounters. Though each time was treated as a possible end to the games, both players knew this was not true. His opponent had warned him when the end game would come with cryptic words over the years. The first game, so long ago now, had given him the first warning.

When you see eyes of silver

And a white princess

When you see a heart of gold

With a child I'll bless

The next had been sometime later during their last time together, having previously given no response at all. It was equally vague.

When a white knight

Meets one with hair red as flame

When a lotus

Has one whose life is a game

As he considered these words his mind took him to what he had been working on just moments before.

"Ruby Rose. You… have silver eyes."

He began to worry that this would finally be the end as he reached the room at the end of the staircase. It was a barren room, lit with a few burn dust crystals glowing softly on a candelabrum hanging from the far wall. In the middle lied a simple wooden table with armless wooden chairs sitting across from each other. A small hourglass over looked a forgotten game of chess, pieces still in play with a few sitting to the sides. It was an old set, carved from Grimm plating and volcanic glass, a thick layer of dust on each piece. The hexagonal board, bearing three tones of wood, was equally dusty. Spinning around to set aside his mug and cane, Ozpin noted the cobwebs and dust bunnies that had invaded the room in their absence. This had been the longest gap in their games as of yet.

A chill ran down his spine as the light flickered. His partner was here, but something felt… off. Turning to face them, two brown eyes met a set of six. They burned with a soft red glow, not unlike embers in a dying fire, set in a symmetrical pattern. The large central eyes had two smaller eyes off towards the forehead and cheekbones. This was different from the linear pattern of six eyes he was used to, as the two smaller eyes had not been the same size or laterally symmetrical. The smallest eyes had been set outside the large primaries, lying in line with them. However, the medium eyes had been perpendicular to this arrangement with one directly below the right eye and the other directly above the left eye, creating radial symmetry. In a similar change, the red pattern on the mask was different. It now bore a marking with radial symmetry in the shape of a sun around the eyes. Previously, it had been a vertically mirrored set of arrows pointing to each other between the eyes. Letting his gaze drift downward, the body seemed more masculine, possessing a broad and black shrouded form as opposed to the tightly black wreathed female form he knew. He understood then.

"Were you alone?" he asked. He felt a pang of guilt, as he had promised to be there for her if she ever needed it, but he couldn't even recall when it may have happened.

"I died with family. You needn't concern yourself," she responded. The voice remained unchanged, despite the different form before him. "My I suggest we start anew?" she continued, motioning toward the set.

"Of course," Ozpin said with a bit of amusement. How like her to speak of her death so nonchalantly. "Allow me to reset the board." He quickly began resetting the pieces as she took her seat. "So how much longer will this go on?" he asked, hoping for a response.

The face looked up from the board, silently assessing him. She spoke more cryptic words to him, "The sun has a tail; a false child appears; a bull's mask will fail; a prince brings forth tears. The game among players is old, but the pieces have been set anew. Have all the signs been told…? If only you knew."

"Hmm," Ozpin hummed as he contemplated her message. He wasn't speaking with her anymore, not when she spoke like this. This was… something else, something more threatening, more menacing. It made it more difficult to be certain, but he couldn't shake his concerns. You… have silver eyes. He feared for the girl's future, as the timing of this meeting was too perfect. As he finished setting up, he spoke again. "So, the legendary warrior has passed on. A story too old for most to know, a legend lost to the ages. Let us forgotten tales pick up this old game again, and forget the world in turn. Will we end this game writing one last story for the people to remember?"

She laughed, a sound he found terrifying and exhilarating. He chose his pieces, his eyes reaching across the board. A force of light faced against a force of darkness across a world in shades of grey. He could feel it – this was the beginning of the end.

"Do you find humor in the idea of legends? Surely you must have a legend you find yourself thinking about," he said, his pieces chosen. The hourglass flipped, and he took the first step, putting his first pawn into place. The hourglass inverted again, the dust instantly flowing into the top.

"Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past." She moved her first pawn. The hourglass took another twirl.

"Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness - creatures of destruction; the creatures of Grimm - set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void." He moved in turn, a plan beginning to form. The hourglass continued its motion.

"However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named Dust." Two more moves had taken place; the dust enhanced hourglass began to fail.

"Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life." The game slowed for a moment, as he saw her set her plan. Masterful as always, but he had always managed to counter her. She was quick to establish a strategy, but wasn't good at reacting. He put his plan in motion.

"But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die, and when they are gone... darkness will return." She quickly saw through his plans, but as he'd predicted, was unsure how to respond. The hourglass lay forgotten in a flurry of moves.

"So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called 'free world', but take heed... there will be no victory in strength." Ah, she'd actually come up with a reasonable response. This would end closer than he'd have liked, but these last few turns would end in his favor. Or so he hoped.

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul," he countered. Indeed, it had not quite been strength that finished her. A simple pawn earning a promotion had been her end. Though she'd successfully killed his queen and other pieces, the newfound queen forced her into a checkmate. She'd always been bad about going straight for the biggest threat.

"So it would seem you won this game," she said, rising to leave.

"It was a pleasure," he responded, feeling somewhat relieved at his victory. It had been close, but he won in the end.

"Indeed. It was an excellent strategy, if not sacrificial. To be expected of you though, you were always bad about looking beyond the end of the game," she ended menacingly, darkness growing from the cloak to swallow the room. Her gaze was set on the board. Ozpin turned toward the board, where he could just make out the set up in the dark. He had achieved checkmate by moving his king, but now that he looked again, no matter how her king died, his king would end up dead as well. Turning to her in a panic, he found himself alone.

"What have I done?" he whispered, looking toward the board again. He slowly backed toward the stairwell, turning to retrieve his mug and cane. Giving one last glance to the board, the old burn crystals that had lit this room throughout all their games finally died, leaving a shadowy figure alone in the darkness.

I have this labeled as AU because of my background in original universes. In short, I don't like working in the dark so I've just made up everything that we don't yet know – which at this point is a lot. Some of my AU and original concepts were submitted to /r/RWBYOC on reddit – see my reddit submitted page linked in my profile if you're interested. It is not necessary to see that for my work however. Similarly, my profile reveals a little more about this RWBYverse of mine, but not much. It does include a map of my interpretation of Remnant, credit in part given to /u/flipdark95 on reddit, ~flipdarkfuture95 here on . My other work, A Legend Scattered, takes place in this continuity – it's a quick little oneshot for now. All feedback is welcome, whether it is something you dislike about my style or portrayal of characters or a certain take or concept you like. Anything is fine, and I'll attempt to take it all into consideration as I am able. Of course, past a certain point, certain things are set in stone and necessary for how my story will progress. Anyway, that is all for now. – Shinobi201 out. *the first 11 chapters have been reuploaded after proofreading. A/Ns were removed w/relevant info condensed here and grammatical errors were fixed. Minor facts were changed for continuity's sake.