Author Note 1:
Now, time for introductory explanation.
You may (Or most likely may not) remember that I made a fanfic called "Fantastic ReALiTy", about an OC team blah blah...yeah, well, I deleted it. My reason: I looked back at it and felt like...it wasn't good enough. That I made tons of mistakes I shouldn't have done. I abandoned it for a while, as I looked at the new episodes of Vol.2 and some other things, and noted in there also some mistakes, minor and major. I felt like I couldn't allow myself to make those mistakes, like I did previously. So I decided to start anew. I deleted my story, and made it back from scratch. Many things have changed, others haven't. If you were one of the few 700+ people that read the original story, treat this one like a new one.
Now, what I want with this fanfic: Reviews. I want people to review my story, to give criticism, not necesarily constructive. I want to know what I did wrong and where, or what did I do right. Comparisons also help. I want to see if my writing skills are good or not, and if possible how to make them better. If you have a question, just send me a private message. Most of the time I'm available to at least read them.
But without further delay, let's begin this.
Remnant
A world that is difficult to understand, yet simple to grasp. A world filled with division and opression, yet at the same time with unity and freedom. A world surrounded by war and chaos, yet also by peace and serenity. A world clouded in darkness, yet glowing with light.
Long ago, the people of this world lived surrounded by shadows, fighting everyday just to fight another day. The Grimm, soulless, corrupted monsters, plagued the world from north to south, east to west. With each Grimm that fell, dozens of persons died. It was a war, they could never win. Or so it seemed.
Eventually, people all over Remnant found strange cristals, in the ground, caves, underwater, everywhere. Each cristal contained special kinds of energy, similar to magic found in many fairy tales. With these cristals, men and women gained control of the elements. Lightning, fire, ice, wind. Gravity, time, space. All, now under their command. With the power granted by these cristals, people were capable of defeating the Grimm, to push them back. Those cristals were appropiately named "Dust". It was everywhere, and found in everything.
With the Dust, the Grimm were no longer a dangerous threat to them. Using the Dust to defend themselves, people eventually were able to settle down. Villages were made, and in time they learned to give Dust other uses, in many ways, leading the way to the rise of cities, civilizations, kingdoms that extended across the lands.
Time passed, and many things changed as it did. They eventually invented ranged weaponry, and later learned how to combine it with both melee weapons and Dust. Dust itself became the most important resource to almost every nation, as it began to be used to grant energy to the cities in Remnant. The Grimm were still around however, and over the years they have destroyed dozens of settlements. Nevertheless, the people stayed strong, and 4 kingdoms, 4 "beacons of light", were raised in every side of Remnant.
Not every change was for the better however. There was an increasing tension between the humans and the faunus, people with animal characteristics, not too different from the Grimm. That tension eventually became war, with thousands of casualties on both sides. Even today, that hate still exists, and despite their victory, the faunus aren't the most respected individuals exactly. The Grimm were starting to give trouble to the kingdoms again, every year new kinds of Grimm being discovered, each one stronger, stranger than the last.
But that's what the Hunters are for. Specialists, men and women, humans and faunus, trained to unleash their inner potential, and eliminate the Grimm. They are the reason many civilizations still stand. Academies around the world exist to train future Hunters. Hunters are teached how to fight and act, both alone and with others, and are put in teams of 4. They are valuable assets to every kingdom, and important members of society.
The most prestigous academy at the moment, Beacon, is in Vale. Known for it's strong, and experienced teachers, along with their at-times-dangerous training and entrance methods, many of Remnant's strongest Hunters studied there, and many more are there studying. Many promising individuals, teams, bright examples of hope.
Our hero, however, is not one of them.
City of Vale, 1:00am
"Man, that was boring", said the man wearing green clothes as he walked down the streets of the City of Vale, as the light of the shattered moon shined upon them.
Why did they send me to deliver a stupid box? I'm a thief for Oum's sake! I'm supposed to take things, not give things! Man, sometimes I feel like that Cinder Faill is a big-
"Put your hands in the air, this is a robbery!"
"Oh my-!"
"I said, put your hands in the air! Now!"
The man turned to his right, as he saw a Dust store, "The Fault In Our Dust". Something rare, not many stay open so late. He saw what seemed to be a group of armed thugs, some taking some of the Dust in the store. One of them was pointing his gun at the store clerk inside. It was as clear as water: This was a robbery.
Well, it seems some people are still awake. I have nothing better to do for now, may as well check it out.
The man walked into the store, and opened the door. The clerk and the thugs all turned to face him, surprise apparently painted on their faces. It seems they didn't expect someone to barge in at this hour.
The man stared at them for a few seconds.
The thugs are dressed in black. Convenient, considering how dark it is right now, though dark blue would've been more effective if they wanted to not be seen. Their weapons though...they are so low-quality. I guess this robbery is out of desperation. That man with the nice beard and suit, he must be the boss. And...what is that, a BatZooka? I thought there were none left in Vale.
After some exchange of stares, the boss decided to break the silence.
"Eh...who are yo-"
"Help!", exclaimed the store clerk, interrupting the boss. "Please help! I'm being robbed!"
"Oh really?", replied the man. He turned his sight to the boss of the thugs as he said: "...Can I help?"
"What?!"
Both the clerk and the boss were astonished, jaws open. The thugs were frozen like statues from the surprise. The man just kept his smile.
"Eh...sure...I guess...", said the boss, still astonished.
The man grabbed one of the boxes and went grabbing the Dust cristals, putting them carefully in the box so they don't explode and kill him. The clerk wasn't amused, in sort of speak.
"Why?! Why are you doing this! What did I do for you to do this to me?!"
"It's your fault for keeping a Dust Store open in the middle of the night. Don't want to be robbed? Don't be stupid. Is that simple".
Finally breaking out of the astonishment, the boss kept going on with the robbery.
"...Oh, right. Now! Give me the Lien!"
Having given up, the store clerk went to the checker and pulled out 2351Ls, which the boss soon grabbed and put in his pocket. The man finished filling the boxes with the Dust.
"Alright, I'm done here. Now what?"
"Take the boxes to the van outside. Once we finish here we'll leave"
"Alright"
"And thanks for the help. What's your name kid?"
"Robin. And yours?"
"Just call me Junior"
"Junior? Nice name"
...Sounds like a pedophile.
"Thanks"
Robin grabbed two of the boxes and walked out of the store. He put them in the van and turned to get the others. But once he turned, he saw someone approaching. A woman, wearing a "technological" white-and-red kimono with detached sleeves, a long hair as dark as the midnight. But most importantly...
Holy Bacon! Those are some spectacular hips!
Noticing Robin's stare on her, the woman got closer and closer, until she was close enough for Robin to have a better look at her. He saw a big pair of ears at the top of her head. She was a faunus. He also saw a small, spherical device floating near her shoulder.
What is that...it looks like...oh great.
"Stop what you're doing, right now!", shouted the woman as she flinged her arm forward. The orb near her went flying quickly towards Robin, as it surrounded itself in flames.
Robin quickly rolled to the left, avoiding the orb, which crashed agaisnt the ground, forming a rather-big explosion. The orb, however, didn't even have a scratch on it, and quickly returned to the woman. Robin didn't need to hear anything else to realize with who he was dealing with.
"Eh, Junior?"
"Yeah?"
"There's a huntress over here"
"Wha-A huntress?!"
Junior rushed outside the store as the thugs looked at each other, not knowing what was going on. Once outside, he saw the lady standing there, her glowing blue-and-yellow eyes staring furiously at him and Robin.
"Guys! Stop her! I'll take the Dust!"
The men awkwardly ran outside the store and looked at the faunus woman. They rushed towards her like a dog after a bone. The woman simply moved her arms to the side, making the orb change to a more square form before dividing in 2. Then, an electric barrier ran between the 2 halves, shocking the 2 men that didn't have enough reflexes.
Other 3 thugs ran towards her, knives and axes in hand, while she calmly moved her right arm backwards, as the halves of the device rejoined before it changed to a form similar to a triangle. She swinged her arm downwards, making the triangle crash to the ground and forming a cone of ice that froze the 3 thugs.
The last one remaining decided to stop wasting time and started shooting at her. She sidestepped, evading the shots, as she changed the device back to sphere-form. She launched it towards the thug, hitting him in the groin. He fell to the ground.
Well...how nice.
Robin turned around, and saw that Junior put the last of the boxes in the van and quickly leaved. Robin was the only one standing there. He returned is sight to the Huntress, now closer to him, ready to attack at any time.
I guess it's about time I leaved.
"...Well, m'lady, I guess we could say this was an eventful evening. But..."
Robin grabbed what looked like a brown rectangle with some yellow lines running across it. He pressed a button, making the device "extend" itself forward, along with opening what looked like an arc, and 6 revolver-like barrels near the hilt. After, a blade with yellow lines appeared, extending itself slightly more than the rest of the weapon. This, was his creation. The "CrossBlade", Second Chance.
Robin pointed the CrossBlade at the woman, who did not flinch, as he finished his sentence: "...I'm afraid, this is where we part ways".
He spinned the barrels, each one containing a different kind of cristal Dust. He put the barrel with the Fire Dust on the top. He soon pulled the trigger, and a red arrow of light was released, flying towards the Huntress. She quickly tried to evade it, but Robin simply pulled a second trigger below the first one, making the arrow explode near her.
The woman was able to evade sucessfully the explosion, but by the time the smoke cleared out, Robin was nowhere to be seen.
Master Escape, AA+++. Yeah!
Near The Docks
Robin approached an old warehouse, located in a remote area of the city, near the docks. Inside, he saw many members of the White Fang, moving things from left to right, some into airships, others to other sides of the warehouse. As soon as he entered, he heard a voice behind him.
"Finally! Where have you been? You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago!"
Robin turned around and saw a young, dark-skinned, mint-green haired girl in somewhat-exotic clothes. Emerald Sustrai.
"Eh...stuff happened. Don't worry, it was nothing serious"
"I hope. Anyway, Cinder wants to speak with you"
"Cinder? Why?"
"I don't know, she didn't say. But anyway, you shouldn't keep her waiting"
"Alright, I'll go see the old lady..."
"Don't call her that!"
"...Fine, fine"
What a fangirl.
Robin headed towards a platform in the warehouse. Once he was on it, he pressed a button, and the platform moved up to an upper floor. At the end of it, was Cinder, staring at a map of the City of Vale. Robin walked towards her, and she turned as she heard him coming.
"You're late, Sherwood"
"Yeah, yeah. Stuff happened. So, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I have...a mission, for you"
A mission?
"It's not another boring, deliver-this-for-me mission, right?"
"No. It's important, so pay attention", said Cinder firmly.
I guess she means it.
"I need you to infiltrate the Hunter academy of Beacon"
"I see...wait, what?!"
"Objections, Sherwood?"
"Yes! For one, I'm going to be surrounded by badasses that can crush me in seconds! Second, I have never fought a Grimm in my life, what will I do when I see one? And thir-"
"Sherwood, Sherwood, Sherwood..."
Cinder slowly walked towards Robin, as she ignited a small, but steadily growing flame in her hand.
"Remember, who's in charge here..."
She moved her hand near Robin's face, the flame being mere centimeters away from his nose.
"Any objections?"
"Nope! Absolutely none! Not at all! In fact, I can't wait to start!"
Cinder put out the flame as a smile formed on her face. She turned around and went back to stare at the map again.
"There's an airship that will take the new students to the academy tomorrow. I already finished the preparations. Torchwick will give you the ticket to enter the airship"
"Alright"
"But, be careful of what you say around him. He got beaten by a little girl today"
Well, isn't that surprising...
In the Airship
Well, here I am. Aboard this ugly ship on my way to my clear doom. How nice. At least I stuck up on Dust back in that store. I hope that Huntress is not a student here, she would kill me once she saw me...what am I saying, it's obvious she studies here. I'm doomeeeeeeedddd...
Robin stumbled around a bit, not knowing how to save himself from this one. A few minutes later, he saw a holographic screen showing a newscast from the Vale News Network.
The news...well, at least it will be a nice distraction.
As he got closer to the screen, he saw it show Roman's face.
"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department".
A robbery, uh? They don't seem to be talking of the same robbery I saw yesterday...now that I think about it, was it there where Roman got beaten by a little girl? ...I hope I don't meet her, I have enough trouble as it is.
"Back to you, Lisa"
Oh, there seems to be more.
"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony..."
The White Fang? Disrupting a ceremony of their own race? I guess they finally went insane. To think they are working with us...I hope they don't ruin it.
"The once peaceful organization has now disrupted...", the news were cut off, as the hologram of a blonde woman replaced it.
Oh come on, it was getting to the interesting part.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!"
...Who is she?
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch"
Goodwitch, uh? Not bad...
"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy!"
Whoa, I'm privileged.
"Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it"
An incredible time of peace that isn't really peaceful and in any case is about to stop being peaceful. Yeah, let's try 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"
And with that, the hologram dissapears.
Well, maybe this won't be so bad after all. I was probably just exagerating. I won't be doomed at all!
"Out of my way"
"Uh? Ugh!"
Robin was pushed aside by a man passing by.
"Hey!"
The man turned around. He was wearing a black jacket with white and red lines near the sleeves, along with equally-colored pants and shoes. His hair spiky and dark as the night. His face pale white, and his eyes red as blood. Robin inmediately knew what not to do.
"...Nevermind!"
The man kept going his way. Robin let out a sigh of relief as his heartbeat went back to normal. He got back on his feet.
...Ok, to hell with what I said, I'm doomed! I'm gonna die here! I need to find a way out! ...Aha! The windows!
Robin quickly ran towards the nearest window...
Maybe I can throw myself out of the...ship...
...And saw how the ship was many meters high.
Holy-How high is this ship?! I can even see Signal Academy from up here, and that's at the other side of the city! I can't jump out of this ship, I would die!
Robin slowly stepped away from the window, having given up and accepted his fate.
Well, it's clear there's nothing I can do. I'm on a ship to my inminent death and there's no way out. Great. What could make this worse?
"Outofthughghh!"
"Uh? Ugh!"
Robin was suddenly knocked down by a blonde man running towards the exit of the ship.
Auch...what's his problem? I was just standing there! ...Wait...what is that smell...oh Oum, is that puke on my hat? ...It's puke, isn't it. Great. Excellent. Perfect. What a better way to enjoy my last moments.
Ugh...ship...please reach Beacon Academy fast. I can't wait.
Author Note 2:
And that's that. In the original version it was very, very different. If you saw it and remember it, you may have realized that.
If you do remember it, you may also remember that Robin's personality here is rather different. As well as his affiliations. He's not the only one, but you'll see that later.
There are things I want to avoid, mistakes I want to avoid. One of them was that I felt I was doing things too fast without good reason. Another one was being more consistent and coherent with the story and characters. Which is why this is like this. One thing I don't, and won't change however, is the attempt at being original compared to other fanfics here. If I'm not being original, I made a mistake.
Any similarity with any other already-existing fanfic in purely coincidental, I swear. But if my attempt at originality didn't fail, then I guess that won't be the case and there will be no problem.
If you have questions, ask away, I'll answer them. If you have anything to say about this fanfic and don't know how, use the box under the fanfic to make your review...or whatever you wanna say. It doesn't appear for people reading from their phones though.
And that is all. Until next time. Stay Alive.