RWBYS
Chapter 1
Looming Beacon

-Vale Police Station, Outside Interrogation Room C-
-37 Hours post Desol Event-
-Suggested Listening: "Court Begins", Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney OST-

"Ozpin, I've been meaning to speak with you about some of these new… recruits you've decided to pass…" an authoritarian voice cracked. It was that of a woman, studious in both posture and in clothing. Her long, spindly, platinum-blonde hair was curled into a messy bun and her jade eyes were beset by a pair of spectacles.

The man she spoke to merely turned, his hazel eyes only briefly locking with hers. He returned his attention to the window before them, looking into the holding cell.

"Ms. Goodwitch, this is hardly the time to bring up minor transcript errors," Ozpin responded, taking a sip from his ever-present mug. "Besides," he continued, dropping the ceramic from his lips, "I've already mailed the letters."

Glynda Goodwitch gave a huff of annoyance.

"'Minor' is putting it lightly, sir. Some of these students are wholly unqualified to attend Beacon. For example, this Eireen Kaliannah girl. She's not had a single minute of formal training in her life. How she even passed the written test is amazing," Goodwitch expressed, pulling up the student's profile on her scroll. She scowled. "When Father Jeremiah met her before the physical trials he noted that she was, quote 'Ready to unleash the wrath of the ancients to kill a single Wendigo,' unquote," she read dryly. "He suggested immediate psychiatric evaluation, writing that he thinks she's a sociopath. I won't dip into the more verbose and… colorful terminology he used in that regards," the woman finished.

"You know as well as I do how delusional Jeremiah can be. He likes to take theories and injuries to the extreme to make himself look more impressive…" Ozpin sighed. "That or he genuinely believes the babble he spouts. I'm not sure which is scarier."

"Regardless of our faculty's questionable mental status, his warning does have merit thanks to the combat data we got from her. She seems very… unstable." Glynda's frown contorted from one of irritation to disgust. "I don't think she's ready to handle the burden of being a huntress."

Ozpin chuckled lightly.

"And the stats on hunter and huntress mental stability state otherwise. She's cleared, that's final. Next complaint?" the headmaster asked, a teasing smile on his lips. The hand on his cane played idly with the cuff of his green undershirt on the opposite sleeve.

Goodwitch shook her head and swapped to the next candidate she wanted to address.

"Okdes Lucis Susceptor. Again no formal training and-" the huntress started. Ozpin didn't allow her to finish.

"Ah yes, the boy I met on my walk through the woods. Dealt with a nasty batch of Ursi singlehandedly. He's a good conversationalist, if not a little hotheaded," the teacher mused, holding his grin proudly.

"You found him wandering around in the forest with no bearings or even the slightest hint of personal hygiene…" Glynda retorted, pursing her lips in disapproval.

"I found him while taking a stroll in the forest and I found he was quite adequate at handling himself against the Grimm. Consider him my own pet-project for the year," Ozpin shot back, raising his brow and taking another sip of his beverage.

"Yes, well, we can all see how well your 'pet projects' work out…" his subordinate noted, making a graceful gesture to the two girls behind the glass screen. In particular she motioned to the girl in a red cloak trying desperately to explain to an officer why she and her sister were out during the curfew. "She's back at this vigilante act even after two years at Beacon. This calls for serious punishment for her and her sister…"

"Choose a topic and stay on it, my dear. You don't flatter yourself with tangents," Ozpin suggested, taking another thick swig. Goodwitch's mouth moved to retort but closed in defeat. She decided to simply do as he asked and continue.

"Finally, Corr Otto Giudice. No background, no fam-"

Ozpin's eyes narrowed quite quickly at the name, a cold, aggressive tone shifted across his face.

"He stays," the headmaster hissed. Glynda's eyes widened, having rarely seen this side of her employer. She stayed silent as he continued. "True he does not have certain… qualifications, but I'm allowing him in as a favor to an old accomplice. Regardless, I have every confidence the boy will do just fine. So if you please, we have more vital matters to attend to," he explained, motioning to the duo sitting beyond the glass.

Glynda quickly noted the hypocritical nature of Ozpin's topic deflection, but she knew better than to question him when he talked with that low voice. Her mouth almost ran dry.

"Yes, of course. I do believe they said we could enter any time once the officer leaves," the teacher explained, pawing at her scroll.

The Headmaster gave a brief 'hrumph' as he recomposed himself.

"Excellent. Also see if I can get a fresh cup of coffee. This is a police station and I ran out half an hour ago," Ozpin said with a grin.

Glynda gave a confused glare over at her boss, moving the gaze from his lips to his mug with utter bafflement. Deciding it was better not to ask she did as he requested and went to fetch him a refill.


-Vale Police Station, Interrogation Room C-

"You know, I do believe this is the very same room that I met you in, young lady," Ozpin greeted, sliding into the seat across from Ruby. The raven girl's eyes glinted with panic and concern.

"Professor Ozpin! I… Well... Yang and I were just… I mean I was…" she stuttered out, any and all attempts to explain her actions coming out as gibberish. Yang put a hand over her sister's, calloused fingertips massaging the younger girl's knuckles.

"It was my fault sir. I put Ruby up to-" Yang started, attempting to take the blame.

"Perhaps you did but she still went along with it, so fault also rests on her shoulders, even more so in my eyes since she is technically your superior," Ozpin snapped in quickly. Yang's nostril's flared.

"Only at Beacon, sir!" she returned, a glint of red leaking into her lavender eyes. Ozpin gave her an unimpressed glare.

"We're outside Beacon now and yet you still call me sir," he noted, taking the wind out from under her argument with one sentence. Her lips twitched.

"That's differen-!"

"No, no it's not," Glynda jumped in. "Your sister is the leader of Team RWBY, regardless her physical location and her familial relations. That's a weight of responsibility she bares with her so long as the team exists, her actions speaking for her, you, your teammates and even for Beacon," the Huntress snarled. "We can't afford gaining the reputation of a school that trains vigilantes and criminals."

Yang was about to give her rebuttal when a pale arm in a dark sleeve gripped her bicep. The blonde looked over at her sister. Ruby's eyes were cast to the table before she looked up into Ozpin's eyes.

"I take full responsibility for both Yang and my actions today. I'll do whatever you need me to do to redeem our credibility and our name," the young woman stated firmly.

Ozpin matched her gaze, only once taking a sip from his steaming mug. He gave a small smirk, one that visibly eased the team leader.

"I'm sure you will. There are no charges against you outside of the curfew issue. The arsonists you stopped have all been apprehended and accounted for," the Headmaster noted. Ruby and Yang slouched in their chairs with a relieved sigh. Ozpin's smile became more intense instead of wider. "Of course when you get back to school you'll serve two weeks of detention and help tutor the freshman for a month," he added sadistically. This received a satisfied 'hrumph' from Glynda and a groan of exacerbation from the two students.

Besides that enthusiasm-curbing crack the room took on levity that they all briefly allowed themselves a moment to enjoy. Then Ozpin took another swig and put his cup off to the side, folding his hands casually.

"Though I would like to hear about who these criminals were and how exactly you knew they were going to be where they were…"

Yang and Ruby looked to each other with quirked brows. The blonde turned to the headmaster, shrugging.

"Uh, well… we were just out looking for people making trouble. One trail of smoke later and we ran across them," she answered, scratching her head earnestly.

"As for who they were… we don't know, sir," Ruby noted, twiddling her thumbs. "I mean, we tried to get as much out of them as we could, but I'm not very strong and Yang was a little… too strong," she chuckled, averting her gaze to the corner behind Glynda. It suddenly seemed very attractive next to the incriminating stares of her teachers.

"Right… three of the twelve have concussions and multiple abrasions along their faces… I'm still amazed you got off the assault charges…" Goodwitch licked her lips while gazing at the information on her scroll.

None of the women noticed Ozpin's eyes shift ever so briefly at the mention of the assault charges.

"We had good reason though," Yang explained, leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms over her bust. Ruby nodded.

"One of them mentioned Torchwick during the fight. We think there's a group of his old goons that are still rallying under his name…" Ruby continued. "Yes, we may have gone a little overboard, but I thought it best if we make sure there wasn't a more serious issue here. Guess we were wrong…" she smiled wearily, rubbing the back of her neck.

Ozpin shook his head, Glynda pursed her lips.

"Well what's done is done. Consider this your slap on the wrist. The police are done looking into you, so you're clear to go. I expect to see you both Wednesday with the rest of the returning class," Ozpin explained, motioning to the door. The pair stood from their chairs.

"Thank you Professor, both of you," Ruby said softly. Yang punched her shoulder.

"C'mon champ, let's go get our gear," the blonde said cheerily. She gave a smile to Glynda and Ozpin. "I'll see you both in two days!"

Yang strolled out the door. Ruby waited behind.

"Problem, Ruby?" Ozpin asked, turning around in the chair. She smiled shyly as she milled by the exit.

"I know why this seems odd now… you didn't bring cookies this time…" she noted. Ozpin returned her smile.

"Let's hope there's not a next time, but if there is, I won't forget them. I promise," the Headmaster answered. Ruby nodded with a wide, appreciative grin before closing the door behind her.

Almost as soon as she left Ozpin's smile fell.

"You know they were only a block away…" he muttered.

"A block away from what?" Glynda asked, cocking her head to listen more closely to her boss.

"The murder scene. Man had been pinned to a wall with multiple blades. They were all removed by the time the police got there. Left quite a mess for the morgue," Ozpin noted, flipping through his scroll and reading the reports. He nudged his glasses farther up his nose. "Tragedy of a situation, wouldn't you agree?"

Glynda interpreted the implication almost immediately. A softer frown graced her face.

"Yes… quite tragic indeed…" she muttered, knowing that Ozpin had won yet another argument without saying more than four sentences.

The pair left the holding room in relative silence, saying a few pleasantries to the police and thanking them for their time before they headed out entirely. Not to mention Ozpin getting a top off on his coffee. With a restored mood, the two continued on their way.

"So… I'm curious… what words did Father Jeremiah use to describe Ms. Kaliannah?" the Headmaster asked as they strolled to the exit of the station. Glynda almost sniggered.

Almost.

"His exact words, I believe were something along the lines of 'Bitch be crazy', among other such profanities," she noted, trying to suppress a very uncharacteristically childish giggle. She settled for a pleasant grin.

Ozpin had no problem giving an amused chuckle.

"Now I remember why we keep him around," the man noted, holding the door open for his compatriot.

"That and he is one of the best medics I've ever seen…" Glynda noted.

"He's a medic? Since when?" Ozpin asked, eyebrow raised in confusion. For the second time Glynda stood at him, mouth agape.

That is, until he began laughing.

"I'm messing with you, my dear. Now," he said as they stepped through the precinct doors. "We have much to do. A school year to prepare for, new students to see arrive, and many, many sheets of paper work that need to be filed."

Glynda rolled her eyes, but keep the faintest shadow of a smile.

Ozpin would never fail to surprise her.


-Dragon Talon Spire, ?-

"Could've gone better…" Dyr rasped, opening the door to his bunk. He needed a drink.

"Could have gone much, much worse," Doil snapped, glaring at his partner while opening the door to his own apartment in the spire. He was simply looking forward to some shuteye. He hadn't been able to catch a single wink on the airship back to base. "I'm just glad that the documents I found made him happy. Hell, almost didn't grab them. Imagine this whole scenario if I hadn't," the white haired man rambled, setting his glasses down on the table next to his door.

"Wouldn't be breathing, either of us. You especially, since you botched the whole dust thing…" Dyr hypothesized, shedding his heavy Kevlar jacket. His short sleeves betrayed even more of his faunus heritage, revealing thick strips of black fur that thinned out around his wrist before fading away entirely.

"Right, because he gave very clear instructions not to blow up the building…" Doil snorted sarcastically, alleviating himself of the vest sitting over his dull brown leotard. "It was a failed calculation, but it hindered our task very little aside from alerting them that we're after our target…" he held up his finger to stop his wolfish teammate from cutting him off. "Which, might I add, would have happened should we succeeded or failed. That was always part of the equation since the beginning."

Dyr snarled, glancing out the curved window of his apartment from the doorway.

"Fine, whatever," Dyr barked, walking deeper into his quarters. "Just don't screw up again, or so help me God, if I survive, I will personally rip you limb from limb. Do I make myself clear?" the faunus asked. Before Doil could answer the feral man opened his mouth once more. "Of course I do, you know that. I'll be in here drinking if you need anything. Note; you better not need anything," the wolf-man hissed, waving his arms furiously and shutting the door.

Doil merely sighed. Dyr Retter, the wolf king, the most ferocious faunus in existence, drunkard extraordinaire.

The remaining teammate staggered into his room with a weary gait. He briefly glanced out the window and immediately regretted it.

I should've asked for something a little lower… he thought, trying to suppress the sudden urge to vomit.

With a defeated sigh he sat on his bed, content to sleep with his specially designed leotard and pants still on.

That's when the phone rang.

Groaning, he sat up and reached into his pocket and fished out the communicator. Opening it he was met with the standard sound waves that represented their commander in every call. Not even they knew who their employer was; just that he (or she) had happily provided accommodations for the duration of the mercenary's service and enough lien to keep the duo set for life.

"Your next mission is in Vale. There are a few recruits I would like you to scout for me, and any 'potentials' are to be approached and offered the same commodities that you have been afforded. Standard fee for an extended mission, ride will be included," the voice said, obviously distorted to be both deeper and higher than any normal person's could.

A selection of documents appeared on the screen next to the placeholder for the employer's face. Doil clicked one and viewed the specs and images that popped up, detailing the life of a student enrolling into Signal. He swiped sideways and found one for a student bound for Beacon.

"Here is the list of candidates with full bios and mission specifics. I will defer to your judgment as to who you deem meet the criterion. They must be someone who you'll play well with," the voice explained.

Doil swapped to the next candidate and merely found an amalgamation of reports detailing several gruesome murders across the city of Vale and the surrounding countryside. Images accompanied the notes, detailing the murder's M.O.

Either the victims were impaled to death against a wall or slashed to pieces by an unidentified weapon. No name was listed, merely being left marked as "Vigilante-1".

"Do what you must to evaluate them and recruit them. Your mission begins in a week. Rest up, study the bios, and report to the airship at oh-four-hundred."

The voice cut off and the transmission closed, leaving a screen littered with opened documents. Doil lifted his head.

"YOU GET ALL THAT?" he yelled, his voice carrying through the door.

"OF COURSE I DID! I CAN HEAR YOUR HEART BEATING A MILE AWAY!" Dyr yelled back from his apartment. "ALSO, YOU DON'T NEED TO FREAKING YELL!"

Doil merely tittered at his partner's fury.

"EHY! DON'T GO LAUGHING AT ME WISE GUY! JUST WAIT TILL YOU CAN'T POOF INTO SMOKE ANYMORE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT! I'LL LEAVE YOU HANGIN' IN A MOMENT'S NOTICE!"

Shaking his head at his 'friend's' irritation Doil attempted to read a few of the bios. Failing miserably through his blurred vision the man tossed his holopad to the side and fell backwards on the bed, letting the lead weight of sleep encompass him.

It would be a day before he woke up and began thoroughly planning his mission.

It was going to be a long one.


Author's Note: Yup, it's a short one, it was never planned to be all that long. But there's a reason for that. The next two chapters are going to be INCREDIBLY long compared to this, Chapter 3 especially.

Also, say goodbye to Team RWBY for the next two chapters. It's time to bring in all of the OCs that were submitted (three of which were actually mentioned here, one of which in a way you don't even realize), and boy do those next to chapters have some meat on their bones.

So yes, I realize that this is only a tidlywinks chapter, but it sets up so much so well and it would've been too hard to integrate it into the previous one (what with the excellent capstone moment of a massive explosion).

Standby my friends, the epic is coming ;)

Chapter Stats:

Pages: 9

Words: 3,051