The Pledge

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. 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. 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". 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. But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return. 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.

Ruby Rose

Ruby Rose was, to say the least, so excited! She was getting to go to Beacon Academy a year early! YEEEE! Five days ago she'd been in a fight with some robber and his crooks, met Glynda Goodwitch, well got saved by Glynda Goodwitch, expert Huntress~! And then she'd gotten a personal visit from the Headmaster of Beacon, with cookies! And now here she was, going to Beacon academy with her big sister!

Well it wasn't entire perfect, she'd had to actually get away from Yang when some blonde guy had puked all over her shoe due to motion sickness, or was it flight sickness? Either way, they'd finally arrived at Beacon… and then Yang had run off! And now here she was, alone in the middle of Beacon grounds, spinning… and then she fell.

"What are you doing!?" someone shouted as Ruby hit the ground… huh, ground was oddly leathery, wait no, that was one of the several suitcases she'd ended up sending into the air with her collapse.

"Sorry!" Ruby sat up to see a girl in white with more white, actually there was a bit of red, but it was mostly white.

"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused!?" she claimed, pointing at Ruby before looking off to the side for some reason and then muttering something under her breath.

"Uh…?" Ruby was kinda confused at the girl's actions, well maybe not the first half of them, but the sudden mumbling was odd. So she grabbed the suitcase next to her and tried to hand it over, only for it to be taken from her hands.

"Give me that!" she ordered, and then opened the case. "This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!" she ranted, and tried to grab something from inside the case before growling and looking off to the side. "Shut it," she growled under her breath, that one she caught… and that just left Ruby more confused.

"Uh?" Ruby rubbed her head as the girl succeeded in pulling out a red vial with a cork in it.

"Are you braindead? Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!?" she was shaking the bottle of dust, red powder flowing into the air… and directly into Ruby's nose as she was standing up. Oh no, she was gonna sneeze. "Are you even listening to me, is any of this sinking in? What do you have to-" Ruby wasn't looking when the girl cut herself off, and pinched her nose as she kept looking down to try and hold in the sneeze. "Oh…" the white girl's tone was suddenly much more sedate as Ruby failed to keep the sneeze in, and just sneezed off to the side as the girl suddenly gulped, Ruby looking up just in time to see the girl slowly trying to put away the vial of fire dust.

"Right, now if you had sneezed on this, we would have exploded!" the girl started ranting again as Ruby started putting her fingers together.

"I'm sorry about your luggage, really, really sorry!" she proclaimed to the white girl.

"You complete dolt! What are you even doing here if you don't know about Dust!" the girl leaned forward, her eyes looking Ruby up and down. "Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well I uh… kinda-" Ruby started, and the girl just picked up again.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school, far from just sparing and practice, we are here to fight monsters," she crossed her arms over her chest haughtily before looking away. "So watch where you're going," she turned away and mumbled something under her breath again, something Ruby barely caught. "And you be quiet,"

"I said I was sorry princess," Ruby finally snapped back, a bit tired of being ranted at by this girl who seemed completely uninterested in her opinion, and more interested in some sort of… other conversation that was going on or something!

"It's heiress actually," someone else spoke up, both Ruby and the White girl turning towards another girl as she walked up. She was dressed in black and white, with a bow adorning her head. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world," she added, a book tucked under her arm.

"Finally, some recognition!" she looked… away from Ruby, over her other shoulder, much to Ruby's confusion, who was she looking at? Then the girl seemed to pause before turning to look at Ruby instead… that was weird, this girl, Weiss Schnee was weird.

Black seemed to think so as well, "Huh… This same company, infamous for its controversial labor forces, and questionable business partners," she finished, and Weiss seemed to about ready to fume again, before something stopped her from doing so. The girl held both hands by her sides, closed her eyes, and seethed, before storming off as a pair of men came up behind Ruby and the girl in black to start picking up Weiss' luggage.

"...She was kinda… weird? Did you think so?" Ruby asked the girl beside her, turning to look at her… and she was already walking away… great. She fell to her knees, abandoned by everyone already. "Welcome to Beacon…" she muttered, closing her eyes and just laying there… until someone else spoke up.

"Hey," she opened her eyes, and the blonde guy was standing there, offering his hand to her. He kinda looked like a knight actually, like some sort of storybook knight… no knight was too cool for him, squire maybe? "I'm Jaune,"

She reached up for his hand, "Ruby," She responded, and he helped her to her feet. "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

Weiss Schnee

"At least this time you keep your temper," Mandricardio said in her head, still invisible, still following her, like he had been whenever they had been in public. She'd… sorta gotten used to his comment, even if she would have liked to be alone in her head sometimes.

"I am not my father," she growled out, even if she was… slightly thankful for him preventing her from getting blown up by shaking fire dust into that girl's face. She'd been a bit too angry to realize what she'd been doing, and it had nearly ended with the two of them getting blown off the cliff. But that girl…

"I know you aren't Weiss, but others don't… you just need to prove them wrong. So stop trying to give the wrong impression," her Servant said in her head before falling silent once more. "You know, maybe finding out more about that girl would have been better?"

"And what would have been the point of that?" Weiss mumbled under her breath, wondering just what he meant.

"Well, as you pointed out, she seems a little young for this place. You'd think that would speak of an excelling student, rather than an unknowing one," he pointed out, and she huffed before leaning against a stone pillar, she had a little bit before orientation.

"But she didn't even know about dust," Weiss mumbled.

"And you blew up in her face, didn't let her speak, and was all haughty heiress in her face, your point?" he pointed out, again, and it stung. She just huffed… maybe it was worth looking into. She looked towards the spot where he should have been, and then he spoke up again. "And now might just be your chance."

She looked around the pillar, to see that girl walking alongside that blonde guy who'd thrown up on the ship, the two engaged in… quite the conversation. "No, not right now, not with him there," she muttered, and Mandricardio chuckled.

"Then perhaps I should shadow them? Not much else I can do," he offered/complained. And Weiss just waved him off, neither denying his request or accenting to it. "Well then, shadow I shall," he said, and that constant presence she felt started getting a bit further away.

Mandricarido was a… mixed blessing. Whatever her father forced her to do, had forced the ghost onto her… Servant he called himself. This wasn't the first time he'd tried to shadow someone, going after that mysterious book, but her father had it on him literally at all times, and Mandricardio himself wasn't capable of opening it himself the few times it was off her father's person.

But he was kinda loyal, and tried his best to try and stop her from getting hurt, and really, really shared her opinion on her father, so at least she had someone to complain to who offered meaningful points rather than being a suck up. Being a ghost really allowed him more freedom than she liked to snark, and she'd still not given up on throwing pillows at him in hopes of it eventually working. He claimed that he was waiting outside at night, but she didn't completely trust that given his ability to just walk through walls and doors.

"If you want to try, now might be the time?" he suddenly offered, and she looked towards the pair, who were looking around confused. "They're lost by the way," he added, ah, so that explained the confusion…

Well, it was now or never, the girl was snickering, and the boy was gesturing around as she walked out from behind the pillar towards them. If they were lost they obviously didn't know where the auditorium was. "Well, it seems you're lost," Weiss started, drawing their attention as the girl looked towards her, and the boy, who'd been gesturing towards the sky at that point, turned his head as well.

"Oh, uh… Hi… Weiss?" the girl offered, waving towards her as the boy just stared. "Auditorium's that way," she pointed, pointing over her shoulder towards where it said the auditorium was one the map… she hoped.

"Hold on, I'll find it," Mandricardio offered, and his presence started moving away again, she silently thanked him as the girl nodded.

"Oh! Thank you Weiss, um, my name is Ruby," the girl, Ruby said, and then she pointed at barf boy. "And this is Jaune."

She could have sworn she'd felt Mandricardio stop for a second before he just continued walking, or floating, or however he got around when he was invisible. "Right, now, I believe we got off on a wrong start, so I would like to ask," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "How did you get into Beacon?"

"Oh, Headmaster Ozpin let me in!" Ruby said excitedly, and Weiss raised an eyebrow at that one.

"So a scholarship?" she questioned, assuming as much, and then Ruby started tapping her fingers.

"I mean kinda… I think so, he personally invited me," she admitted and Weiss just stared, and now barf boy, Jaune, had stopped staring at her, and now was looking boggle-eyed at Ruby.

"Hold on, you mean like, in-person, personally?" Jaune asked, and Ruby just nodded, and Weiss uncrossed her arms… Well, she'd thought this girl was just some dolt, but if she'd been, quite literally personally, invited to Beacon by the Headmaster… she'd have to check those facts, but that meant that among the attendees, she would have to be among the best of them, or at least somewhere in the middle compared to others.

"Found it, take a left and then a right." Mandricardio suddenly informed her, and Weiss huffed.

"Well then, let's get going shall we?" she said, much more interested in Ruby than before. And together the trio went, and she very, very quickly learned that Ruby was… excitable. And that her idea of a weapon was rather strange, a Scythe, a farming implement, mixed with a sniper rifle of all things, granted most Hunters and Huntresses were unique in their own way, and she doubted something that big was easy to handle, so she withheld judgement… for now.

Yang Xiao-Long

Yang watched as her sister walked in with two other people… Oh great, she was with barf boy and… some girl who kinda looked like a princess, huh, she honestly hadn't expected Ruby to take her advice to make some friends so quickly. She waved for Ruby.

"Ruby! Over here, I saved you a spot," she called, and watched as her sister said a very quick and probably temporary farewell to the princess and barf boy, and princess quickly left the blonde's side, and he just sighed dejectedly before muttering something to himself and going to try and get his own spot.

Once Ruby was standing beside her, she looked at her little sister with a smirk. "So how's your first day going little sister?" she asked, and Ruby just spun on her heel at her.

"You mean since you ditched me and I nearly exploded?" Ruby responded, crossing her arms over her chest, she just huffed.

"Yikes, almost have a meltdown already?" Yang guessed, only for princess to suddenly walk up, rolling her eyes for some reason before speaking up.

"No, she means that literally, almost blew a hole in front of the school" princess stated, and very quickly, when Ruby, she realized that, no she wasn't kidding.

"Oh by Oum you almost exploded," Yang muttered, zoning out for a second as the princess crossed her arms over her chest.

"Luckily we didn't, since she had the sense to not sneeze on the fire dust," she said with a scoff, and Ruby just started tapping her fingers together in seeming guilt. Then for some reason the white girl turned away and muttered something she couldn't hear, before coming back to the two… huh that was weird.

"But hey, everything worked out right?" Yang supposed, shrugging, since at least her sister and this girl weren't arguing.

"Eh…" Ruby muttered, waving her hand in a 'so-so' motion as the girl huffed.

"She's at least not completely hopeless," the girl said, and Ruby just sighed at that one… yowch, princess was a caustic one.

"So what's your name?" Yang asked, deciding she might as well get the real name before just outright calling her 'princess'.

"Weiss Schnee," she said… and at that moment Yang's brain shut off for a second… suddenly very glad that Ruby hadn't literally blown up this girl. Schnee wasn't the only dust brand, but damn if it wasn't one you saw everywhere. Still, impressive, her sister seems to at least have scored a somewhat decent relation with the princess, maybe she could get some discounts or something.

Before Yang could say anything else, the speakers in the auditorium cut on. "Ahem," everyone looked towards the center stage, where the man in green, Headmaster Ozpin, was standing at the microphone, and adjusting his glasses. "I'll keep this brief,"

'Yeah, yeah,' Yang thought, and wondered when they'd get to fighting things, or at least classes.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people," Ozpin started, and Yang just crossed her arms as Ruby looked excitedly between herself and Weiss, but Yang didn't see what Weiss was doing. "But, I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."

'What is he on about?' Yang wondered to herself as her eyes drifted around the stage… to the two individuals behind the Headmaster. One was that Glynda Goodwitch lady, the other she didn't recognize, but she quickly winced at the sight of them. A young looking man in a blue 'Beacon' jacket with a black shirt underneath it of some kind, his hair was layered over his face and just barely not hiding some sort of eyepatch… but it was kinda hard not to ignore the two prosthetic limbs painted blue that took the place of one arm, and a leg. Who was that guy?

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step," Ozpin finished, and Yang brushed her hair back behind her as he started to walk off the stage, the strange… boy? Man, a young man at least, followed him, Gylnda taking Ozpin's place at the mic.

"You will gather here tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins, be ready. You are dismissed," She said, before walking after Ozpin and the mystery man.

"Either of you think he seemed kinda off?" Yang asked as Ruby held her hands together.

"Like he wasn't even there," Ruby admitted, and Weiss just sighed as that blonde kid leaned in on their conversation.

"So uh? Room for another?" he asked, and neither Weiss or Ruby said no, so she didn't either.

"No problem, hey did either you pay attention to that other guy?" Yang questioned as Ruby just shrugged, but Weiss spoke up.

"Sorta, but he's likely just another instructor here… certainly has the scars for it," she muttered, slowly raising a hand to her own face before quickly putting it down. Like she was fooling Yang, that pretty little mark on princess' face wasn't exactly hidden. Had some kinda story behind it… or maybe she just cut herself or something.

"He seemed kinda young don't you think?" the blonde kid added, and Yang shrugged.

"I mean, yeah but what sort of danger would you have to put yourself in to lose two limbs and probably an eye?" Yang asked, and Ruby just looked at her, her hands on her hips. "You know what I mean, its just proof he's a hunter with either experience or he got unlucky."

"I swear I've seen him before…" Weiss muttered, and Ruby piped up.

"I mean, maybe you've watched a vid of him before?" she suggested as Weiss just shrugged, but didn't respond.

"What kind of weapon do you think he uses?" Ruby questioned, and Yang just shrugged, but Weiss sighed and the blonde boy spoke up.

"Probably not something that keeps him a safe distance from the Grimm," he just pointed out… which might be a valid point, might not be, but it didn't narrow down anything since…

"Are you aware the modern standard is for weapons to feature mechashift capabilities between ranged and melee options correct?" Weiss pointed out to him, and the boy just rubbed the back of his head and turned slightly, revealing the sword and sheath on his hip… huh, interesting.

Why couldn't she get her mind off that guy? Even as Weiss, Ruby and blondie devolved into slightly more casual conversation… which was mainly Weiss ripping into blond's knowledge of things and Ruby trying to cover for him, she thought back to him again… Was it because he was attractive? Not he seemed… oddly plain, like if it hadn't been for his extra features in the form of his artificial limbs, she wouldn't have picked him out of a line-up. It wasn't that he was interesting, far from it… there was just something off about him, she could feel it. And it wasn't 'off' in the same way the headmaster had been, just… she couldn't even explain it to herself really.

Blake Belladona

Blake Belladona was an odd girl, she knew this for a fact. But the moment the speech had ended, she'd slipped out of the auditorium and took a nice, long, and deep breath… it had been suffocating in there… and the reason for that 'suffocation' was currently walking alongside the Headmaster and Glynda to somewhere else in Beacon, she could see them walking together from here, even from here, that boy's presence was… something.

Maybe she should have just cleared her head… Beacon was already a far more empowered place than anywhere else she'd been in years, so maybe it was just messing with her senses… she turned to start walking in the opposite direction away from Ozpin's little group, and to get away from the deafening roar that was beginning to build up in the auditorium.

Taking the second to adjust her bow, she also made sure her 'belt' was firmly looped around her waist. Uncomfortable, but she'd deal with it. The golden eyed girl started walking in search of somewhere… quieter, like a library. A library would be good.

Pulling the map of Beacon out of her pocket, she identified the quickest route and started walking, even as from the auditorium people started pouring out to begin exploring on their own. Beacon's air was quite clean honestly, far cleaner than she'd expected, given its position above Vale, but perhaps that was just her being pessimistic.

She continued to try and focus even as she passed by another building… someone shouting inside, quite loudly. "I said twenty! I will not skimp on the smallest amount of medication for treatment!" some woman was shouting… well at least someone took their doctoring seriously.

Before she'd completely cleared sight of the building, a man in green had burst out of it, practically booking it past her, hood over his head as she paused in confusion, just in time for a woman in a red jacket to barrel past her after the man, shouting at him. "Get back here Robin! You require treatment!"

"IT WAS JUST A SPRAINED ANKLE YOU CRAZY NURSE!" the man, Robin shouted back as the two began their merry chase… for someone with an apparently sprained ankle, he was moving quite fast in his panic… it also seemed that someone didn't like being locked up in the medical wing.

She just shook her head and continued walking towards the library… Beacon was certainly shaping up to be lively already. The Schnee heiress, that strange boy, and now this… what was next, a man with two souls? She nearly chuckled at her own dark humor, and pulled her book out of her small bag to begin reading… before someone spoke up.

"I wouldn't suggest doing that, unless you wish to walk into a wall," she looked up at the sound of such a deep voice, expecting a towering individual… and was kinda surprised when she saw nothing but air and buildings. "Down here," she looked down, and was rather surprised at the sight of the young blue haired boy standing before her. She raised an eyebrow… he felt more 'charged' than she'd expected, but…

"I'm perfectly capable of watching where I am going, even while reading," Blake offered, and the young boy huffed.

"Well, better that than the alternative, might I inquire as to where you seem the be heading, compared to the rest of the 'hopeful applicants'," the boy inquired, making 'air quotes' with his fingers when speaking about the other students.

"And you aren't one?" Blake assumed. He was so short that it kinda funny, and the only thing that outright gave away he wasn't exactly as young as he appeared was his very deep voice… and his rather nice sense of fashion, what with the well fitted but slightly old fashioned suit and pants he was wearing.

"Hardly," the young boy drawled, before shaking his head. "I'm actually part of the staff here,"

Blake raised an eyebrow at that one, she'd believe he was a student, but a member of Beacon's faculty? She was about to argue when the boy sighed, and whipped out a card from his pocket, flipping it between his fingers before handing it over to her. She took it.

"Hans Christian Andersen… Head Librarian," very weird name she thought, but the card looked legitimate… and she looked back down at him, before noticing he was already walking away… towards the library. She followed him, since that had been her destination anyway.

"Ah, so that was where you were heading… very well, since it seems you are inclined to at least some form of either intellectual pursuit, or perhaps just reading fairy tales, might I inquire your name?" Andersen said… wow, his very voice was practically oozing with criticism already. Clearly his opinion was something he was not afraid of withholding.

"Blake Belladona," she provided, and the young boy hummed as they approached the library building. Surprise, no one else was anywhere near the building but them.

"Ah… One of the 'Hopefuls', hmph," Andersen claimed, walking up to the door and pulling out his scroll, opening it before holding it up to the scanner at the door. A quick beep and he pulled the door open. "Technically, the library is supposed to be closed until tomorrow you lady," he said… but didn't close the door, since he was still standing there.

"Hopefuls?" Blake questioned, taking the unheard offer and walking into the library, the little boy shutting the door behind them before scoffing.

"The headmaster keeps a lot of lists… especially of those he expects to succeed," Andersen claimed… she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She wasn't looking for fame… she'd much rather be as unnoticed as possible. "But that's little of my concern… now Miss Belladona, since we are alone," he looked around as they were surrounded by bookshelves, with not a single window in sight.

She tensed up at his words, and what he said next confirmed her fear, "perhaps now you can speak of why you hide that which makes you special?"

"You have a problem with it?" she said tensely, ready to bolt at a moment's notice, the boy clearly however noticed her tense nature, and quickly walked around behind the library's central desk, jumping into a rather high seat, which seemed to be exactly for him.

"Quite the contrary. It makes you far more intriguing than anyone else I've seen with such features… out of all the Faunus I've seen in my quick observations today, the number that possess more than a single trait I have counted on one single hand," he said… dear Oum he was observant, but she wasn't about to bite.

"So what's interesting about it?" she said, biting her tongue, she was fully aware of what her status meant… it was a status she and her mother shared…

"How much have you actually been able to learn?" he said, suddenly bringing up a topic which, very bluntly, stated that he knew just as well what she did about her second secret. A secret that very few Faunus also held…

"I don't have to share that," she explained, and the boy huffed as he kicked his legs up onto the desk, revealing his shiny black dress shoes.

"So only that much huh? Not even an inkling? Have you ever experimented on your own?" she really, really wanted him to shut up, but something about his tone just kept her from leaving and it stung.

"It's far to dangerous," she replied to him through grit teeth, and the boy just scoffed again.

"Young lady, you are planning on becoming a huntress, if you were looking to avoid danger you've chosen the wrong line of study, besides…" he started, before snapping his fingers, and Blake took a step back in shock as the little boy materialized a ball of blue flame over his hand. But he wasn't even a- "As you can see I'm just as qualified as you, and clearly far more," he said, before adjusting his collar, allowing her a very, very quick look at what lied beneath…

Scales, alongside slash marks and the sight of burns. She mentally retracted her previous statement in her mind… clearly, he was far, far more than she'd expected… and far better hidden, given until he'd showed her, she would have had zero clue he was a faunus at all. She adjusted her stance, and the boy huffed, mumbling something under his breath before leaning forward.

"But enough of the formalities, I'm merely the librarian. Now then, perhaps you would wish to check out a book, or were you just searching for a quiet place?" Andersen asked, as she held up two fingers, and he sighed, but waved her off… and as she was turning away she spoke.

"What about him?" she questioned, and Andersen responded.

"Him? Ah, you seem rather sensitive to such things then. He's something alright, certainly not as human as he seems," Andersen answered, confirming her question… that boy, that young man, was like her, and like him. And he was far stronger than either of them. "He's also your Combat Strategy instructor, so get used to it," oh joy… wait.

"He's one of our instructors?" Blake questioned, and Hans scoffed.

"And he's not the only one, your Mathematics professor isn't short on energy himself, but you should be able to tune him out-" Beacon was becoming so much more interesting in such a short time, "But if you're looking for excircular teachings, miss Belladona, neither will be able to help you. One holds power, but no true understanding, the other has understanding, but in a field that is so impractical it would render your own abilities worthless, if you are compatible with it at all."

"...and what about you?" Blake questioned, and the boy huffed.

"Come back from initiation alive, and perhaps you can find that out," Andersen provided, and finally she walked away from him with those ominous words.

Her first day at Beacon Academy was already far, far more than she had hoped for.

AN: Well, by overwhelmingly positive response, I have decided that, yes, the Pledge is getting to be its own standalone story. And for its very first new chapter, we have RWBY themselves. And of course, the unique circumstances that arise from such a thing. Still, you all asked for this, so please, read, review and enjoy! And for those who update the TV tropes page, I'll leave it to you for if you want to give The Pledge its own page, or just leave it on the Servants of Remnant page. Good luck everyone, and have a good day!