A/N: Hello there! Welcome to my attempt at a RWBY fanfiction. I've had this idea building in my brain ever since Volume 3 and thanks to Friends and Family I've finally decided to publish it here. On a more plot related note, this story is set before Volume 1 takes place, maybe around the end of this story is when Ruby has stopped Torchwick, I don't know, I haven't decided yet. Enjoy! (There will be a longer A/N at the end of this chapter.)

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, I am not a member of Rooster Teeth, the only things I own are the original characters in this story.

Chapter 1:

The End of a Beginning

"Let not your strife keep you from blooming, for true strength is found in those moments of struggle."

"Alice Arany, Yvette Sommer, Āẏa Rana, Benjamin Ianu," Professor Ozpin's voice rang out across the packed auditorium. Initiation had been a grueling, but fun, process for the would-be Hunters. The memories of the high velocity launch into the Emerald Forest in order to collect "relics" and form teams was still fresh in their minds leaving the auditorium in a sort of continuous buzz of excitement, no team was standing still. This one was no exception.

"You four reclaimed the lost jade pieces, and from this day forward shall be known as: Team BAYA!" The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, "Led by: Benjamin Ianu!" Ben couldn't help but smile with pride at being elected leader, and neither could his teammates, the ones that would stay by his side through thick and thin.

As they made their way back to the dorms, nobody could really contain their excitement, Ben walked with a new spring in his step, Yvette wanted to jump for joy every few seconds, Alice couldn't stop hugging her teammates, even Āẏa had a smile plastered across his face.

"Way to go Ben!" Yvette yelled excitedly as the door to their room clicked shut behind them.

"Oh, it was nothing." Ben replied modestly

"Nothing?!" Yvette exclaimed, "Right, and I'm the mother of Grimm. C'mon Ben you were a total badass, calling shots, taking names! Take the compliment, at least when I give them."

"Hey, what about the rest of us?" Alice pouted dramatically, "I don't hear you calling me a badass."

"Well that's because you were a monster, monsters don't need to be called 'badass'." Yvette immediately supplied.

"Ok but then what was Āẏa?" Ben asked, curious to know his teammate's opinion.

"He was a demon, easy."

"That's it?" Āẏa asked curiously

"Of course not, but I figure you to be a man who lets his actions speak for him."

"Fair enough."

"So if Bens a badass, Āẏa's a demon, and I'm a monster, what does that make you?" Alice asked.

"I guess that makes me…" Yvette's face lit up impishly, "a beast tamer."

The rest of the team shared a collective groan.

"Was that seriously the best you could come up with?" Ben asked, his hand dragging down his face.

"Well I was considering 'Queen of Beasts' but that seems four years too early."

"You're insufferable." Ben replied

"Comes with practice boss," Yvette smirked back, "all jokes aside, I'm glad to have you as my leader Ben. You'll do great, I know it."

"Thanks Yvette."

"Try not to get us killed, ok?" Āẏa said sarcastically.

Ben laughed, "No promises Āẏa."

"We're gonna have the best time ever!" Alice shouted with glee.

"This is literally the worst time ever!" Āẏa shouted over comms. The surrounding forest was caked in blood, red and black, corpses of Grimm lay wasting into smoke giving cover to the rest of the horde that lay waiting in the shadows. The four hunters were never still, the fearful mixture of adrenaline and dismay caused the veteran team to hack away at the matted black fur of the horde around them. As one Grimm fell three or four more would take its place, a fresh injection of energy for the howling mob. Meanwhile BAYA was low on ammo, aura, and morale. Each swing was sluggish, every shot counted, each hit against them carved marks more prominent than the last.

It wasn't supposed to go like this. Yvette thought as she slammed her blade into a Beowulf's shoulder, forcing more momentum through her movements via her Semblance, her massive "knife" carved the Wulf from shoulder to waist in a single stroke, obliterating the Grimm. This was supposed to be a simple extermination. She wished she could take a moment to rest, but the horde wouldn't let her. Grimm don't tire in the normal sense, they don't need to rest, or drink, or eat. They kill because they want to, they feast on humans because they want to, they only slow down when they are injured, and that's simply due to excessive maiming. Yvette heaved her "knife", a long tou da zha dao* blade custom built to house a sniper rifle, turning to face the rest of the Grimm infested woods, before she got blindsided by a charging Borbatusk. She went flying off to the side, her weapon wrenched out of her hand as she slammed into a nearby tree. Her Aura flickered dangerously, she was low, one more hit and she would be done for.

"Yvette are you alright?" Ben called over the comms.

"Still breathing, does that count?" Yvette groaned into her microphone.

"Good enough for me." Alice replied.

"Dammit these Grimm don't stop coming." Āẏa speaking more to himself than anyone else.

"It's like the Emerald Forest all over again." Replied Alice.

"No it is not!" Yvette screamed as she rolled away, the Boarbatusk wanted to finish the job. Yvette moved into a crouched position and began to size up the situation.

Boarbatusk, great. Primarily uses ramming strikes, usually by just charging at the enemy or will curl into a ball and charge, sacrificing accuracy for power and defense.

The Boar began scuffing the ground signaling a charge.

Good.

"Ben! You got any shots left?"

"Barely. Why?"

"Shot-Put!" Yvette yelled as the Boar charged at her, she braced for impact, letting what little Aura she had flow into her Semblance. As the Boar swept its head up at her, she grabbed its tusks, letting its momentum push her to the ground. Bracing her legs on its stomach she kicked outward, pushing the Grimm into the air, a single shot exploded against its now exposed underside causing the squealing beast to burst into mist.

"Nice work." Yvette said, exhausted. Her Aura was practically gone, she could feel it, but she had to keep fighting. That's what it means to be a Huntress.

"Yvette watch out!" somebody yelled, Yvette wasn't sure who, as she was slammed into a nearby tree yet again by the meaty paw of an Ursa. The resulting force shattered the remaining scraps of aura shielding her body. The beast growled in a deep, hiccupping tone, almost like… like it was…

Is it laughing at me? Yvette thought weakly as her body crumpled like a rag doll against the oaken trunk. The same hiccuping growl reverberated in the Ursa's throat. It's laughing at me. She tried to raise herself off the ground, tried to get back to the fight, but her body refused to cooperate. Her legs screamed, her lungs burned, her chest was aching, her head pounded to an inaudible drum, and her arms were made of lead. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to think, she felt the pull of that deep blackness at the edge of her vision, it offered a cool comfort to her injuries.

*BANG* The night bursted with red, the air rocked by an explosion caused by Huntsmen's best friend: Dust.

"Get away from her you damn furball!"

Āẏa

Another explosion rumbled through the ground, jolting Yvette back to a semi lucid state.

"C'mon Yve! Let's kill this thing and get back to the others!" Black and white began to fill Yvette's vision. "Dammit, look at me!" Āẏa yelled at the Ursa, unloading his rifle into its hide.

*BANG BANG BANG*

An irritated roar clawed through the Ursa's throat, as it turned to face whatever aggravating gnat was nipping at its side. Yvette's breath left her body as she got a clear view of the monstrosity before her. It was an Ursa, but unlike any Ursa she had seen. An Ursa minor, when on its rear legs, stands around seven feet tall, a Major stands a few feet taller, around nine to ten feet at the most. This Ursa had to be at least twelve feet in length. Its shoulder height was easily over five feet, taller than the average man, its face was sharper, more angular than most Usai seen in Vale. The spikes protruding from its back and shoulders were longer and thinner, allowing for more to occupy the same area, the bone plating it had was larger and thicker.

Less space for a blade to pierce

"Yve? I could use a little help!" Āẏa called out, "Yve? You alright?" Yvette simply gazed at the monster before her, "Yve?" Her hands rolled limply off her body, falling against a cool surface, "Could you light this walking popsicle stand, Yve?" Despair took hold as she stared at the monster about to kill her partner.

The monster, about to kill my friend.

"YVE!"

Yvette's fingers wrapped around the metal rod at her side and heaved. Her weapon pressed against her shoulder as she pulled a small lever on the side, the blade opened along the edge, revealing a gun barrel built into the hilt. The trigger flipped out of the handle, the familiar hum of primed Dust filled the air. Yvette stared down the iron sights of her sniper. Her eyes, sharpened by years of living in the outer plains of Vale, lining up the shot. She bunched up her scarf, sticking it in her mouth, knowing what would happen if she fired without Aura, but she didn't give a damn. Āẏa was in trouble, and she was the only one who could help. She found her target as Āẏa was slammed into the ground, the side of the Ursa's head.

*BOOM*

*CRACK*

Yvette screamed, biting into the scarf, as the recoil of her gun shattered her arm. Her shot was true, despite the small window she was able to tear off half of the bone mask that the Ursa bore. It wasn't enough to kill it unfortunately, but it was enough to draw it away from Āẏa.

*BOOM*

*CRACK*

Yvette howled into the scarf again, as her shot obliterated the Ursa's shoulder.

The Ursa was facing her again, one half a furious Grimm, the other a seeping mass of black blood, staining its bone plates and teeth as it dripped slowly down its body.

This thing would give Port's stories a run for their Lien. Yvette thought, a desperate play to keep herself sane. The Ursa began to clamber towards her, wanting one last kill before the end.

So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Alright then.

Yvette spit the scarf out of her mouth, if that thing was going to kill her, she would at least say one more thing before she went to the other side.

"I hope you Grimm have an afterlife."

*BOOM CRACK*

"Where you're tormented by the people you kill."

*BOOM CRACK BOOM CRACK*

"SO THAT I CAN KILL YOU TWICE!"

*BOOMCRACKBOOMCRACKBOOMCRACK*

Yvette screamed, howled, roared, against the pain as her bullets, propelled by powdered Gravity Dust, ground her bones into human soot. Her screams degraded into choppy tears and hiccuping cries, her weapon fell to the ground as she stared at the black smoke that curled away from the monstrous corpse right in front of her. As the smoke began to clear she saw a figure kneeling next to a mound, around where Āẏa was supposed to be. The figure picked something from the mound and began walking towards her.

"Āẏa," Yvette fought through the tears, "h-h-ow b-bad is it?"

The figure continued walking, not saying a word.

"Āẏa," Yvette said again, fearing what he would say, "j-just b-be straight with me." The figure, again, said nothing. "W-why aren't you saying anything?!"

The figure was right in front of her now, and he looked nothing like Āẏa. Where Āẏa was muscular, this man was lean. Āẏa was short, this man was tall, and although Āẏa gave the occasional dark joke, there was alway a spark in his eyes. This man's eyes were cold, a storm like gray weathered by the world.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice sounded detached, like he wasn't really there. "He wanted you to have this, they all did." he said as he lay three jade fragments on her lap, each one carved with a letter. Two with an "A", one with a "B".

It took a few minutes before the girl's breathing had evened out and deepened, clear signs that she had fallen unconscious. Aki simply sat before her, watching her realize what she had lost.

This shouldn't have happened, he thought to himself recalling what he had witnessed. Four Huntsmen, undertaking a simple 'Search & Destroy' and being razed by an Apex Grimm, Except one. His gaze turned back to the girl he found, short, about 5'3, with an athletic build and pale blond hair in a ponytail. Her arm was a bloody, mangled mess. Her Aura couldn't repair all the damage, even at full capacity. Aki couldn't believe her raw determination and strength, which was disproportionate to her build if she was able to hold on to a weapon like hers. He began to wrap her arm tightly, making sure to staunch the bleeding. He then slipped off his haori and wrapped it around her unconscious form, pushing a little Aura through it to activate the infused Burn Dust so she wouldn't die from a cold.

Her arm may be beyond hope, but she can still survive.

He pulled out his scroll and activated the SOS beacon, "EHM. What is your situation?"

"This is Mistrali Huntsman Aki Hēzeru, I have a Huntsman team, three dead, one seriously injured but stable. Get your fastest team out here." He turned off the audio channel, not even bothering to wait for an ETA. He was curious, he heard of a huntress gaining fame in Vale, known for unbelievable strength and accuracy, and going off of what he had seen, after dealing with the remaining horde of Grimm, she was the candidate. But he had to be sure, he had lost too many candidates to Grimm, bandits, and the newly rebranded terrorist group the White Fang. Aki waved his scroll around the girl's jacket and pockets, hoping to sync with her license.

*ping*

His scroll lit up with her Huntress info:

Vale Huntress: Yvette Sommer

Age: 26

Team name: BAYA

Registered Weapon: Long Tooth

Semblance: Altercation of Momentum

Highest mission rank cleared: Category 3

Team clear rate: 25

Individual clear rate: N/A

"Finally," he said, relief slipping into his voice for the first time in two years, "I found one."

A/N: Alright folks(?), ehh I'll find something that'll fit better later, I just want to say thank you for reading this far and ask you to bear with me for a bit longer. Alright the "*" in the chapter is for this bit: I honest to god cannot describe this weapon, please look it up for context, the main altercation to this weapon is, of course the massive sniper rifle in the handle, it looks very similar to Crescent Rose's handle just with no scope and the magazine is placed near the base to act as a counter-weight, hopefully that helps with visualization. *ahem* Ok gonna answer a major question that might come up straight off the bat; I don't really have a writing schedule, chapters may come out every month or two, but please don't take this as gospel, my muse is a fickle thing and really hates me sometimes. So, you know, c'est la vie, I guess. Please review, I will accept the constructive types of criticisms. Anyways I'll see you in the next one.

Child0fSkies