Excerpt from "Legends and Myths of Remnant," Chapter 4: The Legendary Dark Knight
The Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda, is one of humanity's oldest heroes. While humans still struggled against the creatures of Grimm, Sparda was a beacon in the dark. With his powers, he protected humanity from those that would see them destroyed.
No one knows where Sparda came from or how he got his powers, but there is little doubt that his assistance helped allow humanity to grow and develop. He helped humanity discover the uses of Aura and Dust, and he essentially helped found modern society.
However, after years and years of lending his aid to humans, The Legendary Dark Knight suddenly vanished without a trace, never to be seen again.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
It was a normal morning at Beacon Academy. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the morning news was still reporting on Dust robberies and the White Fang.
It was completely normal.
Completely normal indeed.
"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU YANG!" Blake screamed down the hallway towards the blonde girl who was sprinting away with a victorious grin on her face.
"You'll never take me alive!" she taunted, managing to stay far ahead of her enraged teammate.
"That's the point!"
Yang continued to laugh. What she had just pulled off was unbelievably hilarious.
Yang dove behind a large tree in the first courtyard she ran into, looking back to find Blake run out and double over, gasping for air as she looked down the multiple hallways connecting to the area, looking for any sign of the troublesome blonde.
Yang pressed her back against the tree and snickered.
This is the greatest thing I've ever done, she took out her scroll in her left hand to admire her handiwork. However, her celebration was short lived as she heard a growl to her right. She looked down to find the pitch black form of Shadow glaring up at her with his red eyes with Blake behind him pointing Gambol Shroud at her.
"Alright Yang. Let's head back to the room so you can explain to us why you did that and so I can explain to Ruby that I actually don't plan to murder you in your sleep."
Yang simply gave a sheepish grin before walking back to the dorm with Shadow and Blake behind her, boring holes into her back with their glares.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
(A few minutes earlier)
The sun was barely up. Blake was sound asleep in her bed, laying on her side.
All of a sudden, she felt a light tickling on her shoulder. She waved it off with her hand as she tried to sleep.
A moment later, it happened again. She groaned as she turned over. As she began to rest again, she felt something pressed on her forehead. Blake finally opened her eyes to see what it was.
V.
She smiled before closing her eyes again, wrapping her arms around the tattooed teen.
Wait a minute!
Her eyes shot open in realization of the situation she was in. She stared in horror at the face of V, only inches from her own.
V?!?!!
What made matters worse was the fact that she was pressed against him and it was her arms around him. Even worse was the fact that her slight panicking was causing the boy to stir in his sleep as he awoke.
V opened his eyes to find a pair of amber orbs staring back.
Please let this just be one of those dreams! She thought as she pinched her arm, watching as those dark green eyes gave off a confused expression.
This wasn't a dream. This was very, very real.
The two lay in an awkward silence for a few moments before V whispered, "Well, I didn't realize you were his interested in me Blake."
"What? No I'm not! What are you doing in my bed?" Blake whisper-yelled.
"What do you mean? This is my bed!" V insisted as Blake sat up.
Upon glancing around, Blake realized she was indeed in V's bed, separated from the others and without one above it.
"How did you get in here anyway?" V asked as he sat up, looking at his surprised bedmate. Rather than a response, he found her staring very angrily across the room. He followed her gaze before giving a slight frown.
On her bunk bed sat Yang, Scroll in one hand and white feather in the other (which Blake assumes was what tickled her) as she looked at her two roommates. They watched as she held a hand to her mouth as a smile formed until eventually she could contain herself no longer.
"AHAHAHAHAHA...pfft-HAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed maniacally, clutching her sides as she fell sideways, "The look on your faces! It's priceless!"
Blake got up and threw on a simple outfit quickly before storming out the door. V just slipped out of his bed and changed into his usual clothing and strapped on his sandals, seeing no point in continuing to sleep.
Yang sighed contently at her plan as she looked at her Scroll. She opened up the picture she took: Blake sound asleep as she held on to V.
It's almost like they were a couple or something! Yang squealed internally.
Her jubilation was short lived. Yang froze as she looked to the door, finding Blake holding Gambol Shroud with her combat clothes on.
"Yang, I will give you one chance to delete that picture and explain yourself," Blake said in a low voice.
"Now, now, Blake, perhaps we can settle this peacefully," V reasoned.
"Hmmm...NOPE!" Yang leapt off the bed and pushed Blake aside, sprinting down the hall.
"Yang, I swear I will murder you in your sleep!" Blake yelled after her traitorous teammate as she pursued the runaway.
"BLAKE, NO!" Ruby shouted after the girl, suddenly woken by the commotion.
"What is going on? Can't you dunces see I'm trying to sleep?" Weiss complained.
"I'm sure we'll find out, but I'm to tired to pursue them," V chuckled, summoning Shadow to his side, "Bring Yang back. Alive."
The panther bolted off after the two at top speed as V simply opened his book.
"'You never know what is enough until you learn what is more than enough,'" he quoted, "I believe Yang might learn that the hard way."
"What's going on over here?" Ren suddenly peaked through the open door, likely awoken by the commotion as well.
"Just your average day," Weiss groaned as she flopped back on her bed.
"Hmm..." Ren hummed suspiciously as he slowly backed away from the door and closed it.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
(Present)
"For the last time Ruby, I'm not actually going to kill your sister," Blake explained.
"I know...but still..." Ruby's voice faltered a little.
V and Blake sighed at her excessive concern.
"So let me get this straight: you woke up early." V began, turning to Yang as she sat in a chair in the middle of the room, surrounded by her teammates.
"Yep," replied Yang.
"You took Blake and placed her in my bed."
"Yup!" Yang popped the "p."
"And all this was just to see her reaction?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"But why?"
"Because you're both such little nerds and I thought you'd look cute in bed together. And I'm right!" Yang suddenly whipped out her Scroll with the picture of V and Blake sleeping pulled up. Blake's face immediately turned red while V closed his eyes and groaned in annoyance.
"Oh my gosh Blake! You look so cuuuute!" Ruby squealed as she looked at the photo of Blake wrapped around V.
"And V is so...V," Weiss responded, looking over her leader's shoulder at the picture.
"I believe it would be best for all parties involved if you deleted that now," V said.
"~What's the magic word?~" Yang said in a sing-song voice.
"Please..." Blake mumbled.
"Please what?"
"Yang, if you don't delete that photo now I will order Shadow to bite off your arm," V threatened as the mentioned panther growled a little from right next to her.
"Okay! Okay. Killjoys..." Yang muttered as she deleted the picture.
"Aww..." Ruby groaned as the adorable picture was completely wiped from existence.
"Now then, let's get dressed. We have a big day ahead of us!" Weiss said optimistically despite the morning's events.
"That's right! We're going to town today!" Ruby jumped up enthusiastically.
"I'll be waiting outside," V simply muttered as Shadow dissipated.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Team RWBY and V walked down the streets of Vale, taking in the new an unusual sights. Multicolored streamers and decorations hung in the streets. A banner was also raised across a nearby street between two buildings, reading "Welcome to Vale!"
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss exclaimed.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss," Ruby joked, "It's kinda weirding me out..."
"How could you not smile?" Weiss turned to her partner, "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament!"
"Perhaps some poetry?" V added.
"The amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss sighed.
"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring," Yang commented as the five of them continued to walk down the streets.
"Quiet, you!" Weiss snapped at her. The group came to a stop at a fence overlooking the ocean.
"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang complained.
Ruby pinched her nose, "Ugh, they smell like fish!"
"I wonder why?" V remarked.
"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today," Weiss explained as they began to walk again, "And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!"
"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament," Blake said to V, causing him to chuckle.
"You can't prove that!" the heiress huffed indignantly, stopping the group.
"Whoa. What happened here?" Ruby looked to the right. Down the street, a shop was covered in yellow police tape with a few officers surrounding the store.
"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle," a detective on the scene scratched notes on a pad, turning to his partner
"That's terrible," Yang sighed.
"They left all the money again," a second detective said.
"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" the first asked.
"I don't know, an army?"
"You thinking the White Fang?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough," the second detective joked.
"Hmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss turned her nose up at the mention of the Faunus group.
"What's your problem?" Blake demanded.
"My problem?" the heiress asked rhetorically, "I simply don't care for the criminally insane."
"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus."
"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"
"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!"
"That criminal Roman Torchwick also hasn't been apprehended. It might have been him," V added. Blake gave him a grateful glance for his support.
"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum," Weiss stated, much to Blake's anger, "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
"'The one who never alters their opinion is like standing water, and bre—'" V began quoting before he was cut off by a man shouting, "Hey, stop that Faunus!"
The team rushed to the shouts and found a Faunus with a golden monkey tail running down he deck of a ship, pursued by two sailors
The Faunus looked back at his pursueera with a smile, "Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!"
"You no-good stowaway!" one of the sailors cursed the teen as he jumped off the boat.
The Faunus remained good spirited as he ate a banana while hanging from a light post "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!"
"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" one of the detectives from the crime scene threw a stone at him to get his attention.
The teen simply dropped the banana peel on the detective's face, who growled in return. The monkey-like Faunus twirled up to crouch on the lamppost, laughed in amusement, and leapt off to run away from the detectives.
As he passed Team RWBY, he winked at Blake, causing V to unconsciously grip his cane a little tighter before the Faunus continued down the street, fleeing from his pursuers.
"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..." Yang looked at the figure running down another street.
Weiss held up a finger, exclaiming, "Quick! We have to observe him!"
Weiss, Yang, V, and Ruby gave chase. Blake stood still, lost in thought, then came back to reality and follows her friends. The team rounded the street corner the Faunus turned at. As they did, Weiss crashed into a previously unseen individual. The others skidded to a halt behind her and looked forward at the retreating Faunus. Unfortunately, he had already escaped up a building.
"No, he got away!" Weiss groaned in frustration.
"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang pointed underneath her teammate.
Weiss finally saw that she fell on a smiling girl dressed in a grey and beige outfit with some green decorations. The realization startled her, and she stood up quickly.
"Sal-u-ta-tions!" the fallen girl greeted the group.
"Um... hello," Ruby responded
"Are you... okay?" Yang apologetically looked at her.
"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking," the girl grinned cheerfully. The teens glanced at each other with confused expressions and turned back to the girl, still on the ground.
"Are you going to get up?" V asked.
"Yes!" the girl leapt to her feet, startling the group "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby!"
"I'm Weiss."
"Blake."
"I'm Yang."
"'I have no na—'" V began before he was elbowed hard in the gut by Yang.
"Call me V," he managed to gasp out despite feeling like he had his ribs broken.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny repeated.
"You already said that," Weiss pointed out.
Penny paused, realizing her mistake, "So I did!"
"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss apologized before the team turned to walk away
"Take care, friend!" Ruby waved as they walked past the strange girl.
"She was...weird..." Yang said as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss immediately returned to the earlier topic.
Suddenly, Penny appeared in front of Weiss, as if by teleportation, "What did you call me?"
"Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!" Yang apologized as Weiss looked back and forth between where Penny was and her current position, baffled at the occurrence.
"No, not you," Penny walked through the teens to Ruby "You!"
Ruby, clearly startled, stammered out "Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh...""
"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"
"Uuuum..." Ruby looked back at her friends who all shook their heads and showed signs of disapproval.
"Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?" Ruby acquiesced. The remaining members of her team comically fainted as V simply looked down at their fallen figures.
"Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Penny exclaimed.
"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby groaned aside it the now recovered Weiss.
"No. She seems far more coordinated."
"So...what are you doing in Vale?" Yang inquired.
"I'm here to fight in the tournament," Penny replied matter-of-factly.
"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked incredulously
Penny saluted, stating "I'm combat ready!"
"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."
"And you wear a dress," V commented
Weiss crosses her arms in offense, shooting back, "It's a combat skirt!
Ruby sped over, high giving Weiss while cheering "Yeah!"
"And heels," V added.
"Wait a minute," Weiss suddenly switched topics and turned to Penny and grabbed her shoulders, "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed...rapscallion?"
"The who...?" Penny was clearly confused by what was happening.
Weiss suddenly materialized a poorly drawn sketch of the teen they saw earlier, "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"
"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake demanded.
"Huh?"
"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake stepped closer to the
"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss feigned apology, "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"
Weiss continued, "He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"
"You ignorant little brat!" Blake shouted.
"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"
"You are a judgmental little girl."
"What in the world makes you say that?"
"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"
"Can we all just calm down a bit and talk like civilized people?" V attempted to defuse the situation, but the girls began to walk away and continued to argue.
"Does no one listen to me?" V threw his hands in the air in frustration and turned to the sisters of the team.
"I guess not," Yang replied.
"I think we should head back," Ruby nervously said.
"Where are we going?" Penny asked excitedly, oblivious to the high tensions among the group.
"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" they heard Weiss continue to debate.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Blake retorted as the remaining three team members followed the two girls.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Unfortunately for Ruby, Yang, and V, the argument didn't stop, even once they reached their dorm room. V simply reclined in his bed, trying to bury the background noise by reading poetry while petting Shadow next to him. Ruby and Yang has no such items to distract them and we're resigned to glancing nervously at Weiss and Blake as they continued back and forth.
"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"
"That is the problem!"
"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss shouted as she got off her bed.
Blake got on her feet as well, claiming "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"
"People like me?"
"You're discriminatory!"
"I'm a victim!" the white haired girl leaned in, leering at the girl opposite her as she continued in a quieter tone, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" Weiss moves to the bookshelf and rested her hands on it, looking out the window as she continued, "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood."
Weiss punctuated her monologue by slamming her fist on the nearby bookshelf, startling Shadow into disappearing and causing V to close his book and glance with a bit of apprehension at the two.
"Weiss, I-" Ruby tried to comfort her partner, only to be shaken off.
"No!" Weiss turned away, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" she stepped closer to Blake with each insult.
This won't end well, V remembered Blake's heritage.
"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake finally shouted.
Silence dropped on the scene. Weiss backed away slowly in surprise as Blake realized her mistake. She looked around at each of her teammates, finally settling on V who gulped with widened eyes.
This is definitely not good, V thought. He was aware she was a Faunus.
He was not aware she was a member of the White Fang.
"I...I..." Blake stammered, trying to come up with a response however, nothing came out and she dashed out of the room.
"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby ran over to the door, calling out to her teammate. Yang sat down in shock at the revelation while Weiss stared at the ground. V continued to remain on his bed, lost in thought.
Finally, V decided to act. He walked over to the bookshelf and stepped atop it, looking out the open window.
"Where do you think you're going?" Weiss demanded. V looked back with a cold look in his eyes, mildly unsettling her.
"I'm going after our teammate," he deadpanned before stepping out the window and falling.
Weiss immediately shot up and looked out in fear of his safety, but instead she found him being carried away in the talons of Griffon.
"So I guess shit hit the fan, huh?" Griffon commented.
"Just set me down," he commanded the bird. Griffon did as he was told, dropping V from a foot off the ground as he summoned a dark cloud to ride on. V shot through the school grounds as fast as he was able, racing to get to the last late-night airship that was sure to depart in a moment. Within moments, he could see Blake and the monkey Faunus from earlier boarding the ship.
"Blake!" V called out to the girl. She turned back to the summoner, and in fear she continued to flee, followed by the other Faunus as well.
"Blake, wait!" he called out again, but the airship was taking offs she got nearer. It had already pulled away several meters as he approached the edge. However, V was not deterred. Instead, with a powerful leap, he jumped toward the aircraft and summoned Griffon who picked him up and deposited him on the deck near the two runaways. They looked at him in shock.
V held his hands up as a sign of peace to try and assuage any fears the two may have had.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"Why do you still trust me?" Blake asked, surprised at V's persistence despite the recent revelation of her previous allegiances.
"For one thing, I know better than to ignore the possibility that there are two sides to every story. For another, I wasn't about to let you run off with some random guy you just met," he explained nodding to their new companion.
"Name's Sun, by the way," the monkey Faunus introduced himself, extending a hand.
"V. Pleasure," the tattooed teen responded without shaking it, "Now then, I hope that we can all get to know each other, but I think we should all take some time to collect ourselves after this night's events."
The others nodded in agreement as they all sat back, remaining in silence for the remainder of the trip.
No one noticed as three silhouettes slunk off the ship after it landed, disappearing into the night.