The Winter Knight

Volume 1: Chapter 1

Dust till Dawn

Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I own nothing.

Roman Torwick strode confidently down the side streets of Vale with his cane in his right hand. The warm summer evening made the stroll a rather pleasant. He was flanked on either side by a dozen men dressed in similar looking black suits and hats with red sunglasses and ties. Why on Remnant would they wear sunglasses at night? Is that supposed to be intimidating? He hoped these men would be worth the price he paid for them. Good help was hard to find in Vale these days.

Roman reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a cigar and zippo lighter. With a practiced motion he lit the cigar before returning the lighter to his pocket with a flourish. All right, here we go.

As the pack of criminals came out from the side street he heard gasps and mutters from the nameless faceless masses that mingled on the street. Most of the people started to move in the opposite direction from him. Roman smirked and looked up as they arrived at their destination. The sign read From Dust till Dawn. It was stenciled in red ink above the shop. He stopped by the door as his henchmen entered the Dust shop ahead of him. After a final look, around the quickly emptying street he walked inside.

Roman sidled up to the cash register and smiled at the elderly shopkeeper behind it. He looked around the shop, in the case under the cash register were a few dozen dust crystals of various sizes and colors. Great tubes full to bursting of colorful dust powder lined the walls on either side of the shop. "Do you have idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" The shopkeeper seemed too scared to answer.

One of the henchmen raised a pistol at the shopkeeper face. "The boss asked you a question."

The old man raised both empty hands, "Please just take the Lien in the register and go."

Roman looked down at the pitiful amount of Lien in the register. Most of the Lien was probably moved to a safe, not too many people buying Dust this time of night.

"Don't worry old man we aren't here for your money." He turned to the henchmen. "Grab the dust." Wordlessly the men spread throughout the small shop. Roman took a briefcase from one of the men and placed it open on the case. "Crystals in the case quickly if you please."

The old man started placing various dust crystals in the case. Just as the case was full Roman heard low voices coming from the back of the shop. The voices got louder and then he saw a red and black blur crash through the front window of the shop. Roman sighed and pocked a red crystal out of the case then closed it. "Gentleman, I know this is a smash and grab but there needs to be more grabbing and less smashing." Then he walked out the front door to see who or what had caused the commotion.

OoOoO

Ruby Rose dusted a few small shards of glass off her black combat skirt and pulled back her red hood, causing more shards to scatter across the road. She stood over the body of the goon that had foolishly attempted to rob her and pointed her weapon towards the front of the store. Crescent Rose extended out from its carry mode into its scythe mode. My baby wasn't designed for fighting in dust shops, out here on the open street suits her much better.

She saw more men similarly dressed to the one she had just taken out though the window she had just broken. A differently dressed man had just walked out the front door. Ruby studied the man who was clearly the boss. He had orange hair, green eyes, wore a black bowler hat with a red stripe and white jacket. In his right hand he had a cane, probably a weapon of some kind Ruby thought.

The man looked her up and down and quipped, "Aren't you a little short to be a Hunter?"

Ruby ignored the jibe and cocked the weapon, "Return the dust and no one else needs to get hurt."

The man simply laughed at her before turning to the men at either side of him. "You two deal with her. The rest of you hurry up and finish getting the dust." The two men drew short red bladed swords and charged her in unison.

Ruby smiled as soft red light shimmered and enveloped her body. She sped forward and brought the blunt backside of the weapon down on the head of the first goon crushing him into the ground.

The second goon stopped in his tracks and seeing the state of his associate drew a pistol and raised it at her.

Ruby dodged to the left as the man raised his weapon. She quickly closed the distance to the goon and she spun her weapon hitting the man in the stomach with the backside of her scythe sending him flying into the wall of a nearby restaurant. He crumpled to the ground in a heap as his weapon fell from his limp hands.

"Truly worth every cent I paid for them," sarcastically stated The Boss. He twirled his cane in a bored sort of way.

Ruby gave him a confident smirk and charged towards him. The Boss raised his cane and the bottom of it flipped up. There was a high-pitched noise and a red dust projectile shot out of the bottom of the cane, it exploded at her feet blowing a hole in the street and knocking Ruby to the ground. Her Aura shimmered but protected her from the brunt of the blast but the impact still knocked the wind out of her.

"Not so quick Red," said The Boss in a mocking tone. "My men may be no match for you but fortunately you are no match for me."

Ruby grimaced as she stood back up then took a deep breath. "We'll see about that."

"You got spirit kid, I can admire that." He leaned almost casually against the wall of the shop. "You got a name Red?"

Ruby said nothing as her anger started to get the better of her. It is so on. She swung her scythe behind her and fired a sniper round the recoil propelled her towards the grinning man. She let out a scream as she swung her scythe with all her might at the criminal. At the last moment he ducked neatly out of the way. Her scythe cut a deep furrow into the wall of the dust shop where it was firmly stuck in the brick wall. Uh oh that's going to leave a mark.

Ruby let go of her scythe and sprang back to dodge the cane strike that had been aimed at her head. She readied herself for another shot from the cane but it never came. Instead she heard a beeping noise coming from the man she was fighting.

He reached into a pocket and took out his scroll and looked at the screen. It looked to Ruby like he was reading a message. She started forward but the man raised his cane the instant she started to move. "Not so fast Red."

The man put shoved the scroll back in his pocket, "Playtime is over." He pointed his cane skyward and the handle of his cane shot up towards the roof like a grappling hook. A moment later he disappeared to the roof of the dust shop.

Ruby ran back to her scythe, she pulled and pulled on the scythe until it came out of the side of the building leaving a big hole. Ruby winced at the damage she had caused and deactivated her Aura. The red light that had been surrounding her faded.

She poked her head inside the still open door of the shop. All of the thieves had disappeared from the shop. She pressed a button and Crescent Rose returned to its smaller travel form. She ran to the elderly man still crouching behind the cash register. "Are you hurt sir?"

"They didn't hurt me, just stole most of my dust," the man pointed towards the back of the store. "They left out the back. If you hurry you might catch them."

Ruby sped towards the back of the building. She opened the door to reveal a small and dark storage room. The red glow of an exit sign was above the back door. She exited the back door with a flying kick and quickly landed in a crouch. Ruby scanned the back alley but there was no sign of the thieves. Shoot where did they go? Maybe I can still catch The Boss. He'll know where the dust is.

Ruby pulled out her weapon as it transformed into its sniper form. She leapt nimbly into the air and at the apex of her jump she fired a shot from Crescent Rose towards the ground that that took her the rest of the way to the rooftop. She scanned the rooftops looking for The Boss. She spotted a figure dressed in white several rooftops away and moving quickly away from her.

She looked down the sights, should I go for the shot, no I can catch him. Ruby shifted the weapon from sniper mode to travel mode. She pressed it against the small of her back until she heard it click into place.

Ruby closed her silver eyes and bit her lip in concentration for brief moment then activated her semblance. Her red aura swirled around her cloak and with a burst of speed she nimbly leapt from rooftop from rooftop to with ease. She quickly caught up to The Boss and spun stretching her body feet first.

Both feet landed squarely between his shoulder blades. Ruby allowed herself a small grin of satisfaction as she watched the boss faceplant onto the rooftop while his cigar was sent flying through the air. He slid forward for several feet before crashing in a heap against the small wall at the edge of the rooftop.

After landing gracefully on her feet Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and it extended back into scythe mode.

"My name is Ruby Rose, and I'm going to be the one to catch you thief," she said triumphantly.

The man slowly rose from the rooftop while dusting off his white coat. He looked from right to left and walked over and picked out the cigar that had fallen from his mouth. "You're persistent Red, but you won't catch me off guard again. I don't like hurting kids so consider this your final warning, leave now before I start taking this seriously."

Ruby crouched into a low fighting stance readied herself for the attack. "Bring it on." She ears perked up as the distant sound of sirens could be heard.

A bright orange aura flared around his body and enveloped the cane. Then he flicked the cigar up in the air towards her, Ruby took a few steps back as her eye's instinctively followed the lit cigar against the dark night sky. She realized her mistake as the noise of something sliding across the roof caught her ear. Ruby looked down to notice a red dust crystal stop a few feet in front of her. Then a glowing shot from the cane hit the red dust crystal and the rooftop was consumed in an inferno of orange flames.

Ruby had already activated her aura and braced for the fire. It never came.

A few moments passed, and she opened her eyes to see a tall regal looking woman standing in front of her. She seemed to be projecting a rotating purple energy shield as the fire engulfed the roof around them.

As the fire dissipated Ruby got a better look at the woman. She had elegant blonde hair and dressed in a white blouse with black pants with a purple cape. After adjusting her glasses, she looked down at Ruby, "Are you hurt young lady?"

Oh my god oh my god it's a HUNTER!

"Are you a Hunter? You are a Hunter, right? Can I have your autograph?" she squealed in excitement.

OoOoO

Roman Torwick was not in a good mood. I'm not getting paid nearly enough to fight actual Hunters. He had texted his henchmen the all clear several minutes ago but had not yet gotten a response. Surely, they got away clean, the silly girl came after me.

Roman continued of walking down one of Vale's oddly spacious sewers. Soft white lights illuminated the darkness every 40 or so feet. A beeping noise came from his scroll. Roman reached down and pulled his scroll out of his pocket and slid it open.

It was message from the henchmen that they had dropped off the dust at the rendezvous point. Things were finally looking up. He flicked over on his scroll to bring up a layout of the sewer system. It had been surprisingly easy to get the layout, people in Vale were incredibly nice but a bit stupid. He hadn't even had to bribe anyone to get the schematics.

Several times he heard skittering of something down dark side tunnels, and he had no desire to discover what might be lurking down here in the dark. Subterranean Grimm were rare but far from unknown. After a few minutes of walking through the dank sewers he came to a yellow service ladder that was attached into the wall of the sewer. He had passed many like it. He checked the scroll again to be certain of his location.

Roman slid his scroll into an interior pocket of his jacket then tested his weight on the cold metal of the ladder. It seemed securely fasten into the wall so he started to climb. When he reached the top, he paused listening intently. Hearing nothing, he pressed up on the manhole cover and pushed it up just far enough to see out of. Everything seemed quiet, he glanced left then right but saw no one. After checking behind, him he slid the cover off and nimbly leapt out before quietly replacing the manhole cover in the road.

He was back on another dark side street well away from any of the security cameras that littered the brightly lit main avenues of Vale City. Roman soon came to the back door of a building and knocked several times in a prearranged pattern.

A rough voice asked through the door, "Password?"

Roman sighed, "Swordfish."

A small metal opening slid open to reveal a pair of big suspicious hazel eyes."

"Please let me in Tukson."

The sound of several locks being released answered him and a few moments later the door opened to reveal a tall man in a burgundy jacket with black hair and big sideburns. "What took you so long?"

"A kid playing at being a Hunter, then an actual Hunter but I got away before she could become a problem." Roman walked quickly through door before closing it behind him.

"Were you followed?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't have returned if I had a tail."

Tukson gave him a look and started to lock up everything again. "I already picked up the dust its downstairs."

"Excellent, have you taken your cut yet?" Roman turned towards a small staircase that led downwards.

"No, we'll divide it up properly and then I will get my fair share." Tukson finished all the locks than tested the door once, it didn't budge.

"Such an honest man, I keep wondering why you would bother helping criminals like us?"

"For the money, which I need to get out the kingdom. I'll earn my fair share then I'll be gone," he replied in a calm voice.

"Good, good." Roman was already walking down the stairs into a basement area. A huge pile of dust in various packaging was neatly arranged in one corner. He passed right past the dust without a second glance. In another corner was a girl with pink and brown hair laying on a small bed. Roman walked quickly over and sat down in a well-worn chair next to the bed.

He placed a hand on the girl's brow. It still felt warm to him, still feverish… "Neo can you hear me?"

Neo slowly opened her eyes. One was dark brown and the other was bright pink, they matched her hair. Neo slowly sat up and gave Roman a big smile.

Roman face softened as he smiled back, "Are you feeling any better Neo?"

She nodded once in response.

"Good, good. I need you healthy, we'll have more work to do very soon."

OoOoO

Ruby Rose was nervous. She had been sitting in a small dark room for several minutes after the Hunter had left. She hoped she wasn't in too much trouble. Father would be furious. Ruby looked around the room, it was dark except for a single overhead light that swayed from a chain over the metal table.

The door opened, and Ruby turned to see the same tall female hunter enter. Behind her was man wearing dark glasses dressed in a black jacket over a green shirt with black pants. In one hand he held a mug and in the other a plate of cookies. Ruby couldn't help but smile at the plate of chocolate chip cookies. My favorite. Did they know or is it simple chance?

The man sat down in the chair across from her and set both the plate of cookies and the mug in front of him. He eyed her coolly, "So Glinda what did you think of Ms. Rose's performance this evening?"

Glinda started to circle the desk like a shark, "She put herself and others in danger."

"They started it!" Ruby blurted out. She lowered her eyes under Glinda's withering glare.

After a long pause she continued, "Still she performed adequately, all things considered… still it's a shame that the thief got away."

"I just wanted to help," she said in a small voice. "The old man couldn't stop them but I hoped I could."

"If it were up to me you would be sent home with a pat on the back..."

Ruby looked up hopefully.

"And a slap on the wrist." Glinda's riding crop smashed the table, right next to Ruby's hand.

Ruby carefully put her hands in her lap and kept quiet and very still.

The man in the glasses leaned forward on the cold metal table, he seemed to be studying Ruby intently, "You have silver eyes."

"I, ummm." Ruby had no idea how to respond to that. She looked back into the Hunters warm brown eyes before turning away.

"We have security camera footage from your encounter this evening," he held up a scroll and Ruby saw a video of her fighting the thieves. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Signal Academy," she answered.

"That is certainly an… exotic weapon choice." The man took a slip from the dark liquid in his mug. "Who taught you to fight like that?"

"My uncle Krow taught me how to fight and wield a scythe. I was absolute garage before he took me under his wing. He's a Hunter."

"I know." The man slid the plate of chocolate chip cookies towards Ruby.

Ruby looked over at Glinda who was busily typing away on her scroll, then deciding it was safe tried a cookie. It was warm, gooey and delicious. It practically melted in her mouth. Before she could think about she had scarfed down several of them in a row.

"So, tell me why does an adorable young girl such as yourself want to become a Hunter?" The mystery man asked.

Ruby finished chewing then swallowed the mouthful of cookies. "Both my parents were Hunters and they taught me to always help people. So, I figured might as well make a career out of it."

"There are plenty of safer careers that allow you to help people."

"True, but Hunters are just the coolest, you know." Ruby said excitedly. "I mean you get to wield cool weapons, travel the world, and fight the Grimm that threaten humanity."

Glinda looked up from her scroll with a dour expression on her face but the man chuckled.

"So, you want to fight monsters?"

"Someone has to, the monsters aren't going to stop of their own accord."

"That they certainly won't. Do you know who I am Ruby?"

"You're Professor Ozpin the Headmaster of Beacon Academy!"

"Hello." He extended his hand to Ruby.

She shook it. "Nice to meet you," replied Ruby.

He smiled at that, "So you want come to my school?"

"More than anything," she replied earnestly.

Ozpin looked over at Glinda who gave him an exasperated look. He took a cookie off the plate and took a bite. "Well ok."

Author's Notes:

Many thanks to my editor Linthal.

Thanks to several readers who have followed or favorited my story, it is very encouraging to see people who interested in my story.

merendinoemiliano, thanks for the review. I can assure you that Ruby and Wynn will have a very different first interaction.