12/28/14 9:43 PM: Preview. Final draft to be finished before 1/2/15. Enjoy and please send me some feedback if you're feeling gracious. Also, Merry late Christmas and happy new years to everyone!

1/1/15 2:38 PM: And, done! 5,000 words and all! Alright, so, a bit more action and character building in this chapter, plus we get to see different characters reactions towards this new person. None are very positive, but that's to be expected, right? Anyways, I hope you all have a happy new year and I will see you in the next chapter whenever I get it done! (New years resolution: Don't promise chapter dates.)

1/29/15 12:11 PM: Made some adjustments and added some dialogue that I felt needed to be included. (The argument after they speak to Prof. Ozpin.)

"...And when he gets to Heaven,

To Saint Peter he will tell,

'Just another solider reporting, Sir,

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I've served my time in Hell.'

-The Solider's Poem

Yang was proud of many things. Her hair being second to the top of the list. Her dad had always told her that her hair reminded him of her mother. For that reason, she was always very protective of it. There was only one thing that could top her long, wild, golden locks: Ruby. To Yang, Ruby was probably the most important thing in the world to her. She was her baby sister, and she would do anything to keep her safe. But at this moment, seeing Ruby standing on top of that rock telling everyone to follow her back to the cliffs, she felt her pride swell even greater. She almost didn't hear her black haired partner next to her when she asked if something was wrong. Realizing she had been staring off into space for a while, Yang shook it off and replied, "Oh, nothing," before hurrying after the rest of the group, but not before sparing a suspicious glance toward the hooded man next to Ruby and her partner, Weiss. Something about him made her feel uneasy. She would have to keep and eye on him.

They ran as fast as they could, the sounds of the Nevermore screeching above them, until they reached the base of the cliff surrounded by ruined structures. It must have been a beautiful place, before the Grimm infested the area. On either side of the field that lay in the middle were two walls, worn, and crumbling with pillars still standing in intervals where they had once held up a lofty ceiling. In front of them, a long bridge spanned a wide chasm with a tall spire set in the middle. It might have been a roadway of sorts during the great war, but now it was laid to waste.

The Nevermore settled on the tip of the spire and roared in defiance at the teens gathered below. As long as that Grimm was around, going across that bridge was not the best choice at the moment. They would have to find another way up the cliff. Voicing her frustration, Yang grumbled, "Well that's great."

On the other side, the blonde haired knight, Jaune Arc, turned around to see the Deathstalker Matriarch come barreling through the trees. "Oh man, run!" His command was followed with no hesitation. Since going back was no longer and option, they decided to chance the bridge.

Which is what the Nevermore was hoping for.

Jaune barely heard the green clothed boy tell his pink clothed friend to distract the Nevermore. How was she going to distract something that huge? She'd need something to get its attention quick and- well, grenade launchers are pretty distracting. He was about to call out for her to watch behind her, as the Deathstalker had closed in, but her friend and Yang's partner attacked giving the energetic girl time to get out of there.

Close by, he also noticed that hooded guy from earlier running next to the white haired beauty he nicknamed, 'Snow Angel.' (Though it appears he did not pick up on her rather obvious dislike of being referred to as such.) Who was this guy? Is he also gunning for her, too? Great. Just great. The last thing Jaune wanted was competition. He already had enough trouble keeping up his 'macho' vibe as it was without some other guy coming into the picture and- "Screeeeeech!" Right, worry about Grimm now, figure out tall, dark, and mysterious later.

Just as the were about to begin sprinting across the bridge, Jaune heard his partner call out for them to keep going while she provided covering fire for them. The bullets didn't penetrate the tough exoskeleton, but it did slow the beast down long enough for everyone to make it onto the bridge. Because the Deathstalker was too large to fit, it roared in anger at its retreating prey.

Then it all went wrong.

Just as Jaune dared to hope that they might make it, he glanced to his left just in time to see the Nevermore soaring straight at them, and watched in horror as it tore through the bridge supports, crumbling the structure around them. The weightless sensation that accompanied his sudden ascent almost made him hurl. Lady Luck seemed to cut him a bit of slack though, as the angle of his flight landed him safely on the other side of the bridge along with the pink clothed girl, Snow Angel, Yang and Ruby who were currently trying to pepper the Nevermore with heavy fire.

Well, 'safe', isn't the best term to describe their situation. His partner, the green clothed guy, the black haired girl, and the hooded guy were all fending off the Deathstalker, who was swiping wildly at them with its massive claws. The black haired girl, he'd call her Black for now, was using some sort of pistol-knife-ribbon thing to draw its attention and create an opening. However, Black misjudged the creatures speed and caught a sharp blow to the stomach, throwing her to the ground behind Pyrrha and the others. Pyrrha and the green clothed guy, he dubbed him Green, had began to lay down suppressing fire when Jaune noticed Hood, the hooded guy, facing his direction. Jaune couldn't see Hood's face, but he did notice the subtle nod that Hood gave him before taking a few steps back.

"Let's do this!" Pink yelled, her tone the most serious he's heard from her since she showed up. Jaune glanced at the chasm between him and the others and gulped, "Yeah... um, I can't make that jump." When she turned and grinned at him, he realized what she was about to do. Before he could stop her, she swung her grenade launcher back, throwing him to his rear, and transformed it into a giant hammer. With reckless abandon she leaped high into the air and turned to face Jaune. Slamming the hammer into the edge of the ruined bridge, Jaune was once again thrown through the air. Halfway across, he saw Hood pass him by in the opposite direction.

"I'll leave it to you." Was all he heard before his back found the jagged stone again. Luckily, he had his aura to shield him now, but it still hurt like hell.

He stared at Hood who had landed on the other side and was currently making his way towards Snow Angel's side. Seriously? In the middle of a battle, you want to chat up a cute girl? That was low. He didn't even help these guys over here at all!

Jaune was vaguely aware of Black leaping up onto the Nevermore's back (when did she get all the way over there?) when the screeching behind him broke him from his thoughts. He definitely didn't like Hood now, but that would have to wait for later.

Ichika watched the Nevermore out of the corner of his eye as he made his way to his Masters side. She was currently using her 'Glyphs' to fire projectiles at the avian beast, but to no avail. They would need a lot more force to get through it's thick hide than what any of their weapons currently possessed. The raven haired girl who had been glaring at him earlier landed a ways away and shouted at them, "It's tougher than it looks!" Really? That's not good. It looked pretty tough to begin with. He cleared his throat behind Weiss to get her attention, startling the girl for a second, before she growled out, "What?" His eyes never left the giant bird as it circled around for another pass, "Nothing much, just hoping you had a plan." He watched her grit her teeth and focus her glyphs at the Nevermore again, "Working on it."

They fired everything they had at the creature, but nothing pierced its skin. With a mighty screech, it tore through the supports under them, again, and forced them to seek higher ground. Ichika used the falling rubble as a brace and shot up through the debris fairly quickly. Ruby landed next to him and he could see the gears in her head begin to turn as she tried to formulate a battle strategy, while the black haired girl and the blonde landed a ways away and began firing again, but, where was his Master?

He looked back over the edge to see her skating on her glyphs to reach them, however, something about the glyphs seemed different. They were beginning to become far too translucent for his liking. His fears were realized when her next glyph fractured beneath her and she began to fall. "Master!" He leapt off the bridge and shot towards the girl, who was frantically trying to stabilize herself, while dodging the remaining debris. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms under her legs and around her back in a bridal style carry before using the momentum to shift his body so that he could kick off a large chunk of stone and head back to the bridge.

He set her down on the ground when they landed and began watching the Nevermore again, "Are you alright?" She was a bit pale, which almost seemed impossible considering how pale she was to begin with, and her breathing was heavy. "I'm fine... uh, thank you though." He was mildly surprised at the words of gratitude, but decided not to comment on it, "None of this is working though." He agreed with a small nod, "So what do we do?" He was answered, not by his Master but by Ruby, "I've got a plan, cover me!" And she was off relaying, what he assumed was, her plan to the other girls. Man he hated enemies that could fly, he had only one ability that he could use against them but he didn't trust any of the people around him enough to use it.

He watched Yang sling more and more rounds into it, trying to keep its attention on her when Ruby appeared next to him, "Listen, I need you and Yang to distract it for a second while Weiss recovers enough Aura to trap it. Can you do that?" Ah! She plans to immobilize it. Clever girl. Behind him, he saw his Master still her breathing, no doubt trying to replenish her power. He rolled his shoulder, easing out what remained of the ache from dislocating it when he jumped from the back of the beast and grinned under his hood, "Fortunately for you, pissing off monsters is actually a hobby of mine." And off he went, finally ready to do something besides watch.

He ran towards the mountain, making sure he was out in the open before he turned and began taunting the creature, "Hey bird brain! Yeah, I'm talking to you feather head! Cmon over here, I was just starting to feel like eating some chicken!" Apparently, the Nevermore took great offense to being compared to a lesser fowl, because when the words left his mouth, the creature swiveled its head towards him and screeched before launching head first towards him. He glanced up at the blond girl, who had been waiting to see what he'd do, and nodded at her before hurling more insults at the beast. He was glad these things appeared to be slightly intelligent, otherwise he would have felt like an idiot for trying to insult a mindless animal.

Pyrrha wobbled around as the final supports for the bridge began to give way under them. "We need to move!" Without a second thought, she started running forward as soon as her partner spoke. He'd seemed a bit unimpressive to everyone else, but she saw his potential and decided to watch and see what he would do here.

It felt like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Four strangers who practically met mere hours ago began to attack, defend, and flow their movements together seamlessly! Even Jaune, who had been fumbling around earlier, was able to block a swipe from the Deathstalkers large claw. Enraged, it slammed its barbed stinger at them, but missed. The raven haired boy in green took advantage of the creatures angry stab and launched onto its tail, firing at the weakest point. Pyrrha heard the sound of something firing behind her and backed off just as a few grenade rounds pelted the Deathstalkers face.

Using its claws as a defense, the creature withstood the blows. The force, however, cause its tail to swing around violently, much to its riders discomfort. Seeing an opportunity, Pyrrha transformed Miló into spear form and launched it directly at it when it uncovered itself to resume attacking. Direct hit, right in the eye! Well, one of them anyways. Its body shook in pain as it roared angrily. The sudden movement caused the boy to lose his grip on the tail and was flung straight into a pillar, knocking the wind out of him. His pink partner called out to him, worried for his well being, "Ren!"

This was bad. One of them was incapacitated at the moment which left only three. She tried desperately to form a strategy to take the thing down, but she came up with nothing. Suddenly, she heard Jaune call out to her and followed his gaze to the Deathstalkers tail. The stinger end was barely hanging on by a small sinewy strand. "Done!" She flung Akoúo̱ at it, using her semblance to guide its flight and sliced through it. The stinger dropped and impaled itself into the bony skull of the beast. "Nora, nail it!" Again she was surprised, and slightly pleased, at how flawless their teamwork was at the moment. Jaune seemed like a natural born leader, despite his shortcomings, and she felt compelled to follow him. Nora understood his meaning and called out, "Heads up!" to Pyrrha before leaping into the air. Pyrrha raised her shield overhead catching the pink valkyrie and, combined with her own upward momentum from a well timed grenade round, launched her skyward. Nora reached her arc and began a quick descent, intent on finishing this now. Her hammer slammed the stinger straight into the creatures brain, also throwing the others into the air, over the Deathstalker, and onto safe ground.

Dusting themselves off, with the exception of a collapsed Ren, they turned around to see how the fight was going behind them.

When the hooded guy starting screaming insults at the Nevermore, Yang had thought he was just an idiot. These things are just mindless animals, incapable of registering any type of- "RAAAAAAAAAAA!" Or, maybe they have something against chicken? Anyways, it certainly got the Nevermore to charge right at him. Why was he nodding at her? He's distracting it pretty well, and using some pretty interesting combinations of words. What was she supposed to-

She looked at the mountain behind him and put two and two together.

She grinned widely as she thought quickly about her next action. Leaping into the air, she landed on top of the birds head just as it was passing by her. "Time to tenderize this overgrown turkey!" She laughed and began to slam her fists into the back of the Nevermores skull. The sudden pain, and disorientation caused the creature to try and alter its course so it could deal with this new nuisance. However, it could not focus enough to realize it was headed straight for the cliff face. Just like Yang was hoping. She jumped once again just as it slammed into the mountain and landed next to the hooded guy, who gave her a smirk and a small nod. "Get ready!" They turned to see Weiss racing towards them, telling them to get back. They both wasted no time in making their way towards the rest of their group, ready for the next part of Ruby's crazy plan. Admittedly, Yang wasn't too keen about this part, but she trusted her baby sister so she would see it through.

Blake held onto one end of Gambol Shroud and tossed the other end to Yang, stretching it between two pillars to form a giant slingshot. Ruby leaped into the air and, using the blunt edge so as not to cut the ribbon, used Crescent Rose to draw the ribbon tight. Weiss, who had already returned from freezing the Nevermores tail in place, used a gravity manipulation glyph to further draw Ruby back to gain the most efficient speed. "Only you would come up with this idea." Are you never pleased, Ice Queen? Why can't you just... chill? Yang grinned even wider at the, in her 'humble' opinion, pure comedic gold that was her puns. "Do you have a better plan, Master?" Master? What kind of kinky bdsm stuff do these two have going on? "...No." Yang would definitely have to look into that later. Ah, Ruby is ready to launch, it's go time!

The collective thoughts of everyone present when the Nevermore was finally take down could quite literally be summed up in one word, which the resident blonde knight was more than happy to provide, "Wow..." With both threats resolved, the nine teens made their way up the mountain and back to Beacon for the final ceremony.

"Ms. Schnee. May I have a word with you, please? The rest of your team may await you in your new dorm, which Ms. Goodwitch will be assigning shortly." Weiss stopped and turned to look at the headmaster, with his ever present coffee mug, who was watching both her and Ichika with a curious expression. They both made their way towards the older man who simply motioned for them to follow him. Weiss was more than a little concerned as they walked through the halls behind the man. Was this because of Ichika? Was there some sort of rule that she forgot that prohibited summoning a servant during the initiation? Was she going to be expelled!? She was so overworked that she almost jumped out of her skin when Ichika finally spoke to her.

"Your world sure is strange..." He was visibly more relaxed, content with observing his surroundings until they reached their destination, though people were looking at him oddly, considering his hood was still up. "What do you mean? How is my world different from yours?" They passed by the courtyard at that moment, other students milling about while there was still sunlight, enjoying the rest of their day. He stopped walking and watched them go about their business, the sun setting in the background. "Your world... feels so warm." Warm...?

What possible part of this cruel world is warm? This world that wishes for nothing more than to destroy any form of happiness.

"Ms. Schnee, please hurry along. I'm sure you wish to get better acquainted with your team as soon as possible." Weiss blanched, 'Oh please. My team couldn't possibly be any worse-' She made the mistake of looking back to the courtyard and saw Jaune carrying his bags towards his dorm, at least he was until one of the straps from his bag got caught under his foot. His bags went flying as his body made contact with the ground for the umpteenth time that day. 'Okay, I stand corrected. I still think I should have been the leader though...' They continued on, ready to face the headmasters questions, which no doubt pertained to the raven haired boy beside her.

Ozpin sat behind his desk, the sound of gears methodically bumping against each other around them. Most people wouldn't think that such a sound would be peaceful, but Ozpin wasn't most people. Glynda stood behind him, her permanent scowl taking on a curious and worried tone. When they first entered the office he had asked the two to sit and wait for her to join them, Weiss gladly accepting the offer while the boy politely declined, since it was better for her to hear it now and ask her questions rather than try to beat them out of him. Ozpin wasn't scared of many things, but when that woman is angry... let's just say, even without aura, a riding crop is a very painful weapon.

Taking his standard "interrogation" posture, which consisted of him placing his elbows on the desk and resting his mouth on his clasped hands, he began, "So, Ms. Schnee. First off, impressive work taking down that Nevermore. Your skill with Dust is remarkable, though I suppose that is to be expected from the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." He noticed her posture stiffen, and her expression darken slightly. 'Hmm, it seems that is a particularly sore spot for her.' He turned his gaze to the other youth who stood behind her. The boy returned his look with an even stare of his own. "However, I did not call you here to congratulate you as I'm sure you are already aware." The girl tensed for a split second, and relaxed again. 'Impressive. No doubt that she was drilled constantly on keeping herself calm in situations like this.' "That being said, why don't you start from the beginning?"

"Well sir, to be honest, I'm not sure of all the details myself. I think Ichika would be able to answer better than I can." So his name is Ichika. "Well then, could you explain your rather sudden appearance?" The boy regarded him silently for a few seconds before removing his hood. Ozpin frowned slightly as he took in the boys appearance. He was young, only around nineteen, and already had the look of someone who has seen far too much of the worlds cruelty. The boy spoke up, "I can only tell you what you need to know. Anything else is to be discussed with my Master in private." The clicking of heels was enough of an indication to Ozpin that Glynda wasn't satisfied with that, "We 'need' to know everything, so you will tell us everything." He didn't even look in her direction when he spoke, "What you need to know is that I was summoned here from a rift in between time and space called, 'the void', by this girl here." He motioned to Weiss, "Her voice called out to me and I answered, forming a contract between us." Ozpin quickly spoke up, to avoid letting Glynda lose her temper, "Contract? And what exactly is this contract?" Ichika closed his eyes in thought, no doubt deciding exactly how much to tell them, "A bond of sorts. I am to be her sword and shield until she fulfills her wish, her wish being the reason she summoned me."

Ozpin nodded, showing that he understood. "And when the contract is complete?" He answered without hesitation, "Then there will no longer be any need for me to remain here. Upon completion of the contract, I will return to the place I came from." Glynda frowned, "This place you come from, this 'void', what is it exactly." He didn't answer immediately, but when he did it was not what she wanted to hear, "I already told you. It is a rift, a gateway of sorts. Other than that, I cannot tell you, because you do not 'need' to know." 'Please don't provoke her,' Ozpin silently pleaded and raised his hand to stop the huntress from tearing him a new one, "We understand, however, I have one final question." Ichika waited for him to continue, "You say you are here to defend Ms. Schnee, correct?" He nodded. "What about the other students here? I cannot stand aside if you intend any of them harm. Regardless of the circumstances, if you should turn on any of them, I will not hesitate to erase you where you stand." The young girl in front of him shrank back, her calm facade temporarily shattered by his forceful declaration. Even Glynda herself took a small step back. It had been quite a long time since she'd seen him this serious. The boy, however, did not flinch or show any visible signs of discomfort. Instead, his eyes seemed to brighten a bit. In his gaze, Ozpin could see a sliver of respect being directed towards him. "As it should be. However, on that same basis, should any of your students seek to harm my Master, I will deem them my enemy and destroy them without a second thought."

They stared intently at each other now, neither willing to back down from their claims. The silence continued before Ozpin let a small smile appear on his face, "Very well. Then let us hope it should never come to that." Ichika nodded, "Agreed. However, I wish to make a request." Ozpin motioned for him to continue, "Due to the nature of the contract, and for practicality, I need to be close to my Master at all times. Within reason, of course." The older man agreed, "Ah, yes. Unfortunately, one room can only hold a maximum of four people. All adjacent rooms are taken as well. Reassigning students to a different room will take some time." Ichika waved his hand dismissively, "I can manage until then. Is that all the questions you had for me? I must go over the details of the contract with my Master as soon as possible." Glynda, regaining her composure, took a step forward, "Of course not! You are not leaving until you tell us every-" Ozpin cut her off, "Yes, you may go now. Congratulations again, Ms. Schnee. I look forward to watching your progress. Yours as well, Ichika." He watched them leave silently before turning to face the now visibly upset huntress, "If you keep making a face like that, it will become permanent." She simply sighed and relaxed, "Are you sure this is the right choice? What if he-" He stood up from his chair and grabbed his cane from where it was resting before walking over to the window to watch the students below, "There is no such thing as surety, Glynda. Only time will tell if the choice was wrong or right. Until then, we must simply wait. Besides, just from that simple exchange, I can already tell that he would not harm any of these children." Ozpin took a sip from his mug, 'Still, better to be safe than sorry.'

Weiss had immediately questioned him as soon as they were out of earshot, but he told her that he would answer her questions tomorrow when she was more focused. Despite wanting to get through explanations quickly, he really didn't feel like having to repeat himself over and over. She tried to argue that she was perfectly focused when she was interrupted by her own yawning. "Like I said, we will speak tomorrow when you're not tired. Today was pretty hectic for you, I'll bet." She didn't respond, instead, opting to glare to the side and pout seeing that she had lost the argument. They walked in silence for a while, consumed in their own thoughts. During her musings, she came upon a realization. "Why did you help us on the bridge?" He stopped walking and turned to face her, the look on his face saying, "Seriously? Are you an idiot?" Oh, he'd said that out loud. "Idiot!? How am I the idiot, idiot?! When Ruby was about to be mauled by that Deathstalker, you didn't budge at all, but on the bridge you helped us take down the Nevermore! Why!?" Her voice escalated the longer she spoke.

His facial expression didn't change, however, and he spoke to her as if the answer should be obvious, "Simply put, she isn't my master. Therefore, her life is not important to me." Weiss was taken aback at his rather cold statement, but before she could reply, he continued, "It appears my earlier assumptions of you are correct. You have no idea what I am nor what my purpose is, when the process of summoning a servant is supposed to be intentional, something you study and understand completely before attempting. Yet somehow or another you, a complete novice, summoned me by accident. Very well, I will tell you something about servants that you would do well to never forget. Your world, the people in it, the politics, wars, factions, dreams, and desires mean nothing to us. Every life is expendable, every person a potential enemy. We protect our master, and our master only. You ask me why I did not step in to save Ruby? She rushed in to a fight she was ill prepared for, so she must suffer the consequences. If those consequences result in her death, so be it."

Rather than back down, the Heiress felt her temper flair up, "Oh? So that whole scene in the woods when we first met, what was that!? You defended her, comforted her, and then left her to die! If you really meant what you just said, then your actions are pretty contradictory!" She was glaring at him now, daring him to refute her claim. He just watched her for a moment, and then started to laugh. A cold, tired, cynical laugh. "Yes, you're right. I guess that makes me a hypocrite. However, what does that say about you?" Her glare intensified, "What are you talking about?" He folded his arms across his chest looking like a parent lecturing a child, "You yourself were angry with her and berating her for leaving you to fight on your own. Was it not your own fault that she was not at your side? That she felt the need to prove herself?" He turned and began walking down the hallway again, "Remove the beam from your eye before trying to remove the splinter from mine." And just like that, her anger was cooled and replaced with confusion and guilt. She silently followed him, folding in on herself as she did.

Maybe I am a hypocrite, too.

It wasn't until they entered the student building that she spoke up again, "Wait, where are we going?" "Isn't it obvious, to your room." He could feel her rolling her eyes at him, "We don't know which room that is, idiot. The headmaster didn't tell us." He said nothing and continued on through the halls before stopping in front of a door, "Well? Are you going to knock?" She growled at him and knocked, about to argue that this couldn't possibly be her room when the door flung open revealing her teammates. Before they had a chance to say anything, she slammed the door shut. "How did- when did- there's no way you could have-" He decided that now was as good a time as any to reveal the first of many surprises he had to show her. Relaxing completely, two furry appendages sprouted from underneath his hair. He watched her jaw hang open with a small smirk before turning to the side and letting his tail poke out from under his coat. "Well, call it animal instinct. Wolves are particularly good at tracking scent, and Ruby was easy to identify."

*crash*

The door flung open again and her team piled out, trying to wake her up and ask what was wrong. She just mumbled incoherently about faunus. By then, however, he was already gone. Back outside, he made his way silently to the roof above their room and settled on the stone for the night. He bundled up in his coat, a bit of nostalgia hitting him when he remembered how often he had slept like this before. "Another journey in a strange world. No rest for the wicked, eh Sara?" He pulled a necklace out from under his shirt, and gently ran his finger over the object attached to it, taking some small comfort in its presence before falling asleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day.