RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
CHAPTER 1
"So, Ruby, how was your day?" was the greeting the cloaked girl received upon entering through the door of her destination. The entrance to one of Beacon Academy's many testing rooms slid shut behind her with a hiss.
"Same as usual for the most part. Though I think Professor Port might have been working on his story-telling skills." Ruby replied as she set her bag down with a thump on the room's table. She looked around the room quickly, noticing that the targets and mats that she had grown accustomed to were still rolled up against the wall. "Hey, Luna? Where's Alex?"
"He said he had an errand to run, so he'd be a bit late." the young woman with midnight-blue hair replied from her seat across from where Ruby had deposited her bag. "Pyrrha and Jaune should be here soon."
"Ah, okay." the student nodded as she took a seat next to Luna. She silently looked around the room she had visited almost daily for so long, taking in the expansive accumulated history within. Numerous scuffs, scratches, and dents marred the metal walls, testament to Ruby and the others' occasional mistakes during training. Ruby sighed to herself. "One more year..."
"I'm pretty sure most students would be thrilled to graduate, what's with the downed look?" Luna asked, patting the younger girl on the back.
"It just hit me how I have only a single year left a Beacon... I'm going to miss all this..."
"Ruby, it's not like you can't come visit us to train or spend time together."
"Yeah, I know... but it won't be so often..."
"You're still a little girl deep down, huh?" Luna chuckled.
"Hey! I'm seventeen now!" Ruby shot playfully. The door hissed open behind the two girls.
"Sorry, Ruby, but that still technically makes you a kid." Alex said kindly as he entered the room. Jaune and Pyrrha following close behind him. Ruby stuck her tongue out at him. "Give me a few minutes to set everything up, then we'll get started." The other four occupants of the room nodded in affirmation. Jaune sat himself down across from Ruby, while Pyrrha offered Alex some help in preparing the targets and training mats.
"How'd your day go, Jaune?" Luna asked.
"If Professor Peach assigned any more essays, I'd drown in paper." He replied. Ruby zoned out of the conversation as her blond classmate bemoaned his workload. The small girl thought about how far she had come. Two-and-a half years ago, she'd stumbled across two men in unfamiliar armor in Forever Fall. That single meeting had set her on a hectic path involving another world, a shadowy organization called "the Order", and a wish-granting temple. Now, after all that, here she was, finishing up her third year at Beacon Academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses. She'd made a lot of friends along the way, even with some old enemies.
Ruby's thoughts were interrupted as the testing room entrance slid open again and another young woman entered, dressed in a simple red and gold dress and her long black hair trailing behind her. Her gold eyes flashed to the door, looking out for anybody following her.
"Evening, Cinder." Alex greeted, looking up from the mat he and Pyrrha were stretching out over the floor.
"Hide me, quickly." the once-terrifying woman demanded urgently. Before any of the occupants of the room could respond, she hid herself inside a locker along the wall. The door slid open once more, and an aging man with dark complexion stuck his head in.
"Good afternoon, everyone. You wouldn't have happened to see Cinder head this way, would you?" Barnes asked.
"Hi, Professor Barnes." Ruby said. "No, we haven't seen her."
"Ah, I'll keep looking then. Give me a shout if you do see her, or tell her to head on back to the office."
"Sure thing, General." Alex said, waving as the entrance once again hissed shut. Once the door was closed, Alex gently opened the locker Cinder was concealed in. "What was that about?"
"You can say what you want about Barnes," she answered, dusting herself off, "but the man is evil incarnate. If I see another sheet of paper, I'm going to vomit."
"You did volunteer for Barnes to teach you a command position instead of fieldwork." Alex pointed out. "It's essentially a desk job."
"Ugh. I just need a break from signing the damn things." Cinder seated herself between Jaune and Ruby at the table.
"You're going to have to do them eventually." Ruby pointed out.
"I know..." Cinder's forehead slapped onto the cool metal of the table with a sigh. Despite herself, Ruby found herself smiling. She might only have one more year of spending time like this, but she'd be sure to make the most of it.
Blake wiped sweat from her brow as she and her two favorite people admired their handiwork.
"Thank you, Mr. Averin. And you two as well, Miss Belladonna, Miss Firo." a Faunus shopkeeper bowed delightedly.
"Not a problem." the large man in front of Blake replied kindly. "It will hold until you can replace the window, at least."
"After seeing how nice it looks, I'm almost considering leaving it like that." the shopkeeper laughed. "Really, thanks for helping me with this."
"It wasn't any trouble." Firo smiled.
"Just let us know if you need anything else, or if someone tries to break in again, okay?" Blake said.
"Sure thing, not sure why anyone'd want to break into a bookstore in the first place, but I'll keep you in the loop." Dimitri's scroll beeped, alerting him to the time.
"Sorry, Woods, we have to catch the transport back to the Academy." the Russian informed the shopkeeper apologetically.
"Eh, no problem. You three have a nice evening." Blake and her two companions waved their farewells to the Faunus man, then proceeded down the streets of one of Vale's poorer neighborhoods, where Blake had grown up. Following the disappearance of the Lord of the Order known as Chaos, Dimitri, Firo, and Blake had spent most of their free time helping the impoverished people of Vale. The three had made a bit of a name for themselves, the Black Cat, the one-eared rabbit, and the Human with the weird accent.
Blake felt their actions were helping the relationship between Humans and Faunus, even if only a little. The once-dreary graffiti-covered buildings of the girl's youth had been washed clean for the most part. The weeds poking out from the cracks in the sidewalk had been pulled. Overall, it was a happier sight, one Blake was glad to be a part of.
"Is everything alright in Atlas?" Weiss asked from her seat in Beacon's communication tower.
"Well, it's been hectic, but nothing too serious has happened recently." Winter Schnee's image smiled at her sister from across the world.
"So the White Fang's been being quiet again?"
"For the time being, yes."
"I suppose that no news in good news in this case." Weiss sighed. "What have you been doing?"
"Aside from running the show here at the company, I've been teaching Anise to sing." Winter said happily. "She's so cute when-" the older Schnee's gushing was put to a halt as the sound of a door opening could be heard over the call.
"Ms. Schnee, I apologize for the interruption, but there are several documents the board wants you to look over and approve." the voice of Winter's secretary said.
"I'll review them later, I'm just making a call to my sister."
"Ah, I see. I'll leave you be, then." The thud of the office door closing sounded from out of sight.
"Sorry about that, Weiss."
"It's not a problem." the younger sister shook her head kindly. "So, how's Anise been, now that you mention it? Has she been adjusting to her power?"
"Charles has been teaching her to keep it in check, but even then, the worst she's done is send a few vases flying." Winter chuckled.
Weiss smiled as her sibling went into detail about what the little girl had been up to. In the back of her mind however, she let out a sigh. Despite the best efforts of Blake's friend, Adam, and the group he had taken, the White Fang was far from disbanded. While a majority of their forces had gone their separate ways, a decent number still held aggressive beliefs close to their chests.
Even though Weiss and Winter's father, Calder Schnee, had done many terrible things in his time, he hadn't deserved to be killed. The White Fang had trapped his car with a bomb, greatly wounding the Schnee patriarch. Weiss had flown back to Atlas to see him on his deathbed, where he had apologized to his daughters for being a horrible father to them. He had died a few days later.
Following that, Winter had taken over the Schnee Dust Company, and went to work cleaning up the massive company's act with zealous fervor. She had tracked down any smudge of corruption she could find, and then exterminated it with extreme prejudice. The public now looked at the SDC in a much more favorable light thanks to the older Schnee sister. However, it had also made her some enemies among the people who had benefited from running the organization through underhanded means.
"No one's tried anything, right?" Weiss asked worriedly, her eyes tracing the jagged scar barely visible along her sister's neck. Somebody had tried to assassinate Winter several months prior, and she had only survived thanks to Charles' quick reaction time.
"Not recently, no. But I have Charles, Anise, and General Ironwood looking out for me, so there's no need to worry." The sound of the office door creaking open could be heard once again. "Oh, speaking of which..." Winter gestured to the person who had just entered the room to come over to her side. There was a soft patter of small feet. Weiss saw the top of a head of dark hair cross beneath the camera. Winter pulled up a chair for the newcomer, who lifted themselves into the seat. Weiss smiled at the nine-year-old girl as she looked to the screen.
"Hi, Weiss!" the little girl waved.
"Hi, Anise."
"But, Ry~" Yang pleaded with the orange-haired engineer, her arms wrapped around him.
"What would you even do with itching powder filled- wait, never mind, just answered my own question." Ryland said.
"Please?" The door to the workshop opened, revealing Carbon, the pair's ex-Atlesian solider friend.
"Uh... Should I have knocked?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the two younger individuals.
"Yang is asking for more power than any one person should have." Ryland informed him flatly. "Please free me."
"I just came to grab a tool, you're on your own, Kid." Carbon shrugged and obtained the item he had come for.
"Thanks, Carbon." Yang smiled.
"Sure thing. I'll let you two have your privacy." He stepped out and closed the door behind him.
"Traitor!" Ryland called after the older soldier. There was a moment of silence before Yang began laughing hysterically. Despite himself, the orange-haired boy joined in. This had been his life since he had arrived in Remnant. In between his work on various designs for weapons or machinery, Yang would come up with a random idea and ask him to make it. The joking exchanges where he would usually give in to the girl's demands had become something of a tradition at this point. He'd have had it no other way.
"Acolyte. Report." A man in ornate black armor, trimmed with red and gold, stood upon the bridge of a large ship, which currently floated above nothing but an expanse of water. His dark green eyes scanned the ocean beneath his feet. He ran a hand through the short red hair atop his head.
"At once, Lord Agony." the lower-ranked Order soldier quickly observed the information on the console in front of him. "Our five ships are all reporting in, no reports of missing personnel or extensive damage from our fight with the EDC."
"Where are we?"
"Unknown, my Lord. Our sensors have been unable to place our coordinates."
"That is troublesome. Ensure that the air outside is non-toxic, then order a scouting party to determine our location."
"Yes, my Lord. Anything else?"
"Call the other Lords to the flagship. I have need of their presence."
"Of course, right away."
"Greetings, my friends." Agony said as he entered the small conference room aboard his flagship.
"Have the scouts found out where we are yet?" Another man asked impatiently. Both of his arms and his right leg were complex-looking mechanical prosthetics. His head was completely concealed by a skull-like helmet.
"I am told they have yet to find land. Our coordinates also remain unknown according to the bridge crew.
"Perhaps they would work faster if I-" the other man growled before being silenced by a lift of Agony's hand.
"Peace, Carnage. We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves at this time."
"Hmph."
"Was your device supposed to do this? I assume not, but you have a tendency to not inform us of everything." A young woman spoke up from beside Carnage. She leaned back arrogantly in her chair, long, dyed dark blue hair pulled over her shoulder.
"Yes and no, Europa. It was meant to transport us, but to a precise location. It seems to have failed on the second account."
"Feh. Why am I not surprised?" She breathed irritably.
"Disrespect will not be permitted." Europa found herself at the point of a smooth stone spear, held in the hand of another Lord. A large man with a square jaw and sandy hair.
"Really, Golem?" The female Lord questioned, not moving from her position. "Didn't you know you enjoyed sucking Agony's di-" Europa was cut off as the final member of the room stepped between her and the other Lord without uttering a word. An unsettling air surrounded the masked individual.
"... Lord... Agony... says... no... fighting..." Came the female voice hidden within the bundle of cloth and metal that strongly resembled a straight-jacket.
"Thank you, Enigma." the High Lord requested placatingly. "Everyone, please seat yourselves. We must discuss what our plans are."
Barnes' Log: Auras and aura
"At your request, Ozpin, I've begun to compile a more comprehensive directory of the information you received from Alex. Cinder is quite upset that I have been unable to help with the paperwork while I've been working on this..."
"Where to start... I guess with what you're familiar with, the people of Remnant. Each and every one of them has a field of energy around them called an aura (which I've set the recording to denote with a lower-case 'a') and each of them has a unique ability known as a semblance."
"Now, back on Earth, this wasn't the case. Humanity was divided into a case of 'haves' and 'have-nots'. Approximately one in twenty to twenty-five people on Earth was designated as an 'Aura', (Denoted with an upper-case 'A'.) named for the haze of energy around them that could be seen under specific frequencies of light."
"The Auras on Earth are also much easier to categorize than the semblances in Remnant. Every Aura has two abilities, a Primary and a Secondary. Primaries, or elemental control, exist in eight types: Fire, Ice, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Dark, and Neutral. Neutral Auras are a tad odd, due to the fact that their Secondary ability increases in power to match a typical Primary."
"Secondaries come in a wider variety, and not all have been thoroughly documented. The most common ones were simply increases in physical strength (like Miss Xiao Long) or speed (like Miss Rose). Less common abilities include Regeneration, which can rapidly heal both the Aura and anyone they wish, Teleportation, which we got more than our fair share of with Chaos, and Kinesis, which you've seen displayed by Charles."
"There were three documented 'unique' abilities prior to our arrival in Remnant, by which I mean only one Aura had been seen having it. One of these Auras showed the ability to manipulate short spans of time. The other two where both Bloodlines, with 'Lord Eclipse' having short-term invisibility, and the Guardian 'Rage' having control over gravity."
"Oh, boy...then there are the Bloodlines...A handful of Auras with a third ability that gets passed down from first-born to first-born. Each one of them is freakishly powerful, and there were thirteen of these guys running around while I was still kicking around back on Earth. Each Bloodline ability seems to represent something, usually an element or some sort of emotion. So, Charles, for example, who is the inheritor of the 'Terror' Bloodline, is part of the line representing fear. Chaos was the Bloodline of the same name. So on and so forth. As far as I know, the only two Bloodlines that fall outside the emotion/element circle are the two capable of creating new Bloodlines, Reaper and Esprit. Death and Soul."
A/N: And I'm back! What do you all think? I recently started a temporary job, which ate up a lot of my time. Chapters may be more erratic in how often they are posted, but I will attempt to keep to my schedule of a chapter a day like last time.
Reviews, Follows, and Favorites are always appreciated! Let me know what you think! Got a question for me? Go ahead and leave one in a review, or if you don't want to share the answer, send me a PM. I will answer as quickly as I am able.