A/N: So, finally made it through the prologues. They were probably unnecessary, but I, as well as many others, loved the RWBY character trailers, so I wanted to capture a little of that spirit. That being done, let's get right into the story, shall we?

Chapter 1: Corona Drake

A certain knight stood over the disassembled pieces of an assault sword and collapsible shield. Blond hair, not quite long enough to reach her shoulders, hung down in front of citrine eyes. Out of her armor, she wore a simple yellow shirt, her red, wing shaped symbol decorating the shoulder blades, and a pair of blue jeans. Picking up a rag and one of the many pieces of the shield, the knight began to slowly, methodically remove every trace of dust, ash, and blood that she could find. In such a manner, the time slipped by, until a sudden weight attached itself to her back. The knight did not even pause in her work, the arms draped over her shoulders and twin locks of white hair in her peripheral vision giving her a good idea of just who had decided to invade her personal space. As the moment stretched on into a minute, the white haired girl behind her began to give out a distinctly vulpine whine, rubbing her head into the knight's back.

"Corona," the Faunus whined, "it's no fun if you just ignore me."

Sighing, Corona turned around, looking down at the much shorter girl. "Rin, I'm working. I can't entertain you right now."

"But I'm bored," Rin replied petulantly.

"Then why don't you go bother one of the others?"

"Well, Viper is out, turning in a bounty or something. The boss has made it very clear that she isn't willing to put up with my shit, and when I went by Obi's room, there were some pretty scary noises coming out, so I thought it'd be best if I just stayed clear for now, you know."

"Well, what makes you so sure that I'll be willing to put up with your shit, as you put it."

"That's simple," Rin said, wrapping her arms back around Corona's neck. "It's 'cause you love me so much."

Corona rolled her eyes, though the slight smile that played on her lips somewhat ruined the effect. She gently removed Rin's arms before leaning back against the table where her weapons lay. "Setting that aside, I suppose Sabre and Guard can wait. What is it exactly that you want from me?"

Rin smiled, not put off in the least by Corona's lack of enthusiasm. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me a story."

Corona's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "A story, huh? What kind of story, exactly?"

"Well, it occurs to me that in all the time we've known each other, you still haven't told me how you met the boss."

Corona sighed in response. Rin seemed particularly adept at eliciting that particular response from her. "Is that all? Knowing you, I thought you were going to come up with something much more extreme."

Rin beamed. "Were you disappointed? If you wanted something extreme you could have just asked. We could always try to steal the boss's underwear."

Corona's hand shot up, covering Rin's mouth with a distinct slapping sound. Looking around furtively, she then turned a glare on her white haired companion. "Well, since I don't really feel like dying, story it is." Removing her hand from Rin's mouth, she combed a hand through her hair, removing any errant strands from her face. "Mind if I work while I talk?" Corona asked. Rin pouted, but relented with a nod. "Well, it's been, what, almost twelve years now..."

On the continent of Anima, in the kingdom of Mistral, there was a certain organization, whose sole purpose was to train young women to be fighters of unparalleled skill. This organization was known as The Amazon Group. Mostly composed of orphans, its students were selected in infancy, and put through vigorous training, which only a select few ever managed to complete. No one really knew why they only accepted females, but the popular theory involved the tacit orders of the Head Master of Haven Academy, and an old fairy tale. Whatever the reason, this organization had produced some of the most powerful warriors in history, and it was this organization which was responsible for the upbringing of a certain young knight.

The sound of trumpets sounded through the halls, rousing Corona from slumber, heralding the beginning of another day in the barracks. With precise, practiced movements, she put her bedding in order, dressed in her uniform, and stood in front of her bunk, waiting for inspection. Inspection went smoothly, as it always did. It had taken years for that sort of perfectionism to be drilled into them, but drilled in it was, to the point where it was almost unconscious, merely second nature to them now. Her instructor had stopped briefly in front of Corona, handing her a folded note, then moved on. After they had been dismissed, Corona took the opportunity to read the note, noting that it was a summons to her commander's office. Knowing the importance of punctuality, she made all due haste to the officers' building, knocking quietly on the commander's door. Hearing a firm "Enter," Corona entered the office.

When she entered, there were two things of immediate note. First was Commander Argona sitting at her desk, peering sharply over steepled fingers. Dressed in a black uniform, her lilac hair provided a sharp contrast. Her heterochromatic, blue and green eyes were currently directed at the other object of interest in the room. The individual in question was a young girl, though not much else could be discerned by Corona, as the girl was currently seated with her back to the door. What she could see, though, was that the girl had long, apple red hair, and that she was fidgeting nervously. Commander Argona's gaze shifted, taking in the sight of the newcomer to her office, leaning back as she did so. With a gesture, she made it clear that she wished Corona to sit down with them. Corona took a seat next to the other girl, a quick glance taking in the other girl's emerald eyes and nervous expression.

"Squire Drake," the commander said dryly, "we've been expecting you."

"Yes, ma'am," Corona replied calmly.

"Do you know why you are here, Squire?"

"I have an idea, ma'am."

"I suppose you would. After all, it was once you sitting in the other chair, eh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, for the sake of formality, I will tell you anyway, shall I?"

"As you wish, ma'am."

"This little one has recently reached the age of seven. As you know, that means that it is time for her to be assigned a mentor. And as you are now fourteen, you are now qualified to serve as a mentor. Therefore, I have decided to assign you to the position of mentor for the girl, understood?"

"Understood."

"Very well, I will leave the rest to you." With a wave her hand, Commander Argona signaled that their meeting was over, and that they were to leave. With a nod of her head, Corona rose from her seat, making her way to the door. Just as she was about to leave the office, she noticed that the young red head had yet to move from her seat. Corona rolled her eyes, internally chiding herself for not having better control over such reactions, and turned back.

"Page," she barked.

"Y-yes?" the girl responded.

"Come."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." Turning back around, she heard the sound of the young girl scrambling to catch up to her. As she walked she spoke up again.

"As you no doubt heard from the commander, I am Squire Drake. You shall refer to me as such, or ma'am, at all times, understood?"

"Y-yes, m-ma'am. My name is..."

Corona whipped around, glaring down at the child. "Did I ask for your name?" she snapped.

"N-no, ma'am."

"Then keep it to yourself. Maybe, if you ever become worth my time, I might bother to learn your name."

"I'm sorry."

Silence settled over them, unbroken as they made their way to the classrooms. When they had reached the instructional building, Corona stopped, turning to look at her young charge. "You will return to your class, and resume your normal training. When class ends, however, instead of returning to the barracks, come find me at the sparring ring."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Be certain you don't forget. If I have to come find you, I'm not going to be happy."

"Y-yes, I'm sorry." The girl turned around practically running in her haste to get away. Corona shook her head, they were going to have to work on the girl's overly hasty apologizing. Turning towards her own classes she set out to another day of learning.

When classes finally ended, she made her way to the sparring ring, expecting to have to wait for a while for the page to arrive. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to find a short figure with vibrant red hair waiting for her to arrive. Smiling softly, she reached out, placing a hand on the girl's head. "You ready, Page?"

"Ready for what?" the red head asked, her nervousness for once seeming to be overwhelmed by curiosity.

"Well, one of the main reasons you were assigned a mentor was so I could teach you to fight. So, we're going to find out just what kind of weapon suits you best."

"Really," she asked, eyes shining, "how are we going to do that?"

Corona chuckled, happy to see the girl so lively. Motioning for the girl to follow her, she made her way into the practice arena, leading the page to a wall covered in weapon racks. The racks were filled with blunted weapons. Picking up her usual sword and round shield, she waved her hand lazily at the racks. "Just pick something that feels right. We can worry about the firearm component after you've decided on a base. After all, the nature of the base weapon limits the type of firearm which can be attached."

"Yes, ma'am," the girl said, fingers already ghosting over the many weapons there, eyes alight.

"You really like weapons, don't you, Page?"

"It's not the weapons, exactly, ma'am. But when I fight, I'm reminded of all the people in this world that need help, and how I get to be a part of keeping them safe, you know?"

Corona nodded, then made her way to the center of the ring. "You've got a long way to go before you can protect anyone. Now find a weapon and attack." Needing no other encouragement, the page grabbed a short axe from the wall, then made her way into the ring, holding the axe in both hands. Corona shook her head, chuckling. "If you're going to use one of those, hold it in one hand. That frees up your other hand to grapple with your opponent, and if you need extra power in your swing, you simply grab onto the haft as you swing, then release it when you complete your attack. Nodding, the red head made the adjustment, then looked up at Corona. Getting a nod of confirmation, she launched into an attack. Her speed and strength surprised Corona, but she was still just a child, and Corona easily blocked the blow with her shield. The page was unfazed, however, and used the momentum of the rebound to spin the other way, attempting to attack from the other side. Unfortunately, that took far too long, and Corona kicked her in the side as she spun, sending her flying.

"A clever attempt, but you leave yourself open to retaliation. If you're going to pull stunts like that, you need to be able to defend yourself at the same time. Go grab a shield off the shelf."

The page nodded, and did as instructed. Noting that there were many types, she hesitated, but, noting Corona's own shield, chose a matching targe. She turned back towards her instructor, she nodded to show her readiness. Corona decided that this time, she would be the one to initiate combat, and moved forward. Not bothering with speed, she slowly brought her sword up, then brought it down with crushing force. Her young charge attempted to block the blow, but the force of the swing drove her to her knees. Corona followed up with another kick, knocking the axe from the girl's hands.

"Not all attacks should be blocked. That strike was slow, and could have been easily dodged. It takes much more energy to absorb a hit than to simply move out of the way. Remember that. Now, it's your turn." The page got up, moving to pick up her axe. Corona rolled her eyes, aiming another kick at the page's unprotected back. She was surprised, however, as the page rolled forward before her boot connected, retrieving her axe as she went.

Looking up at Corona from a crouched position, one corner of her mouth twitched up in a smirk. "Never turn your back on an opponent, right?"

Corona chuckled at that. "Nice to see that you're not completely useless. Now if you could just land a hit, I might be impressed." The page's smirk faded at that, mouth hardening into a determined line. Rushing forward, she launched into a flurry of blows, each of which was easily, almost lazily blocked by Corona. Soon enough, she tired, her strikes slowing, eventually stopping altogether. She leaned heavily on her axe, panting heavily. Corona put up a hand, signaling a stop.

"Not bad. We'll break here." Sheathing her sword, she moved over to a nearby wall, leaning against it calmly. "What do you think of your current armament?"

The page looked at the weaponry she held, then back at Corona. "I have no complaints about the shield, but I don't care for the axe. It takes too long to swing, and it's too predictable."

Nodding, Corona took the axe from the red head's hand, returning it to the rack. In exchange, she retrieved a sword, similar to, but slightly shorter than her own. "Then, when you're done resting, use this."

"Yes, ma'am," the girl said, taking the blade. That done, Corona leaned against her wall, waiting for the girl to catch her breath.

Continuing her habit of surprising her instructor, the girl recovered in a remarkably short amount of time, soon ready to continue the fight. Corona raised her shield and drew her blade, motioning for the girl to advance. The girl did as instructed, striking with a quick thrust. Corona quickly understood what the girl had been getting at, as the addition of the ability to thrust, as well as the much larger surface of the blade added an element of unpredictability to her attacks, keeping Corona on her toes. When they broke this time, Corona had actually broken into a light sweat, though the girl was still significantly more exhausted.

"Well," Corona inquired, "what do you think?"

"I like it," the girl replied, nodding solemnly. "Though, I sometimes wish it had more range."

Corona chuckled at that, "Something to keep in mind when you build your own weapon, but I think it'll do just fine for now. Go get some rest, kid. Tomorrow, the real fun begins."