So there is quite a lot right here so this is a brief message.
The follow 3 chapters are just one chapter, but broken into 3 parts (sicne there would have been 10K in total).
All uploaded at the same time, so once you finish this one, go to the next...whenever you're ready that is. Got a lot to say at the very end,so you'll find that in part 3/3.

So here is,

Forging A Weapon

Part 1/3

Time: 10 Weeks Until the Vytal Festival

Location: RWBY Dorm Room

"That test Professor Peach gave was intense, I might have to go into therapy to ever recover." Yang cried out in the most dramatic tone she could come up with as they entered their dorm room, the rest of her team following behind her.

"I found it to be actually one of her quite lenient ones, even enjoyable to be honest.

It's a nice change we can talk about astronomy for once and not do biology. One more time I hear about Mitochondria, someone is getting frozen in place. " Weiss retorted, sighing heavily as she threw her satchel onto her desk.

"We all can't be graced with an unfair advantage of living in the icy north of Atlas for most of our lives. Where nearly all of the observatories within Remnant are primarily located Weiss." Said Blake, making a bee line for the bookshelf placing her bag next to her bed, then laying down on it, eyes glued to where she had left off.

"Well it's over with now, and we have the rest of the afternoon to do absolutely whatever we want to.

At least you guys do. I have to get ready to go out." Ruby replied as she placed her bag atop her bunk, going to the nearby wardrobe. Grabbing her combat skirt so she could change out of her uniform.

"Why are you going out?" Weiss asked as she sat at her desk, pulling out notes from its draw, getting ready for another upcoming test in a few days.

"I was to meet up with Penny and Zen to-".

"Zen? That new guy who rarely talks to anyone and always seems to be kept in class once the lesson is over?" Yang replied, an eyebrow raised. Something felt odd whenever she saw him.

"He's not that bad, he usually talks with Penny, they're teammates. Apparently she's been giving him private lessons to improve himself in fighting.

So he can't be that bad if he is dedicated to bettering his abilities.

Plus Zen might just be a little nervous talking to others, just like how I was when I started Beacon." Ruby replied, sensing the hesitant tone from her older sister.

As Weiss was about to interject, a firm nock could be heard at the door.

"That sounds like him."

Peach's test did take longer than I thought.

Ruby went to the door and partially opened it, then opening it wide to allow the newcomer through.

"Hiya Zen, sorry, but we had a test with professor Peach and we just got in a minute or so ago.

I'll just go and change out of my uniform. Have you met my teammates, Weiss, Blake and Yang...I'll be a few minutes and then we can go."

Ruby grabbed her clothes and made a dash for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her, not wanting to keep him waiting.

Especially when it came to hanging out with Penny as well.

"So what are you three going to be doing in Vale?" Blake asked, cutting through the silence as she turned the page of her book, eyes reconnecting with the next sentence.

"Well, we're going to hopefully build me my own weapon.

I've been using the training room one's since I got here, but they wouldn't suffice once I face actual Grimm. Penny told me that Ruby is an expert when it comes to designing and building weapons, so I thought to ask her for her help."

Weiss turned around from where she was seated as she could sense Yang was looking in her direction, the pair made eye contact, then she proceeded to speak.

"So you've never encountered Grimm before? What did you have in mind, if you don't mind me asking, for your weapon that is?"

"Not too sure at the moment, possibly a pair of swords similar to the ones I've been using.

But as for the secondary mode? I'll have to see what Ruby thinks what would work the best."

Zen said as he walked over to look at a nearby poster, ignoring the first part of Weiss' question.

"So you guys like the Achievemen do you?"

"Yeah, but when Brownman left, its felt kinda different."

"HAP HAP," Zen said aloud, startling everyone in the room, himself included.

"What was that?" Yang exclaimed, her eyes widened in confusion.

"Oh-uh nothing, I was just- looking at the new guy Jeremy and I-"

"You mean Rimmy Tim, right?" Yang said in a slow tone.

"Yeah, Rimmy Tim. When I saw him on the poster, I just thought, HAP HAP.

Isn't he known for that one really good song...what was it?" Zen said, his words trailing behind, trying to get Yang's train of thought somewhere else.

How could he have been so stupid? Just blurting out such a simple thing like that.

And if he said anything else, Yang would start to get suspicious, and he knew that if he squared off against the brawler now, he'd be bashed into a bloody paste.

"You mean T.O.P: Tower of Power?" Yang replied, still in her stern tone, not blinking as she locked eyes with him, her hands slightly forming a fist.

Just as she was about to take a step towards Zen and tower over him, Ruby emerged from the bathroom in her black and red attire, and a smile beamed across her face, segueing into the conversation at hand.

"You mean Tower of Pimps?"

With that, Yang's focus changed from one of apprehension to one of shock, glancing to Ruby's direction, her mouth partially agape.

"Ruby! Why and how do you know that alternate version of T.O.P?"

An almost hurt expression appeared on Ruby's face as her older sister questioned the very idea of her sister listening to such a song.

"Whaat? As team leader, it is my sole responsibility to know exactly what team RWBY entertains themselves with at all times, making sure there is no FILTH" She said proudly, glaring towards Blake, who began to blush slightly and hid behind her book even more than she already was.

"Alright, I'm ready. Shall we get going?"

"Wait, shouldn't you bring Crescent Rose with you?"

Dammit why did I say that out loud!

Zen could already feel his subconscious kicking at him. As Ruby was about to open the door, she turned around and blinked for a second. Then smiling, she ran back to the beds and grabbed her sweetheart down from the top bunk, holstering it to her back.

"Wait, how do you know about Cre-" was all the older sister managed to say, being cut off by Weiss before she could finish.

A look of confusion was plastered on Yang's face, still trying to process what he just said. She then glanced to her side, seeing that Blake also had a similar expression.

"Oh Ruby, since you are going out.

Could you stop by one of the SDC owned stores and pick up a standard box of dust?

My supply is running low and I don't have the time to go into Vale to purchase any.

I'll give you my SDC personnel card and you can use it to resupply your ammo too if you need it."

"Thanks Weiss, I won't lose this one, I promise."

"Alright. But just make sure you at least get the dust you dunce." The heiress said jokingly, handing the hood wearer a cobalt blue coloured card.

"Okay, NOW I'm ready to go.

Bye guys, we'll be a while, so I'll see you in the evening okay."

And with that, Zen and Ruby headed through the corridors of Beacon towards the airship dock, leaving a confused Yang, surprised Blake and an indifferent Weiss in their dorm.

"What just happened?" Yang said, still staring at the door.

How did he know about Crescent Rose? The only people she knew for a fact that knew her sister's weapon by name were her teammates, Qrow and her Dad.

Perhaps Penny knew and just told him about it? But the poster? Nobody knew about Rimmy Tim's real name, everyone knew him as Rimmy.

Even when he was at the first concert when he was initiated into the Achievemen with his friend Bratt Mag. As for the sudden outburst 'HAP HAP'? What did that mean? Nothing as far as she knew, the dots just didn't connect.

"What just happened was your sister is going with a friend of her friend to build said friend a new weapon in the city, resupply herself with dust and pick some up for her teammate."

Blake replied, slamming her book shut, causing Yang to jump and turn around, fists at the ready, then lowering them just as quick.

"You're worrying about nothing, c'mon let's take your mind off the subject.

I need to head into the city as a new novel came out in the series that I'm reading, and I want to see if it is in stock.

Just give me a minute to change."

Yang watched as the bathroom door closed behind her teammate, then, she looked towards Weiss, pencil in hand not at all focused on everyone's talking.

"Do you think I'm over reacting Weiss? Do I over think things sometimes?"

Weiss sighed placing her pencil on the notebook and swivelled herself to address the blonde.

"You might do sometimes, I'm really not so sure of him myself, I've never known someone at this level of schooling without having seen a Grimm up close, it doesn't seem normal.

But Ruby is quite capable of looking after herself, plus she will have Penny with her, and she would run into an oncoming vehicle before harm would come to her.

Just let it go for now. The last thing you need is to stress everyone out, including yourself, especially with the Vytal festival around the corner.

Save that type of aggression for the fights when they come.

Oh, and as you can see I have my hands full. So it will be just you two, so have fun, alright."

Weiss replied, turning back to face the Everest that were her notes.

Once Blake had finished, Yang got dressed and the two of them headed towards the cliffside to catch the next airship, leaving Weiss to study in peace and quiet.

As their ship landed, Ruby and Zen were in the streets of Vale on a quiet afternoon, heading to where Penny had told them they would meet up.

Ruby turned to Zen giving a wide smile.

"So have you thought about the type of weapon you wanted to build?"

"Oh, I've had a few thoughts, but I've come down to this."

Zen said, producing a piece of paper and handing it over to Ruby. He had spent the previous night in the library, researching the best combinations of dust and metal for his weapon, sketching the design as well as the rough features and form that housed its internal workings. Ruby stared at it with fascination.

"Oooh, I think we can make something from these designs, maybe a few tweaks here and there, they're pretty well drawn. Do you double up as an artist or something?"

"Actually, I just draw in my spare time, kinda gets the creative juices flowing considering my mind is always thinking all the time.

To be honest those designs I made are due to my time working with diagrams, I wanted to become an engineer."

"Then why are you training to become a huntsman?"

"You could say the opportunity... fell upon my lap. Spontaneously."

Just as Ruby wondered what he meant, she saw the third member of their party come into view, and in excitement called out her name.

"Penny!"

"Ruby!"

Brace for impact Ruby. The scythe wielder thought to herself.

And with that, Penny bear hugged Ruby with shear happiness, lifting her up a few centimetres off the ground as she held her.

She couldn't keep herself from smiling, two of her only real friends in the same place at the same time, no guards escorting her, absolute freedom, just the three of them.

Granted the reason to be here was necessary for Zen, but she didn't care.

They could be surrounded by a horde of death stalkers and it wouldn't matter to her in the slightest.

"Hey Penny? Why do you have the training swords I've practiced with strapped to your back?"

Zen said as he glanced behind her and saw the all too familiar weapons he'd been using thus far.

"Well. They're going to be used as the base for your weapon.

The day when we were planning this, I went to ask Ozpin if we could modify them to be used as your own weapons.

Since you have become accustom to them for combat.

Not to mention that little 'test' we did in our dorm, it seems that those swords act as conduits for your semblance.

And after talking with Ruby, we both thought it would be a good idea to modify these existing weapons as opposed to buying all the materials required to build brand new ones."

As Ruby led the way, Zen could see that she was resisting the urge of using her semblance to dart around, looking at all the weapons and modifications that were on display in some of the shop windows.

He could tell that though all these stores were enticing for the scythe wielder, Ruby was looking for a particular store and when they reached its entrance, he gave a small smirk as the big yellow words stood above him.

From Dust Till Dawn

Fully Reopened

Entering the shop, the owner gave the three a welcoming smile.

"Why hello Ruby, I didn't expect you to be here on such a nice afternoon.

I would have expected you to be off stopping yet another attack on Vale, or spending time in a combat arena, training with that Schnee teammate of yours.

"Hiya shop keep," as she was about to continue, Zen leaned in, whispering to her.

"Wait, you actually call him shop keep?"

"Yeah he's fine with it, apparently that's what everyone calls him."

Turning back to the man in question, Ruby responded to the man's question at hand.

'Well I would, except Weiss has a mountain of work to cover, plus I'm here with my friends.

And my friend here has an idea for a new weapon he'd like some help building, and was wondering if you have the internal parts, since we already have weapons to build with."

"Hmm, the design looks simple enough, I should have the right stuff, I'll just go get them."

"Oh and also, I was wondering if you could also add black and yellow dust to the list."

Zen turned to Ruby, puzzled.

"Gravity and lightning, why do we need those?"

"I heard about your condition, and thought that since you don't have an aura in general, I thought that we could infuse dust into your weapons.

Lightning will increase its ability to deflect incoming attacks provided you guard the strike in time, and gravity will improve the strength of the weapon itself and allow you to hold onto them, even if a tough blow comes your way."

"Hmm, never thought about it that way, guess that's what I get when I try to work on research so late at night, thank you Ruby."

"Don't mention it. Plus, the dust here is better than the ones they have at the SDC.

But don't tell Weiss that, her families' dust is good for ammo but not weapon's crafting."

As she finished talking, the shop keep returned with all the parts needed to make the modifications to the existing practice swords into the weapon of Zen's conception.

"Thanks, so how much is today's damages?"

"Well considering that I still am yet to repay you for stopping those thugs, consider this as a thank you, it's half price for the lot."

"Thanks, we'll be back to show you how the weapons look when we're finished."

"Actually, you may not have to go too far.

Since I was able to claim insurance on the damages to the store, I was able to create a workshop in the back for building and repairing weapons.

It's not open to the public, but as huntresses and huntsman to- be, you are more than welcome to use it."

When the trio went to the back of the shop, the room inside was quite impressive.

There were several rows of shelving stocked with tools, a workbench and what looked like a miniature furnace. It left all three of them speechless, or at least until Penny remarked to the old man at the sight of it all.

"That must have been some insurance policy you had."

And so, with the shop keep's approval, Ruby began to work diligently on the training room weapons, breaking them apart so that space could be made for the internal components as well as altering the metals' composition.

Once she had several pieces of the sword on the table, she proceeded to place the blades into the furnace, as they started to glow a dim red, Ruby pulled each one out, before placing them into a tray.

She then poured a yellowish powder on them, causing sparks to jump off surface when it made contact with the heated metal.

After which, they were placed back into the furnace and as it's door was closed shut, the muffled sounds of arcing electricity from within could be heard.

Next were the handles, the grips had been removed and all that was left were the metallic frames, Ruby applied the same heat treatment to the pieces, but this time she applied a black powder to them, as well as the blades.

Placing them back into the furnace, it began to creak and groan as the gravity dust activated and distorted the space within the chamber.

As the parts came out, they were immersed in water and left to rest for a while.

When Ruby deemed them safe to handle, she placed all the pieces on the work bench and began to use her weapons crafting skills, bringing the old pieces together with the new internal components the shop keep had supplied them with.

Meanwhile on the other side of Vale

"I mean what is that guy doing at Beacon? Yes he's at Atlas currently, but look at him, probably could be taken down by a single creep or boarbatusk. Even Jaune could win a fight against him."

"Yang. Remember how I said that coming out here was to take your mind off of Zen and Ruby?

You realise that this is the moment when you're supposed to be sidetracked...Also I think I remember Ruby saying that Jaune did win in a fight against him."

Blake said, eyes focused on the words of her new book, as they walked down a busy shopping complex. For weeks now she had resorted to buying the book from here instead of her old destination.

"Alright, I'm sorry Blake, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Call it a sisterly instinct if you will. So like you said, I need to get my mind off the subject...So, whatcha reading?"

"Well, it's about a man who wants to make a name for himself. But one night, passing a cemetery, he comes across a pair of grave robbers who are collecting their debt off of a dead man. He pays for the man's debt with his only savings. The next morning he comes across a stranger who-"

Blake ceased her movement, her bow twitching as she realised the sound of two sets of footsteps among many people became one, turning around to find where her teammate went.

She saw Yang standing a few meters away, in front of a news agency, eyes focused on one magazine in particular.

Her lilac eyes were widened as her focus did not budge. Even when Blake stood next to her, getting a glimpse as to what caused her friend to stop so suddenly.

The magazine was one of those celebrity magazines, and staring up at Blake, who had picked up the magazine to read it, was a photo of Rimmy Tim with a caption underneath that read:

HAP HAP, the new single from the Achievemen as new album is announced.

"Yang, this doesn't mean-... this doesn't mean anything. Sometimes new songs can get leaked and Zen was one of those people to know. Maybe he heard a rumour among a fan group?

Maybe he knows Rimmy personally?"

Blake looking at Yang, eyes trying to maintain a steady gaze as she thumbed through the pages looking for the main article, her breathing becoming a little more rapid, her nerves starting to act as they would do when she saw Yang in a fierce mood.

Arriving to the page in question, she began to skim the few paragraphs, suddenly her eyes widened, her stomach began to knot up and she slammed it shut, placing it where it belonged and walked towards Yang, not making eye contact. Her bow angled slightly forward as the ears underneath tried to lay flat.

"Blake what did it say in there?"

"..."

"Blake, did it say Rimmy Tim's real name in there? It was Jeremy wasn't it ?"

"..."

"It'd better not say Jeremy or I swear..."

Darting for the magazine, she flipped to roughly where Blake had been, skimming the sentences to find that one name.

"Excuse me, can you tell me how long you have had this magazine?"

Blake hastily asked the clerk at the register, hoping that the article was just old stock.

"That one? That's a special edition, just received them about half an hour ago.

Only just finished putting them out before you two came in."

'So now you fit in well with the lads, can you tell us what your real name is?

Who is the man behind Rimmy Tim?'.

'I guess I might as well, since you guys bribed me with jerky, and I would've told people soon enough. The man behind Rimmy Tim is Jeremy, Jeremy Jooley.'

Yang slowly put down the magazine, turning to Blake, eyes changing from their usual soft calm lilac to burning red.

"I'M GOING TO PULVERISE THAT GUY!"

Yang shouted, causing everyone nearby to either run in the opposite direction, or just stand and stare, waiting to see what she would do next.

Blake just keeping focus, if she knew anything about Yang, once she was set off, you could only stay close and watch the flames die down, no direct way of extinguishing it, just listen and watch.

She followed as Yang stormed off, trying to think of ways to stop her from killing him if he came back to the dorm with Ruby.

"What else does he know?

How did he know about Ruby's scythe?

Why does he get special treatment after class?

How can he be a huntsman if he has no aura to protect him?

How can he even be at Atlas without even owning a weapon?

How come he has never encountered Grimm at all?

And what does he want with my sister?!"

One thing was certain in Yang's mind despite thinking about all of this, when they got back to their dorm. She was going to beat the ever living shit out of that creep.

Omake:

"So where should we start then Ruby."

"Right this way. Zen Discovery it my duty to help you in getting a weapon and I will do so as your team leader of-"

"-Team leader? Since when and how are you team leader, and what team?"

"Okay, okay informal team leader of informal team PRZ."

"So in the span of a minute or two, you came up with a pseudo team name for the three of us, and you came up with team praise?"

"Um, yeah. have never played around with a group of names and made them into an informal team?"

"Okay, how about you just take us to the store, also shouldn't by that convention make Penny the team leader, as usually the first initial in the acronym is the team leader's?"*