The sound of a soft wind could be heard as the clouds were seen floating softly through the air, all seemed peaceful and calm. Of course, that would've been if a large darken arrow head like ship wasn't seen cutting through the clouds while being escorted by swept wing fighters also of either darker colors with red accents or gunmetal gray with red accents.
As a cloud passes, we find the bridge of the ship being manned by not just vampires, but also humans, and faunus. One being a Faunus with a wolf's tail walking up to the captain's chair with a holographic pad. "General Tepes, we are approaching the Faunus Dominion, so far it seems like safe sailing today."
Alucard wore a black suit with a coat hanging from his shoulders while watching the sky. "Alert the King of our progress."
The Faunus saluted him as he turned around and walked off, to the Prince's side stood a woman in a uniform similar to his with her white hair in a bun, her face was impassive, yet her eyes showed she wanted to be anywhere but near the man close to her. "General, permission to speak freely?" She asked the man.
"Granted." Alucard said, not looking away.
She breathed before asking, "Sir, with all due respect, why do we make these runs? It's not like the other kingdoms will really attempt anything, they lost during the Seven Day War. It would be suicide to try anything, including with our allies." She honestly was curious why they always make these runs.
This time, Alucard looked at Winter and said, "We do this because even though we won, the rest of the Kingdoms still do not accept us as one. We must be prepared for when they attempt to strike again. It is a Cold War, Lieutenant Schnee. And we will not be the one to strike first."
She stiffened a bit, "Of course General! I didn't mean my thoughts to come out in such a way, Sir!" Adrian couldn't help but soften his features at his sister. "Winter. I understand you don't like your posting under me and wish to be somewhere else. However, our job is important." He said softly as he looked at her with a small smile before looking back at the main window.
Winter gave a small smile before a crewman spoke up, "General! We have been cleared to land, His highness King Belladonna wishes to speak with you at the palace. Says it's a Royal matter." Winter looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow as if silently asking, 'do you know?'
Alucard looked at her and his look answered her question. 'No.'
The Dreadnought class ship flew towards the Zipang Kingdom before stopping and lowering itself onto the airfield. A Faunus directed the ship with two lights going in directions. A voice on the Intercom spoke: "Landing successful, you are now clear to exit the ship."
Alucard and Winter walked away from the bridge and out of the ship. Showing the scale of it compared to the two.
The faunus present salute the two royals/ officers as they were brought into a car and driven off towards the castle, along the way posters were seen of proud Faunus winning against their oppressors, even some propaganda posters showing their love for their 'Vampiric friends and allies' which made Winter comment, "It makes one wonder doesn't it, brother." She said to Adrian.
"Indeed, did our involvement make things better for the Faunus or did we light a fuse for something worse?" Alucard asked.
Winter chuckled slightly, "I was going to say if father not giving his support would have made them hate us instead of loving us, but your view is one to look at as well.'' She said as she watched families go to and from, children laughing and playing, all seeming to be at peace.
Alucard could see her point as well and nodded, seeing the Faunus running around and smiling. The car stopped at a large Oriental building before two Faunus opened the doors for the Prince and Princess.
Once inside, the two came to a large throne room as both gave a bow to two Faunus kneeling on floor mats. One was a large Panther male, while the other a Feline female. "We greet you and thank you for the invitation King and Queen Belladonna" Said Adrian with a polite tone.
Ghira Belladonna, the King smiled as he bowed his head as well. "I thank you both for accepting the invitation, Prince and Princess Tepes."
"If I may ask the point of our invitation here?" Winter asked gently.
Kali frowned slightly as she said with a bit of hurt in her voice. "It's our daughter, Blake… she's… well she's..." She couldn't bring herself to say it so her husband took over. "She's gone and ran away, we believe her to be heading to Vale, but because of the recent… well actions of the terrorists on our supply convoys, we can't confirm it. So we were wondering since Weiss was also heading to Vale…" He left his request hanging in the air.
"Say no more. We will ask her to seek out your daughter." Alucard said with not an ounce of hesitation, after all, his youngest sister confided to him about her desire to go to Beacon Academy.
As they continued to speak, our story changed to Weiss who was seen in a white uniform standing in front of her father and mothers in the throne room as she heard Lisa, "Weiss, I understand and respect your wish to go to Vale to become a Huntress… but please reconsider." Lisa said with clear worry in her voice as Weiss sighed slightly inside of her head, 'I love Mother Lisa to death, but sometimes she can be such a worry wart.' She thought to herself.
Lisa went on to add, "On top of that, you'll be away from the safety of the castle and our kingdom's borders. This is not like the trips to Zipang where you are surrounded by allies and those whom love our family. You're a princess in a land full of those who would attempt to kidnap you for ransom or worse! Be used by our enemies as a political hostage! Please, please reconsider." Lisa all but begged Weiss.
Weiss had sad eyes as she began to think about it. But before she could say anything, Dracula placed a hand on Lisa's knee. That's when he leaned forward in his throne and asked his daughter, "What is your reasoning, Weiss?"
"The majority of the kingdoms already see us as enemies, if I become a huntress, I can perhaps show the kingdoms that we simply want to coexist and even gain respect." Weiss explained.
Willow nodded in understanding, "You are correct, Daughter. Aside from our allies, most of the world sees us as monsters waiting to drain them of their blood."
Dracula also growled when he thought about another enemy. "Especially that bloody Arc Family." He muttered before suddenly, his scroll rang so he pulled it out of his coat pocket to reveal the caller to be Alucard. He answered it and asked, "Adrian, what is it?"
It was silent but Lisa, and Weiss could hear Alucard's voice. "Ghira and Kali have requested us to assist in finding their daughter. She fled to Vale."
Dracula sighed before focusing his eyes on his second youngest daughter, "Weiss, if you are to leave for Vale, you must find the Belladonna Princess while there."
Weiss smiled as she bowed her upper half, "At once, Father!" While inside her head, she was yelling, 'BLAKE, WHAT DID YOU DO NOW!?'
Willow added, "And be discreet as you can. If the press catches wind of this, they will have a field day."
Lisa groaned as she said, "Don't even mention them, we had to do serious PR damage control after that per… I mean theft broke into our home and made off with our royal jewels."
Weiss nodded in understanding. Dracula spoke up, "And, I want weekly or monthly reports of everything that has happened from you. Problematic students, events we should be aware of, and even your own team."
Dracula looked at her with a flat look, "And you should be getting ready, young lady."
Weiss bowed a bit before leaving to prepare for her departure to Vale.
Weiss began to think back to when she and Blake were close. When they were younger. The playdates they had, the training they received and the sparring matches they had together. Of course, Blake joked about running away from time to time but Weiss never thought the Princess and heiress to the throne of Zipang would actually do it.
Weiss made her way to her bedroom where she pulled out several suitcases and began putting several clothes and even casual clothes in.
'I got lucky... I was almost beginning to doubt my plan... Blake, I am going to smack you and then hug you...' Weiss thought to herself as she inspected her rapier, Myrtenaster. It was a gift from her uncle Hector and aunt Lenore, the finest of swords ever crafted. Of course, the sword lessons from her aunt Lenore didn't hurt either.
The amount of palm smacks or little nicks to her skin definitely did not help things. But she pushed on and began to rival Lenore, but she had yet to defeat her and regain her family's honor.
As Weiss continued packing her clothes, and drama grew within the royals. Off in an office at a location only very few knew, Carmilla was seen sitting behind a desk typing away at a terminal, wearing a suit. Until the door opened and in walked Sienna Khan, stopping in front of her desk, her uniform was black as night but still molded after the others which had a Prussian feel to it. ''Director, we have information from our agents in the field." She said, setting down the files on Carmilla's desk.
Carmilla stopped typing and looked at her loyal subject. "Sienna Khan." She grabbed the files and began looking through them. "Tell me what is going on."
Sienna nodded as she read her report, ''Our operations in Mantle are producing fruit as anti-Atlas council sentiments are up, our agents say Miss Robyn Hill and her huntresses are our best option for if we wish to conduct an uprising." She said, looking at Carmilla
The Director nodded with a small smirk on her face, "Good. Keep tabs on our operations in Atlas and continue as before."
Sienna nodded as she went to the next one. "Our attempts to track the terrorist and self-proclaimed 'Bandit Queen' Raven have proven… problematic.'' She gulped slightly as she knew that Raven had been a thorn in the Director's and even the entire intelligence department's side when she was considered 'a low level threat.'
Carmilla frowned as she looked at a picture of The Bandit Queen. "We must deal with her or she could undo it all. What other news is there for me to know?"
Sienna sweated slightly as she tried to hide the Vale folder, "Uh… nothing really, just your regular smugglers in Vale, basic crime, nothing really to worry about with your already large workload." Sienna turned around and tried to leave quickly because she knew this would piss her off.
"Sienna..." This caused the Tiger Faunus to freeze before Carmilla asked, "Why are you hiding a file from me?" She asked in a low voice which made Sienna scared. A Tiger Faunus, and a proud one at that, was terrified of an even greater predator.
Carmilla stood up and walked around her desk and towards her before whispering into her ear. "Give me the file now, Kitten." That pet name always made Sienna shiver before letting Carmilla take the file.
Sienna shivered more as Carmilla runs a hand up her side as she whispered, "M-ma'am.'' She quickly ran out of the office which made the Director chuckle. Walking back to her desk she sat down before reading the file, of course as she read her face became slowly upset, then to anger, until finally rage as she yelled. ''HOW THE FUCK DID THEY LOSE THE TARGET!?''
Which caused all those outside the office to jump as her door slammed up as she yelled, "GET ME AGENT TARRUS ON THE PHONE NOW!" Before slamming her office door shut again which caused a massive crack to appear on the frame around the door. The guards outside the door had shaky lips before realizing they needed to change their pants.
That's when her door opened again and she ordered, "AND GET ME ANOTHER COFFEE!" Before the door slammed again making the crack even bigger.
However, the agent in question was currently sitting in a Mistral safe house as he and his team were being treated by medics and local doctors who were paid to keep their mouths shut about the people they worked on.
Soon another agent, this one a vampire, walked over to Taurus holding a Scroll. ''Uh… Captain… It's… the Director." The vampire said with slight fear in his voice.
Adam groaned in pain and irritation before taking a deep breath and taking the phone from the vampire and asked, "Yes ma'am?"
For a moment, people thought the world went to anime, as the power of Carmilla's voice was so powerful it blew Adam's hair to one side. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED, CAPTAIN!? YOU HAD ONE JOB! ONE! SECURE THE HVT BEFORE THE ENEMY DID! HOW THE HELL DID YOU FUCK UP SUCH AN EASY MISSION!?"
Taurus blinked a few times and even checked his ear to make sure he was still able to hear out of it.
"Uhh... M-ma'am. W-we were attacked. By three perpetrators. Two females and one male. Their coordination made it difficult for us to defend her. Their main leader, a woman, used some sort of parasitic Grimm to... Steal her power. And then Qrow Branwen of all people showed up and we were forced to retreat. Qrow took the target away and disappeared." Adam tried to explain what happened.
Carmilla breathed heavily to try and calm down as she asked with a controlled tone. "Do you know at least where they took her? Do you have an I.D. on those three who attacked you? Give me some good news or else you're going to be stationed at an Atlas listening outpost!" Adam paled as being stationed there was both a career killer and literal death due to the temps in the mountains.
"V-Vale! Ma'am! We tracked her all the way to Vale where she's most likely with the Headmaster of Beacon! Please don't send me to Atlas!" Adam said in desperation.
Carmilla was silent for a few minutes before she said, "New orders then, Captain. You are to go to Vale, track down the attackers, AND the HVT and you're either to bring her into our lands or give her a peaceful death. As for the attackers… They are to be seen as Enemies of our kingdom and are to be handled as such. AM. I. CLEAR!?"
Adam sat up straight forward and shouted, "MA'AM, YES MA'AM!!"
Adam was the grandson of the Chieftess of Vacuo who wanted to honor her by becoming an important figurehead. But in order for that to happen, he decided to join Carmilla's elite group as he believed she was the best. Which now he regretted and instead should have listened to his grandfather and joined the army and served under the Prince. However, that no longer mattered as the phone beeped again and looking at it, he found his mission statement. 'Agent Bull is to track down enemies of the state while also working with Agent Chameleon to help with protection of the subject Princess.'
Adam sighed as he gently laid back down on his bed. "Why didn't I join the fucking army?" He asked himself.
Our story now moved to a modern looking city set in the Kingdom of Vale. Before going into a shop where there were only two occupants, one was a little girl, she was fifteen years of age as she was seen with rose themed headphones, listening to music that was WAY TOO LOUD! And reading a magazine while the other occupant was a kind old man who was counting several color coded cards in the register.
Several people walked in, wearing black suits with red ties; however the main leader was Roman Torchwick.
He walked towards the old man before asking, "You have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?"
One of the goons aimed a pistol at the man who raised his hands in surrender, "P-please... Just take my lien and leave!"
The leader shushed him, "Oh calm down. We're not here for your money." He looked at his goons and said, "Grab the dust."
The goons began doing so, while outside, Morana was seen in a black suit as she looked down at a map of Vale with her partner who happened to be Isaac of all people. "I swear people can't tell their head from their ass in this town!" She growled as she tried to find where the people last saw Roman.
Isaac wore a similar outfit to Morana as he said, "Clueless people who wish to go on with their lives."
Morana just huffed, "Well I hate the fact I'm here and not with my daughter helping her pack to go to Beacon." She said, trying to match up her notes, map, and street signs.
"And I want to know how my grandson is doing. But once we find Torchwick, the sooner we can go home." Isaac said.
Suddenly, a body came flying out of the store windows, and landing on the hood of a car, which caused Morana and Isaac to look at each other slowly before they ran over to the store. That's when they saw a teen girl in a red cloak, holding a massive weapon. "You know crime is so bad here that children have to do the police's job." Morana commented dryly.
Isaac sighed before pulling out his trusty knife and walked up towards the girl holding a giant scythe.
Ruby spun her scythe around before clicking on the headphones, turning them off. Roman watched before seeing Morana and Isaac rush up towards her. "Okaaaaay…"
Morana shouted, "Roman Torchwick!!" She stopped as she had a huge hand cannon aimed at him in one hand and a pair of handcuffs in another. "I FINALLY GOT YOU! You're not getting away this time!"
Isaac stepped up and in a more calm tone said, "Roman Torchwick, you're under arrest for crimes committed in the realm." He held up his knife. "Now we can bring you in warm, or we can bring you in cold." He took a fighting stance as he finished with, "Your choice."
Ruby was seeing stars in her eyes as she saw in her kind two huntsman, but they weren't, but she didn't need to know that.
Roman put on a huge smile as he raised his hands, "INSPECTOR! So good to see you again! Wow Granny, I didn't know you brought your son along." He said with a smug smile as a vein appeared on Morana's head.
"Oh I'm definitely bringing you in cold." Morana growled as she pulled the hammer back on her hand cannon.
Ruby smirked, "Mind if I help, guys?"
Both Isaac and Morana said in unison. "NO!" which Ruby groaned as Isaac followed up with. "You're too young! And you don't have your license judging by your age."
Morana added, "Which we will be talking about, little miss!"
Ruby huffed as she stomped her foot like a child. "But I'm a Huntress-in-Training! I can help!"
Morana just glared at her. "Do you have a Hunter's license, yes or no?" Ruby answered, "No." Timidly as both her and Isaac shouted, "THEN STAY HERE!"
Looking back at where Roman was, an outline was seen blinking before they looked to see him climbing up a fire escape. "LATER GRANNY!"
"And that's my cue!" Ruby said before she bursted into a tornado of rose petals towards the fire escape.
Morana just clicked her tongue before grabbing Isaac and used her vampiric speed to run up the building with her handgun at the ready incase of trouble. Said handgun was a custom made revolver chambered in a .500 pistol cartridge which was a wedding anniversary gift from her wife, Striga.
Morana aimed her hand cannon and fired. The bullet managed to dent Roman's aura and made him fall. "Ow! Fucking hell, that hurt!" He exclaimed.
Morana grinned, "You have nowhere to go! Surrender and I promise I won't hurt you too badly." The reason she was using dust ammo instead of standard was because her orders are to bring him alive.
Roman smirked as the sound of an engine was heard as a VTOL Bullhead aircraft came up out of nowhere. "You were saying, Inspector?" He laughed as he ran to the opening of the aircraft, turning around and firing off a blast from his cane towards the three.
Isaac's knife flamed before he stabbed it into the ceiling, causing a wall of flames to appear and blocked the blast. Once the wall disappeared, Ruby knelt down and aimed her rifle at the thief. She fired and Roman managed to dodge the bullet and it hit the side of the VTOL. That dodge was all that was needed for Morana to fire another shot, this time it hit Roman's abdomen, shattering the aura.
This caused Roman to stagger and collapse to his knees. Isaac rushed towards the thief only for a fireball to be shot straight at him. He dodged out of the way before watching as Roman climbed into the Bullhead. Ruby had critical eyes before aiming at one of the engines and shot at it. Causing the engine to smoke before exploding.
This caused it to start spinning out of control. The trio rushed towards the edge of the building to watch it crash into the main street.
Morana grabbed Isaac once more before jumping down towards the crash site. Ruby used her semblance to ease herself down before following them. She collapsed her scythe into a box and clipped it to her back. That's when she watched them pull Roman out of the wreckage with no sight of the pilot. Morana pulled the hammer back on her hand cannon and aimed it at his head, "Any last words, asshole?"
"Wait wait... I can give you names. I can tell you the names of the people who hired me. Just please let me live..." Roman said in desperation.
Isaac knelt down in front of Roman and showed off his fiery knife. "If I find out you're lying, you'll find that there are fates worse than death."
Ruby was kinda scared at the callousness and how willing they were to kill an injured man. Even though he was a criminal.
Soon the sound of heels clicking could be heard as a new voice, a more refined yet stern voice was heard. "I'm afraid you're not allowed to kill him so long as he is on Vale soil." They turned to see a mature blonde woman wearing a white blouse, with a black skirt and heels and lace stockings, and a cape with purple color on the inside.
Roman weakly turned to look at the woman walking behind Ruby, "Glynda! Get me the hell out of here!"
Morana glared at Glynda, "I'm not going to kill him... But I will make him wish he was!" She said the last part to Roman.
"Look I-I've got information for you!" Roman said with more desperation.
That's when Ruby finally spoke up as she said, "Um can I say I think we should maybe... Not hurt him? I mean, since it's our jobs as huntsman and Huntresses to bring in criminals to face trial."
Of course, this got the opposite effect as she was now seen in an interrogation room with the three adults, well one Morana reading her the riot act, while Isaac leaned on the wall and Glynda seemed to be taking mental notes.
"I hope you realize that your interference will not go unpunished, young lady. What you did was irresponsible and you put innocent lives at risk." Morana said with a sneer.
"But they started it! I was just minding my business in the store when they attacked me!" Ruby protested.
Morana slammed her fist down on the table which caused Ruby to yelp and whimper a bit. "NOT THE POINT! What if you got hurt? What if a stray shot hit a civilian? WORST YET! What if shooting down that bullhead led to more deaths!?" Ruby went to speak only to get a nice firm, "YOU DID NOT WHICH IS THE PROBLEM, YOUNG LADY!"
"Morana, enough. She's just a girl." Isaac said, spinning his knife around. "Thanks to her quick thinking, Roman is within our custody, and I doubt he plans on escaping soon. If the names he has provided prove to be genuine, we may have information to report back to our Lord."
Morana took a deep breath and stepped back from the table. That's when the door opened and Ozpin stepped through. He held a plate of chocolate chip cookies as he said, "Ruby Rose." He leaned forward before stating, "You... Have silver eyes."
This made Morana and Isaac narrow their eyes at him.
As the Headmaster and Glynda spoke with Ruby. Morana and Isaac were seen walking down to the cells. "I don't care what our Lord says, I don't trust that headmaster… he's too shifty. Too many skeletons in his closet for my liking, Isaac. Not to mention his comment on her silver eyes." She said in their native tongue so others didn't know what they were saying.
"Have care how you speak about our Lord's words. We can present our concerns to him, but what he says goes. We must bring the names Torchwick gave up to our Lord and to Carmilla." Isaac responded as he looked down at Torchwick's cell to see him lying down on the bed.
Morana had a smug grin as she spoke English again, "Roman Torchwick, ooooohhh I have been waiting for this moment for soooo long. Now I get to finally say that this is the end of the line." He didn't respond which caused her to frown slightly. "What? Nothing to say to me?"
Isaac frowned before using his knife to burn the iron bars before stepping through. He grabbed Roman's shoulder only for him to shatter into glass pieces. His eyes widened, "Impossible!"
Morana's mouth hung open as the glass broke at the bars to the window which was now a large hole, running over she looked out to see Roman far off in the distance which caused her to growl as she yelled at the top of her lungs. "TORCHWICK!!!!"
It was two days later when the two were in front of Dracula, Lisa, and Willow in the throne room. Morana and Isaac had knelt before them. "Report." Dracula ordered.
"Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai. Those are the names Roman gave up. I already reported them to Carmilla and as of now, she has confirmed they were the ones to attack the Fall Maiden."
Dracula frowned as he put his fingers together, "The Maidens are a closely guarded secret, if these three know about them, then there is someone who told them where to attack and how." He already had an idea of who it was. Salem.
Willow nodded, "Indeed, my people within Atlas have reported strange purchases done under General Ironwood, all being sent to the Atlas Academy. Hmph Academy… more like central command for all of Atlas's forces." She collected herself as she continued, "All of it was for life support machines. However, to mine and my people's knowledge, there is no one dying or in such poor health that they need that much hardware."
Lisa nodded at her husband's theory, only to turn and glare at the two. "Now to your… blunder of letting that per-That thief get away." She leveled her steely gaze at Morana who was sweating bullets. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" She asked in as leveled and controlled tone as possible but her eyes showed she was beyond FURIOUS.
"He wasn't alone. He has an accomplice. Someone with an illusion Semblance. We apologize for failing you, Mi'lady." Isaac responded.
Lisa was silent, which gave Dracula time to give them new orders. "Isaac, Morana. You are to work with Carmilla to track down these agents of chaos and bring them to justice should they be regular terrorist, if they are indeed working with forces behind the scenes then they are to be brought here for Carmilla to get as much information as possible out of them. Finally should you find Torchwick among them then he and his partner are to be captured and brought here for trial ALIVE If all possible. Am I clear?"
Both nod as they said in unison, "Yes, my Lord."
"Now leave us." Dracula ordered the two, to which they stood up straight and walked out of the throne room.
As the three sat there, Dracula was seen putting a hand on his head as he rubbed circles around his temples. "We lost track of the Winter, Spring, and Fall maidens. Thankfully, we have the Summer Maiden within our borders." He said, remembering Lenore taking the power after the Summer caster died of old age. Peacefully of course. They may be vampires but they were not without hearts to grant peaceful deaths.
"We will find them, my love. We have spies all across the world. It's simply about gaining information." Lisa said while placing a hand on his back and gently rubbed it while Willow raked her fingers through his short hair.
Dracula smiled as he thought, 'Its good to be the King' Before collecting himself. "Indeed, now what of our children? I know Weiss is heading to Vale to try and bring peace, but what of our first born of the Schnee line, Winter? Is she still not happy with her posting with her brother?" He asked as while he may be the King of a nation, he was still a loving husband and a firm yet loving father, double so when it comes to his daughters.
Willow sighed, "She continues to complain about her posting to me in hopes you will transfer her personally to and I quote. 'A unit that shall allow me to bring honor to our family as not only a soldier but also a knight of our lands.' End quote, which is beginning to make me worry she will attempt to do something stupid.'' Willow said with a hint of tiredness.
Dracula sighed gently as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Between Whitley's pompous attitude and Winter's ambition, I fear I may be getting too tired for all of this."
Lisa giggled, "Then you should have worn protection when you solidified the marriage of your second wife, my oh so fertile husband." Lisa said in a amused tone to Dracula who only looks at her with a slight grin.
Willow giggled slightly before watching as Dracula stood up, "I think now would be a good time to retire."
Willow started, "Oh? with?" To which Lisa finished as they both took each of his free arms. "Or without our clothes, oh mighty King?" Which caused Dracula to sigh in good fun as he says looking up to the sky. "What did I do to have such beautiful wives with such great amounts of energy?" Which caused all three to laugh as they walked towards their bed chamber.
The very next day, Weiss was in her 'princess' uniform of sorts which was again of Prussian style. On her hip was Myrtenaster as she carried a backpack and two larger suitcases. Two butlers held carts filled with cases of dust that followed behind her.
'Ok, you can do this Weiss, you are a Schnee Tepes! You're to try and bridge the gap between your world and the world of man, YOU CAN DO THIS!' She was trying to hype herself up on the inside.
Weiss smiled as she walked up to the Beacon Courtyard, the massive castle-like school. Only for a girl in a red hood to fall on her which caused her to fall over as well.
"AHHHH!!" Weiss exclaimed as her and the other girl fall over each other and groan, a bottle of red substance rolls on the ground to the high heal boot of another girl, a girl with black hair, golden eyes, and cat ears.
Ruby groaned before hearing Weiss' voice speak to her, "Watch where you're going! You nearly destroyed these cases of dust! If one of them had ruptured, it would've at least destroyed the entire courtyard!"
Ruby stood up and shook her head gently, "I'm so sorry! M-my sister left me behind and I-I got dizzy! I didn't mean to fall back on your cases!"
Weiss sighed as she started helping her butlers collect the cases of dust, though Ruby saw a few of the bottles inside with a thick red liquid.
Ruby fidgets a little as she says, "Um, my name is Ruby Rose, and I'm really sorry again!" Weiss sighed as she remembered her teachings from her father and Mother Lisa. 'Remember, a princess is graceful and kind, graceful and kind.'
Weiss took a deep breath before looking at Ruby, "I am Weiss Schnee-Tepes, Princess of the Stoker Kingdom, and I accept your apology."
"I think you forgot one, Princess." Weiss' eyes widened as she recognized that voice. She spun around to look at the girl with black hair, cat ears, and golden eyes. "Blake?" Her voice was shocked and happy at the same time.
Weiss ran up and gave the cat girl a huge hug, which she was clearly not ok with being touched, as she was stiff as a board. "BLAKE! I thought the worst when my brother told me had ran away!" Weiss let go of her only to hold her by the sides of her arms. "What are you doing here?! His Highness and Her Majesty are worried sick!"
Ruby was confused as she finally says, "Uh… what?" Before finally everything caught up with her as she now sees stars in her eyes, "OH! MY! OUM! YOU'RE A PRINCESS AS WELL!?"
Blake was uncomfortable but Weiss helped out by answering her question. "Yes, and Blake is the Princess of the Zipang Kingdom. But that leads me back to my question to you." She looked back at Blake, "Why did you run? They're worried about you!"
Blake cringed a little bit as she said to her friend calmly, "Weiss… I didn't mean to make them worried, I just wanted to go out and make my own mark on the world. I don't want to be seen as just Princess Blake, I want to be seen as my own person. You can understand that, right?"
Weiss' eyes softened before hugging her gently and whispered, "I do. But please, tell them where you are and that you're ok. Do that for me, will you?"
Ruby decided now was a good time to leave so she said while walking away. "Well this was nice and it was wonderful to be in the presence of royalty, but I'll leave you two be. Okay bye!" She used her semblance to quickly make her way to the courtyard.
Blake and Weiss watched her run off before sharing a giggle. "Isn't she a little young to be joining this academy?" Blake asked.
"We've been training since we were kids, most likely so has she. Maybe she did something to impress the Headmaster. Though her spacial awareness leaves something to be desired." Weiss replied.
Ruby once again wasn't looking and bumped into a new person, this time a boy with blonde hair, but with a strange outfit she has never seen before.
Ruby groaned in annoyance as she rubbed her head. "How many people am I going to bump into? I'm so sorry!"
The boy had black duster coat with a shield and sword on his back. He had a chest plate on with gauntlets strapped to his wrists with brown fingerless gloves and wore jeans and brown boots. He looked down at her and hummed, "It's alright, just watch where you're going next time." Before he began walking away.
Ruby gets up quickly up and shouts, "Wait! My name's Ruby Rose and… well I'm kinda lost." She chuckled slightly and rubbed the back of her head.
"It's just down there." The boy pointed down further down the courtyard.
Ruby huffed as she glared at him slightly, "You can be polite and tell me your name, you know." She said in an almost whiny voice.
The boy sighed as he looked back at her with a frown. "I am Jaune Arc. The Heir of the Arc Family and Wielder of the Sword of the Sun."
At the mention of the Sword, Ruby's eyes widened in fascination and said in a rapid voice, "OHMYGODISTHATALITERALSUNSWORDTHOSESWORDSARESORARE!!!!" Jaune's eyes widened at Ruby's very rapid speech.
Jaune chuckled as he gave Ruby a soft smile, "You really like weapons, don't you?" Jaune asked as he thought. 'She reminds me of my younger sister with how much innocent energy she's giving off.'
"Oh I love weapons! Of all kinds!" Ruby said with a bright and innocent smile. "This is mine!" She unclasped her weapon, showing off her giant scythe.
Jaune's eyes widened at the huge scythe this girl was carrying, just from some of the components he could see, he estimated that the weapon he was looking at weighed close to two hundred pounds!, "Holy shit" he exclaimed, "That's a big scythe!"
"It is also a customizable high powered sniper rifle." Ruby said in a smug voice.
Jaune whistled, "Nice. That's honestly impressive for a girl your size." He laughed as he patted her head which caused her to puff her cheeks.
"My size? I am not tiny, I drink milk!" Ruby said as she collapsed her scythe into a box before crossing her arms and pouted.
Weiss and Blake were walking towards the entrance when Weiss spotted Ruby talking to Jaune, and her eyes went wide. "Oh no..." Weiss whispered which made Blake look at her.
"What is it Weiss?" She asked.
"That sword..." Weiss whispered.
Blake slowly looked at where her friend and fellow Princess was looking and when she laid eyes on a boy with blonde hair and a sword, she quickly whispered into Weiss's ear, "Hey hey, I'm right here, we're gonna walk another way."
"I can't leave her with him!" Weiss whispered back to her before she started walking towards them.
Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at Ruby's antics as they reminded him of his sisters. That's when he looked up to see Weiss walking towards them with Blake behind her. "So... The Princess of Stoker herself comes down from her tower to mingle with her prey. I'm surprised they let monsters into this academy." Jaune's expression became sour the moment he saw Weiss.
Then he looked over at Blake and while his family has nothing against the Faunus considering some of his own family have dated or are Faunus, much like his mother who he swore was a rabbit faunus or had rabbit faunus in her DNA, spoke towards Blake "And another princess coming down from her ivory and gold tower to mingle with the commoners."
Blake stepped up as she spoke, "I may be a princess, but my family were that of slaves before we became royalty. It would be good for you to remember that Mister Arc." She stressed his name trying to not get upset.
"And they let the heir of a family of murderers into this academy. What are you doing here, Arc?" Weiss growled as her eyes glowed bright red. She placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder before gently pushing her behind her.
"Uh guys?" Ruby asked, slightly worried as the atmosphere became tense.
"And you traded one master for another." Jaune said to Blake before looking at Ruby, "You best stay away from her. She's a monster. Just like her family. When that thirst comes in, she'll look to you as her next meal."
Weiss hissed at him, "And you seem to forget about all of the optional blood donations people give. All you do is kill people. All your family ever does is kill people."
"You really think you're human enough to be considered a person?" Jaune asked in a bewildered tone. As if it was too absurd to him.
Blake stepped forward with her hand on the handle of her katana as she asked with narrow eyes and her eyes slightly slit. "Do you?" Jaune may be many things but he knew of the skills of Zipang swordsmen and women and knew that if, key word IF, he traded blades with the Princess, he might not survive.
"Hey! What seems to be the problem here?" A voice called out to which everyone turned to see Hector walking towards them.
Jaune frowned as he let go of the handle of his sword. "There's no problem... Just a disagreement." Jaune looked at Weiss and said, "The second I see puncture holes in someone... I will kill you."
He walked away from them to which they released a subtle breath of relief. "What was all of that?" Ruby asked.
Weiss sighed as she looked at her, "I'll explain later."
Blake smiled as she patted Ruby's head, "Just... Let's just say some things in the world are much more complicated than they look." She looked up at Hector as she bowed slightly, "Beastmaster Hector, it is good to see you."
"Uncle Hector? What brings you here?" Weiss asked.
He smiled as he bowed his head towards the two Princesses. "It's good to see you both. And as for why I'm here? Well... It's a little secret." Hector asked before winking at them. That's when he frowned slightly, "That was an Arc, wasn't it?"
Both nodded sadly before Ruby finally exploded as she showed her age, "CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT THE HECK ALL THAT WAS ABOUT PLEASE!?"
They looked at her in surprise as they didn't realize she was capable of screaming like that. Weiss cleared her throat as she said, "Well... That was a member of the Arc Family. They claim they're fighting the forces of darkness... But all they do is murder innocent vampires and anyone who protects them. To see one here in this school, is something that I need to tell my father as soon as possible."
Ruby's eyes widened, "But... He's training to be a Huntsman like us!"
Blake's eyes softened, "Look... Sometimes, people become Huntsman for the wrong reason. Like him, he's becoming a Huntsman so he can be a more efficient killer against vampires."
"My father lost several trusted Generals, they were essentially family, because of him and his family. There is absolutely no good in him being here." Weiss said with a sneer.
Hector laid a hand on her shoulder, "That may be so, however he is still young, so he may very well change now that he is away from his home."
Weiss frowned, "I doubt it..." That's when she started walking away from them. Blake watched her walk away before looking at Ruby, "Don't mind her, she just takes things a bit personal. I'll see you inside."
"Oh uh... Right! And uh... Sorry for screaming at you guys." Ruby became her nervous awkward self again before trying to curtsey in front of Blake which was awkward. She couldn't help but giggle slightly. "It was nice meeting you, Ruby."
She smiled as she ran off before Blake bowed towards Hector who returned the bow before she herself left.
"You should probably head inside, Miss Rose." Hector said.
She nodded before walking away. Hector watched with a sigh. "This just got way more complicated than it was supposed to be." He said to himself before walking away.
Inside of the auditorium, Ruby looked around before she heard her sister. "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" She looked to see Yang, now grown up waving her muscular arm towards her. Ruby walked over, passing by several people.
Once she arrived, Yang smiled. "HEY LITTLE SIS!" Yang said with no care in the world like her party girl personality gave off. "So how's your first day going?" She asked.
"You mean how you ditched me and I got in the middle of a serious rivalry that would've ended in murder?" Ruby asked as she lightly glared at her sister.
Yang rolled her eyes playful and said in a sing-song voice with jazz hands, "Drama!"
"No this is serious, Yang! I met with two princesses who were really cool and pretty, and then I met this guy Jaune who was nice at first, but got seriously aggressive at the sight of them and I was stuck in the middle and couldn't find a way out and it was very scary!" Ruby said to her in a fast tangent.
Speaking of said Princess, they were seen walking nearby as they heard Ruby's voice as Yang laughed a bit "Seriously sis, did ya hit your head or something? Princesses? Here?" That's when Weiss and Blake decided to go up to them.
"I'm not crazy Yang!" Ruby exclaimed.
"But perhaps a little too eager to talk about us." Weiss said from behind Ruby as she walked up to her. Ruby yelped a bit as she jumped onto Yang who held her.
"Aah! Oh god please don't hurt me!" Ruby exclaimed.
Blake chuckled slightly with a small smile, "We wouldn't hurt you. However, it is rude to talk about people behind their backs. Even if one of them is an Arc."
"Right, um sorry." Ruby said meekly.
"Can someone maybe clarify to me what's going on?" Yang asked as she stared at the two princesses.
Weiss and Blake looked at each other before giving her the full story of what happened at the courtyard.
"Wow um..." Yang said with wide eyes. "Yeah... How did they let an asshole like that into this school?" She asked.
Ruby spoke up and somehow produced a jar out of thin air, "SWEAR WORD!"
Yang groaned as she fished a single lien card out and shoved it into the jar.
"I take it you know each other?" Weiss asked, a little amused at them.
"I'm Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister." She said, holding her hand out to her.
Wiess shook her hand, "Wiess Vladomina Tepes-Schnee."
Blake followed next, "Blake Belladonna."
"Um, should I maybe bow?" Yang asked, uncertain now.
"No, please. You don't need to do that." Weiss shook her head.
That's when the sound of feedback from a microphone stopped all conversations. Everyone looked to find Professor Ozpin on stage with Glynda behind him. "I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He said this while looking among all of the potential students.
"I can't tell if that was uplifting or insulting." Yang whispered to Ruby.
Ruby nodded, however for the two princesses, they had two very different opinions.
For Blake, she saw a man who was clearly tired and doing a lot with so little. Much like her father who was always doing all he can to not only run a nation but also provide for his family.
For Weiss, she saw a man who was tired, but also guarded. Like he had much to hide. She had a sense of distrust which was absurd since she came here in an attempt to bridge peace and show how good they can do to the rest of the world. Then again, as Aunt Carmilla always taught her, "Never trust what you see, for your paranoia will save you."
Ozpin walked away and Glynda stepped up to the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom to rest for the night. Afterwards, your Initiation will begin in the morning. Be ready."
A couple hours later, Ozpin and Glynda were in the tower conversing while reading over the student files.
His deputy spoke up as she read the files along with him. "Ozpin, I understand you accepted Miss Schnee-Tepes on the grounds of her goal and fostering a stronger bond between us and the royal family… but to have the Arc's son here as well…"
"This could force them both to put aside their differences and focus on working together to fight the Grimm. This is a big gamble, but this is a risk I'm willing to take." Ozpin said to Glynda.
Glynda sighed, "Very well, Ozpin. However, as for the Faunus Princess, after her parents found out where she is, they have been attempting to get us to either send her back, or allow us to have guards posted here for her protection."
"What Princess Belladonna did was risky and partially irresponsible, it would only make it worse if I sent her back to her parents. I am willing to speak with them about easing up on her. After all, she is training to become a Huntress. I believe she is within her right to defend herself if possible." Ozpin responded before taking a sip of his coffee.
"But what about the Arc boy? What is your plan for when they inevitably clash? You know how the Tepes feel about the family. They see them as two-bit murderers while disguising it as doing the work given to them by their Brother of Light." Glynda said in protest to Ozpin.
Ozpin sighed, "I know Glynda, I know… now what do we know of those who tried to get Amber? Did we get any positive ID on them?" He asked honestly as Glynda sighed, taking off her glasses she pinched the bridge of her nose as she pulled up the report from their agent in the Faunus kingdom.
Glynda nodded, "Yes sir. Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, and Emerald Sustrai. We were given those names in good faith by Dracula's detectives."
Ozpin looked at the list of names of the three people, and with a heavy heart, he looked at Glynda and said "If they should appear here at Beacon, then they are to be found and killed, they are to dangerous to be left alive, especially if they are apart of HER faction. Do you understand Glynda?"
Glynda was shocked at Ozpin's callous decision, but thought it over and knew he was getting tired. So she supposed she could not blame him. She then nodded, "Yes sir, I understand."
Ozpin sighed as he leaned back in his chair, "Of course that does bring up another concern."
Glynda asked curiously, "Other concerns?"
He nodded, "Yes, his detectives being in Vale and now working so closely with the local police."
"They're searching for Torchwick, sir. It seems the King is still upset at the loss of the family jewels." Glynda explained. However, the jewels were the only thing that was allowed to be revealed to the public. Lisa was not going to suffer the embarrassment of a thief crashing into her bathroom and staring at her nudity.
Ozpin nodded as he drank his coffee, "Indeed, however they could also be here to watch the Princess."
"Which is understandable, considering she is an important political figure. Along with Princess Belladonna." Glynda responded.
That's when she brought up the last part of the meeting, "Now onto the last bit of business is the new culture teacher who is arriving today."
Ozpin looked up at her with a surprised face as he asked, "When does he arrive?" Only for a ding of the elevator to signal someone has come up to the office.
"Right now." Glynda replied.
The doors opened and Hector stepped into the office. "Thank you for the opportunity, Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch."
"Thank you for accepting it, Hector." Ozpin said with a smile.
Hector walked forward as he set down his suitcase before holding out his folder towards Glynda who accepted it and handed it to Ozpin. "I once again must thank you for accepting me in that teaching position." Hector said.
Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle, "Well it's not everyday you have someone such as yourself applying for it. I mean working at the university of Stoker, The personal tutor of not just the Tepes royal family but also the Royal family of Zipang as well. I'd dare say you're over qualified."
Hector chuckled as he sat down at the chair in front of his desk. "Yes well, I felt the need to try and apply my technique to Beacon. Besides, you were in need of a teacher, and I felt the need to help out. Also, my wife told me to do it, so I can't exactly say no to her."
Ozpin couldn't help but laugh a bit as he nodded, "Well this is more or less a formality as I believe you are perfect for the job."
"Thank you Headmaster. Though, I must bring up a concern of mine and I believe I speak for Princess Weiss. Why have you allowed a member of the Arc family to join? And why not inform us or at least her family about this development?" Hector asked as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.
Ozpin raised an eyebrow slightly as he asked, "Are you asking as a member of Beacon faculty or as a member of the royal family staff?"
"Let's say both. Because I am concerned for both of their well-being if it comes down to them potentially killing each other and causing another war." Hector responded.
Ozpin nodded in agreement, "On that front we both can agree." Leaning in his chair, he gave his reason, "I accepted him simply because I believe that Mr. Arc can be shown that his family's… well 'beliefs' are sadly narrow in the grand scheme of things. Considering that the Grimm are the true threat, we must all fight against it as the… the Mount Glenn incident showed us."
Hector looked at him before nodding gently. "I understand, but that's a big gamble. One that can just as easily backfire on you. I just hope you have countermeasures in place for if a fight should ever happen between them."
Glynda stepped in, "I can assure you that if any fights do break out then they will be handled within a controlled environment or in sanctioned spars during class."
Hector looked at her before nodding slightly. "Ok... I just hope you're right about this." He said to Ozpin before standing up. "Now, I should probably go get my stuff set up. Good day, Headmaster. Good day, Miss Goodwitch." He said before walking away and grabbing his suitcase.
Both nodded as Ozpin said, "Good luck on your first day of class, Professor." Hector nodded before stepping into the elevator.
Later that night, Ruby was humming as she wrote on some paper. Yang dropped down next to her and exclaimed. "It's like a big slumber party!"
"Pretty sure Dad wouldn't approve of all the boys." Ruby commented.
Yang giggled as she eyed some of the eye candy walking around "What Dad doesn't know, won't hurt him."
"Eugh please don't." Ruby groaned.
"Aw come on Ruby. This is your chance to look around and find out what you like. See a nice cute boy? Or perhaps you're pining for a couple cute princesses?" Yang smirked as she landed her eyes on Weiss and Blake who were sitting down next to each other and talked to each other. This resulted in her getting a doggie pillow thrown at her.
"Shut up Yang!" Ruby exclaimed as she couldn't help the blush that was creeping up on her face. "It's bad enough I pretty much left my friends back at Signal, I don't need you teasing me about things I don't have any interest in."
Yang couldn't help but giggle, "Yeah that's true. Like royalty would DARE try and date a dorky commoner such as you. OH The scandal!" Yang joked before she broke down into a fit of giggles.
Ruby couldn't help but giggle with her sister, "Exactly! I'm just not interesting enough to get their attention."
"Come on Ruby. You've already made great strides here on your first day. You've already made two friends, and they're princesses! That's an achievement all on its own. And hey, it's only the first day, so there's plenty of time to let things grow." Yang said with a smile while placing a hand on her shoulder.
Ruby sighed, "I guess you're right."
Yang nodded as she grabbed her sister's wrist, "Of course I am! Now come on!" She exclaimed before she dragged her sister over towards the two princesses.
"Wait what? Wah-!" She exclaimed as she was dragged away.
Weiss and Blake looked up to see Yang dragging her sister over to them. "Hello!" She said in a sing-song voice.
Ruby was doing her best to break from her sister's grip, but it was not effective.
Wiess smiled as she greeted back, "Good evening."
"What brings you two here?" Blake asked as her ears twitched.
"We just wanted to come talk to ya and get to know you guys a bit more." Yang said before sitting down with them which made Ruby sit down next to her sister.
Blake looked at Ruby before looking back at Yang as she asked, "By dragging your sister?"
"Don't mind her, she's just socially awkward. Besides, this was an ample opportunity." Yang responded.
Ruby noticed Blake was reading a book before they arrived so she asked her, "What book are you reading?"
Blake was a little surprised but answered, "Oh, it's The Man With Two Souls."
Ruby smiled as she leaned forward in interest. "Is it a good book?"
Blake looked at Ruby with a smile as she said, "Yeah, it's about a man struggling to fight for control of his body because another soul is within him."
Ruby nodded as she explained, "Our mom used to read us stories, one of my favorites was one she brought back when she went to Stoker."
"And what was that one?" Blake asked curiously.
"It was about a great Dragon King who overcame his evil with the simple spark of love. I always felt inspired by that story. I found it empowering to put in effort to overcome your evil nature." Ruby said.
Yang nodded, "It was always a favorite of ours until... Mom passed and while our Dad tried to take care of us, I mostly took care of Ruby."
Wiess gave both a somber smile as she said, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Yang and Ruby smiled slightly before Ruby said, "Thank you." That's when she turned to look at Blake. "Sorry if this is none of my business, but I remember you saying your family were slaves at one point? Is it too rude if I asked what happened?"
Blake waved her hand, "No, no it's alright. I was raised to be proud of my family history. So to answer your question, yes my great grandmother was a slave before she was rescued by Wiess's father and made into a Dame Knight."
"A Dame Knight? I thought she'd be a princess or Queen" Yang was a little confused.
Blake shook her head, her hair slightly flowing, "Not until after the Seven Day War was she crowned the first Queen of Zipang. After she passed from illness, my grandfather took the throne as King. He spent a majority of his time trying to stop Mistral from encroaching on their territory. Once the Faunus Revolution happened, my Father was on the forefront of the war. He was even on the front line in the final battle, the Burning of Fort Castle. That was the fight that solidified my father as the King."
Yang was curious as she asked, "What about your mom? What is she like?"
Blake smiled, "Mother was the best pilot in Zipang's air force. She was there when Mistral first attacked our kingdom and held them back." Her smile then turned sad, "Though it cost her her entire squadron as she was the last one. My father went to her personally to comfort her during her time of grief. After that, she's been on the front lines in the air and providing support wherever she could. A couple years after the end of the Revolution, they got together and she became the Queen of Zipang."
"Wow..." Ruby whispered out of excitement.
"No wonder you're proud of your family. They made it from the bottom to the top." Yang said in an impressed tone.
Blake nodded, "Yeah. Of course unlike what the rumors you might hear, my family had worked for everything we have. So we weren't really born with silver spoons in our mouths."
"Oh I'd never assume that. We don't know what people go through, so we can't judge them. Well... At least until they start giving us attitude." Yang replied.
Blake nodded, "On that…" She said as she eyed Jaune who was glaring at her and Weiss from across the room while eating an apple MENACINGLY. "My fellow royal and I can agree on."
Ruby looked sad at Jaune before looking at Weiss, "So what about you, Weiss? What's your family story?" She asked curiously.
Wiess smiled, "Well, that's kind of complicated because from what I was told, my father and our kind had been around a long time. It wasn't until the Seven Day War that we finally showed ourselves to the world."
"I remember learning about it at Signal. Your dad just burst into a meeting with the leaders and just announced himself to them like a badass." Yang said with a small laugh.
Weiss giggled slightly, "An apt way of putting it."
Blake nodded, "His Majesty did what anyone would, he came and made his intentions clear that they were a nation who wished to live in peace with everyone." She flipped a page on her book as she added, "And the rest is history."
The sisters nodded before Ruby fished out her scroll to look at the time. "Well it's getting late. We should probably get to bed. It was nice talking to you two!" Ruby waved them goodbye before she and Yang left.
The two princesses waved back before laying down on their bedrolls. Yang and Ruby laid down on theirs with Yang looking at her young sister with a smile. "I'm proud of you, Ruby."
Ruby smiled as she snuggled into her sleeping bag. Of course, Wiess didn't really sleep much that night, nor did Blake as both were on edge with an Arc in the same room. None more so than their 'guardian angel' who watched over them.
Down in the darkness of the walls in the ballroom, a woman opened her eyes before stepping out and her skin turned from black to her normal caramel skin.
Slowly bringing two fingers to her ear, she spoke softly in the native language of her people, "Kamereon kara kichi e, āku wa hikensha no ōjo to hikensha no neko to onaji heya ni imasu. Chūmon." (Chameleon to base, an Arc is in the same room as Subject Princess and Subject Cat. Orders.)
Her communicator rang to her and another Faunus spoke in the native language. "Ohimesama-tachi o mamotte kudasai. Āku o korosu tsumori no baai nomi muryoku-ka suru." (Protect the princesses. Only neutralize Arc if he intends on killing them.)
The woman nodded her head, "Kamereon wa meirei o kakunin suru. Soto." (Chameleon confirms orders. Out.) Before her skin turned back into black as the shadows as she blended back into them and continued her ever vigilant watch.
The next morning awoke to a loud woman's voice. "Wake up lazy butt! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" Nora sang to Ren who was sitting up and sighed.
Of course, he ducked as an orange blur tried to tackle him, standing up he calmly began packing his things only to dodge to the left again missing the orange blur.
"Come on Ren! You're not being fair!" Nora whined as she tried to tackle him again to which he dodged.
"I'm merely using Mother's training. Besides, we must get ready for initiation." Ren calmly spoke to her.
Weiss and Blake walked by and Nora gasped, "Weiss! Blake!" She cheered as she tackled them both to the ground.
Blake groaned in pain while Weiss just winced and wheezed out, "Good to see you, Nora."
Blake, however, let out a painful groan, "Ribs. Arm. Hurt."
"Woops!" Nora surged back up and bounced lightly. "It's great to see you two! Oh man, I'm excited for us to be a part of a team!" She exclaimed.
Blake groaned in pain as she made sure her bones weren't broken as Weiss nodded, "As are we, Nora." She said before looking at Ren as she nodded her head, "Ren, good to see you as always."
"As it is to see you too, Your Highnesses." Ren said softly as he bowed his heads to them.
"Come on, Ren! I demand PANCAKES!" Nora zipped to his side. Nora then grabbed Ren's arm and ZIP! She was off as Blake sighed, "He is more centered then either of us."
"I do not envy Ren at all." Weiss said with a shake of her head before walking away.
After quickly showering and dressing up in their combat clothes, they had a quick breakfast with Weiss drinking some blood from a blood bag. That's when they were in the locker rooms.
Ruby and Yang were quickly checking on their weapons. "So Ruby, I've heard we're going to get a partner. Any idea who you'll have as a partner?" Yang asked as she cleaned out the barrels of her shotgun bracelets.
"Well I'm hoping you'd be my partner, but... On the off chance we don't get partnered up, well maybe either Weiss or Blake." Ruby answered as she was oiling the mechanisms of her sniper scythe.
"I wouldn't. The girl from the golden tower, however, maybe." The voice of Jaune was heard as he made his presence known.
The sisters looked up at him, "Oh uh... Hi Jaune?" Ruby asked, uncertain of how to talk to him.
Yang, however, looked at him sourly, "Can we help you?" She asked.
"Just a friendly conversation." Jaune said.
"Yeah, I've heard all about your friendly conversations. Listen, I don't get the reasoning behind your whole beef with the two princesses, but I don't want you dragging my baby sister into it." Yang glared at him.
Jaune raised his hands up, "Woah easy there, I've got some little sisters myself so I get ya. I'm just trying to make sure your little sister doesn't end up as someone's personal blood bag."
"You let me worry about that." Yang said with a frown.
Jaune nodded slowly before walking away.
"You didn't have to do that, Yang." Ruby said gently.
Yang looked back at her, "I know, but all I care about is you being safe. At least from things that aren't Grimm."
Ruby looked at her sister with worry, "But, aren't we all here to train to help protect people from Grimm?"
Yang sighed as she just gave her sister a hug, "I know baby sis… I know."
While Ruby and Yang had a little sisterly moment, Weiss was sharpening her blade with a stone. That's when she noticed a woman with blood red hair and piercing emerald green eyes walking towards her. "Hello!" She said cheerfully.
Wiess smiled as she set her sword and sharpening stone down before she brought up a finger, "You're... I'm sorry but your name escapes me, miss."
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos." She said before bowing her head. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness."
Wiess snapped her fingers as she smiled, "Now I remember! You came in 2nd at the national tournament held in the capital."
"That's correct, Your Highness." Pyrrha said as she raised her head up.
"I'm a little surprised you applied to Beacon, Miss Nikos." Weiss commented.
Pyrrha chuckled, "Well, it is the best Huntsmen Academy so you know..." She said nervously before adding, "Your Highness."
Weiss giggled, "Please, call me Weiss."
Pyrrha nodded nervously, "Oh of course, your- Weiss. Please call me Pyrrha."
Weiss smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you Pyrrha."
"Yeah a pleasure to make her your next victim." Jaune sneered as he walked towards them.
Weiss frowned slightly, "I am simply being nice is all, then again someone of your caliber might go and say something equally racist against someone is a faunus as you would a vampire."
Jaune chuckled a bit, "Wow, just because I hate vampires for the blood sucking demons of the dark like you are. You would assume I'm a human supremacist?"
"Considering your family history of murdering those who defend vampires, yeah I would assume so." Weiss said with a sneer.
"I-I'm sorry, am I in the middle of something?" Pyrrha asked a little nervously.
"Not at all, Mr. Arc here was just going about his business." Weiss said, looking at him.
Jaune huffed before he looked at Pyrrha, "I'd suggest you watch yourself around the fang head here. They play nice before they drain you dry." He left as Blake walked up with her hand firmly on the handle of her katana, "I could make it look like an accident Weiss, even claim self defense out in the field."
Wiess shook her head, "Not worth it."
"W-what exactly was that?" Pyrrha asked nervously.
Weiss sighed, "Let's just say the Arc Family has been terrorizing mine for years."
That's when the intercom turned on and Glynda's voice could be heard saying, "Would all initiates make their way to the cliff side? Repeat, all initiates make their way to the cliff side."
Wiess just gave Pyrrha a small smile before she and Blake went off towards the exit. Of course, coming up was a very energetic orange haired girl who was bouncing talking to a rather calm boy, "Renny! Renny! BOOM BOOM!"
The boy shook his head. "No Nora, no boom boom."
The girl now named Nora looks at the boy with a sad face, "Boom Boom?"
"No boom boom, Nora." He sighed once more as they walked away towards the exit. Pyrrha looked off to the distance before saying, "Well... This is weird." Before walking off towards the exit.
During the initiation, back in Stoker, Lisa hummed as she was cleaning and sanitizing some scalpels. "Your Majesty?" A nurse asked.
"Yes?" Lisa asked as she looked up to the nurse.
"A man has requested your presence. He claims to be a doctor and wants to defect to Stoker." The nurse said.
Lisa asked her to take over as she walked out to meet with the man. In the throne room, an older man in a chair that walked on four legs was seen waiting patiently. Once Lisa came into view, she smiled. "Hello. I was told you wanted to see me?"
The older man nodded, "Yes your Highness, I… I would like to defect if possible."
"Really? Why is that?" Lisa asked with a tilt of her head.
The man breathed as he fiddled with his hat, "I was working in Atlas on a project that would have saved so many lives… but… but they wish to use this for military purposes and I, in good moral standing, couldn't let it happen so I… I whipped all the data and took my own personal designs and notes with me to the Embassy before I was brought here."
Lisa listened to him and nodded in understanding, "What's your name, sir?"
The man stumbled a bit as he said, "Pietro. Pietro Polendina, your Highness."
"Why don't you take a walk with me, Doctor Polendina?" Lisa asked as she led him out of the throne room. He followed him with his spider chair whirring and clanking with the onyx floor that was covered by carpets.
"Tell me about your project." Lisa said gently as they made their way to an elevator.
The man smiled as he began his explanation of what was, in Lisa's mind, one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in Remnant's history.
Lisa looked at him shocked as they descended down into an underground science base. The idea he had, it was ingenious. Once the elevator opened, Lisa smiled and held her hand out towards the large underground base, "Welcome to the Science Division, Doctor Polendina."
Adjusting his glasses, he stared in shock at what he was seeing as he exclaimed, "Great… SCOTT!"
"Unlimited funding, so long as you can produce results. State of the art technology and equations, and tests to see if it is obtainable." Lisa said as she led him through the halls.
He was nodding but his mind was on the many things going on around him, "Is that an exoskeleton?!" He exclaimed, pointing to a human who was working with a vampire soldier doing a spar as they tested what looked to be a prototype exo system.
"Indeed it is. It will be used in construction work and possibly in the military." Lisa smiled at his excitement. It was similar to when her husband showed her his laboratory for the first time.
She turned and started walking backwards as she looked at him and continued, "Stoker is the leader in the realm of technology and scientific research. We are literally on the edge of discoveries almost every day."
"This is amazing! I thank you for this opportunity, Your Majesty." Pietro said with excitement.
"Please, down here, call me Doctor Tepes." Lisa said with a smile.
He nodded as he said, "Of course, Doctor."
"Now..." Lisa started as they reached an empty space in the department. "Shall we get started, Doctor?" She asked.
The man nodded as he said with honesty in his voice, "Let's go make medical history, Doctor."
Back at Beacon Academy, in the auditorium, Ozpin announced, "Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. The four of you acquired the Black Rook pieces. From now on, you shall be known as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc." There was soft clapping as Jaune smiled with pride before leading his team off the stage.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang stepped up to the stage and Ozpin announced, "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee-Tepes, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you acquired the White Knight pieces. From this moment on you shall be known as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose."
Ruby was shocked by Ozpin's announcement, and Yang came over and hugged her sister. "I'm so proud of you!" Weiss looked at Ruby and smiled. It stung a bit that she wasn't the leader, but she knew Ruby was worthy of it.
"Looks like it's shaping up to be an… interesting year." Ozpin commented as he eyed the team with a smile.
Later that night, the team made their way to their dormitory with JNPR's being in front of theirs. Ruby yawned as she placed her suitcase down.
Yang put her case down on the bed as she stretched. "Gotta say, that was fun." She commented.
"Your idea of fun is very different." Blake said as she opened her cases up and started pulling her contents out.
"But killing Grimm IS fun, Blake." Yang retorted as she opened her cases as well.
Ruby sat down on her bed and twisted her body before pulling her stuff out. She pulled out a box with the rattle of dice being heard which sounded very familiar to Yang. She looked at Ruby and asked, "Sis, you brought your DnD stuff?"
Weiss and Blake looked towards Ruby to see what Yang was talking about. "Yeah I uh… thought maybe, it'd be fun. Like if we actually got some friends who'd be interested."
"What is DnD?" Weiss asked out of curiosity.
"It's Dungeons and Dragons. An interactive tabletop RPG game where you create your character, race, class and specs and all and interact in a fantasy setting. Our Dad got us hooked into it and even played it with his team when they were here." Yang explained.
"Sounds pretty interesting. How do you play?" Blake asked.
"Well when your character wants to make an action, study something, or try and do stealth, you roll a D20 die to see if you fail or succeed. 20 being a critical success and 1 being a critical failure. You have a Dungeon Master to try and guide you through the adventure." Ruby replied to Blake.
"And who is usually the Dungeon Master?" Weiss asked.
"Dad usually is, but since I doubt he'd be able to take the time to do it, I was thinking I can try it." Ruby said.
Yang was surprised, "You want to be the DM, Ruby?"
"I mean, you can do it if you want to. I was just wanting to try it out." Ruby said nervously while scratching the back of her head.
"Oh that's fine, Ruby! You can totally do it! I'm all for you being the DM!" Yang quickly exclaimed.
"Have you done it before, Ruby?" Weiss asked to which Ruby shook her head. "N-no actually. But I've learned from Dad enough to try it out if me and Yang wanted to play with others."
Blake and Weiss looked at each other before looking at her, "I'd love to learn about this game." Weiss said to which Blake nodded.
Ruby's silver eyes sparkled with excitement. "Oooh! This is already the best team ever! We're going to have so much fun!"
"Though we should probably wait until we've done all of our school work." Blake quickly said.
"Oh of course. That's not a problem. Let's say… the weekends?" Yang suggested.
"That's acceptable to me." Weiss acknowledged.
"Me too." Blake added.
Ruby bounced slightly, "Aaaah! I'm so excited to see what you guys come up with! And don't worry, we can help you guys out. We've got plenty of stuff. All you really need are a set, notebook and pen or pencil. I've got the rest of it."
Weiss and Blake couldn't help but find her excitement adorable.
"Well let's get ready for bed. Classes start at 9 tomorrow." Weiss suggested to which the rest nodded. They quickly changed into night clothes and put the rest of their stuff down to worry about the next day. Everything seemed to be going well for the two princesses and their friends. But much like the darkness which plagued the world, there's always something dangerous waiting around the corner waiting to pounce.
Down in the dark depths of the Grimmlands, a woman with snow white skin and black veins, white hair done up in a bun looked to her minions. A large man with a large physique and brown hair had his arms crossed. A faunus with a scorpion tail crouched on his seat as he looked towards his mistress for guidance. Finally, a man with a sharp mustache sat with his scroll in hand.
"My minions, the time has come to put our plan into action. Cinder has successfully planned to arrive at Beacon in several months." The woman said with a smirk.
The scorpion faunus smiled as he asked, "What is it the dragon wills, mighty messenger?"
"It would seem Stoker and Zipang have allowed the heiress of their thrones to apply at Beacon. And an Arc has also applied. A powder keg has been placed, and it would truly be a shame if someone lit them up." She said.
The scorpion however growled a bit before shouting, "AN ARC IN THE SAME BUILDING AS ONE OF THE DRAGON'S CHOSEN!? IT IS HERESY! Please oh great messenger! Allow me the honor to SMITE the Heretic Arc!"
"Oh calm yourself down, you brute." The mustached man said with a groan.
"Tyrian, calm down." She said in a calm manner to which he did. "Forgive me, my Lady." He said as he bowed his head.
She looked at the man named Arthur Watts and asked, "Doctor Watts, what do you have to report?"
"Now, Atlas is planning on arriving in Beacon in a few months. Roughly around when the Vytal Tournament will begin, most likely to act as security. If Cinder is competent enough to install the virus, then once the attack can begin, they better have someone who can install the virus onto their flagship." He answered.
The larger man spoke up, "What of Stoker, Lady Salem? They won't let Atlas do anything unchecked if my contacts in Mistral are anything to go by."
"We will exploit their distrust, Hazel. I will personally speak to the King for the opportunity to destroy Atlas and gain their territory as long as they deliver us the relic. If he should prove difficult... Then we will give him a reason to join us." Salem replied to him.
Hazel was silent but instead of him, it was Callows who spoke up in an almost trance like state, "He who is the Son of the Dragon can not be tamed, for he is stronger than that of nature for he spat upon the false gods." Before he broke down into a fit of giggles.
"And that is why I will speak to him." She replied to him.
"And if he should refuse?" Arthur asked.
Salem shrugged her shoulders, "Then it just means that I shall have to wait and see which side he takes in this shadow war of mine and the wizard's."
Arthur hummed and nodded in acknowledgement.
Salem looked out into the darkness and couldn't help but smile as an idea came to her mind, "Hmm. Tyrian, I believe some of your concerns do hold water. Make your way to Vale to help spread the word and try to bring in those of… like minds such as yours."
Tyrian's eyes widened before he smiled widely, "Yes... Yes yes yes yes! The word of the Dragon shall be spread!" That's when he began to cackle loudly.
Salem nodded as she looked outside the window with a smile as her eyes seemed to glow. "Yes, yes the word shall be spread indeed." As she thought to herself, 'My word.'
