This is a commissioned work.

Beacon Academy, one of the four great Huntsmen academies. As the name implied, it was a beacon of hope, a bastion of safety, a symbol that had helped usher in a new age after the Great War that had so nearly doomed them all. Formed by the King of Vale, it represented unity and progress, a brighter future.

And they were going to bring it all crashing down.

"Now that you've had a chance to settle in, I'd like to hear your thoughts," Cinder began as she took a seat on her bed, neatly tucking her black and gray checkered skirt beneath her thighs. It was strange seeing her mentor and boss wearing a school uniform, no matter how many times she'd witnessed it. They were meant to be representatives of Haven Academy, and so they'd spent some time at the school to keep up appearances, the traitor Lionheart covering any of their absences when required. The dark jacket contrasted well with Cinder's pale skin and she thought the skirt was cute, but Emerald much preferred her in red.

"Place is full of goody two shoes," Mercury snarked, flopping down on his own bed as he hastily kicked off his shoes. Metal feet greeted their eyes as he leaned back, resting his crossed leg on a raised knee. "Makes me want to puke."

Emerald made a face at that. While she wouldn't put it so crassly as her 'partner', he wasn't exactly wrong. Everywhere she looked at Beacon, she saw naive, innocent faces that had never experienced a hint of despair. They didn't understand the real world and yet here they were, training to become protectors of humanity? What did they know of fear? Grimm were one thing but Emerald knew that people could and often were much worse.

There were a handful that weren't like that but they were few and far between.

"They're easily led, ma'am," she said.

They were like sheep. They'd signed up for a dangerous life, not because they needed to but because of the prestige, the glory, enticed by the pretty words of those higher up the social chain. Become a hero. Save lives. Those were the worst. Selfless, some would say. Emerald thought they were idiots.

Look out for yourself and those close to you. No one else.

Cinder smirked. "Yes, I suppose they are."

Those intense amber eyes surveyed them and Emerald felt her spine straighten. Even Mercury sat up, suddenly alert.

Cinder eyed them, the silence stretching – and then she said, "I have a job for you two."

She pulled out her scroll, opening the device into its tablet form. Tapping the screen, a series of pictures appeared. When Cinder flipped it around, Emerald saw that they were students here at Beacon, easily identifiable by their uniforms.

One person in particular stood out at once.

"Pyrrha Nikos," Cinder said, her voice intrigued. "I'm sure you've both heard of her."

Of course they had; who hadn't? She was one of the most famous people in the entire world, and especially for those in their age range. Four time Mistral regional champion, undefeated in over one hundred officially sanctioned bouts, dubbed the Invincible Girl by the media… she was the poster child for Huntresses-in-training, the face of this generation, and by all accounts, she more than backed up everything they said about her.

She was strong. Dangerous.

She was their enemy.

"I wish to know more about her," Cinder said, focusing on Mercury. "I want you to test her skills the first chance you get. I've gone over as much footage as I could find but nothing trump's first hand experience. Don't tip your hand. If you decide to show off and blow our cover…"

The threat was clear.

Mercury scoffed. "Who do you think I am?"

Emerald glared at him. "An idiot."

Gray eyes narrowed. "Suck up."

"Enough," Cinder said quietly before Emerald could respond, sucking the air from the room. "Cease this childishness at once."

Mercury raised his hands. "Fine. Sorry."

Emerald bowed her head. "I apologize."

Cinder hummed before moving on, swiping the screen to highlight more students. "The fallen Maiden is here, I can feel it – if anyone is bound to receive those powers from the old wizard, she will likely be at the top of the list. That is, if she is as good as she appears to be. Don't mess this up," she circled several pictures, bringing them together. "This is her team."

In bold letters, it read 'Team JNPR'.

"Lie Ren," Cinder tapped a picture and enlarged it, showing them a dark haired boy with magenta eyes. His build was slim, his face almost pretty rather than handsome. "Nora Valkyrie," a girl with short ginger hair and expressive turquoise eyes, her smile free and open. "And lastly, Jaune Arc – their leader."

Emerald saw that he was blond, blue eyed, handsome in a boyish sense with broad shoulders and messy hair.

"There is also another team," Cinder pulled up four more pictures, all girls with the caption, 'Team RWBY'.

Mercury made a sound of recognition. "That's Weiss Schnee."

Emerald's eyes were drawn to the white haired heiress. There was no mistaking her. Beautiful beyond measure, ice blue eyes stared out of a face that in ages past, men waged wars for – if not for the single, neat scar that marred her otherwise perfect features.

"Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company," Cinder confirmed. "Blake Belladonna," here she pulled up the girl with amber eyes and raven hair. "Faunus, former member of the White Fang – and not so long lost acquaintance of dear Adam."

"So this is the bird he is so obsessed with," Mercury leaned forward for a better look. "Mm – well, he has good taste, I'll give him that. She looks like a feisty one."

Emerald held her tongue, even though she wanted nothing better than to call him a pig. Cinder made a sound of amusement before bringing up the next one, a blonde haired girl with lilac eyes and a full figure.

Mercury whistled.

"Yang Xiao Long," Emerald read aloud. "Anyone special?"

"There isn't anything particularly worthy of note other than a recent run in with Junior," Cinder said. "She was there, looking for a certain woman and when she didn't get the information she wished for, she trashed his club."

A hot head, then. Someone that they could easily bait.

"Who was she looking for?" Mercury asked. "Do we know?"

A chilling smile crossed Cinder's lips. "Raven Branwen, I believe."

Emerald blinked, startled. "What? Why would she be looking for Raven Branwen? Is she insane?"

In their line of work, Raven Branwen was often spoken of in whispers. Leader of the Branwen tribe, they terrorized Anima with brutal, swift attacks, looting caravans, villages and military outposts alike. She was said to be an incredibly powerful, cunning Huntress – not the type of person some random kid from a Huntsmen academy should be trying to track down.

"An associate of mine did some digging," Cinder's smile remained in place. "She is Raven's daughter."

That was unexpected.

"...I didn't know she had kids," Mercury said after a moment of silence.

"Abandoned," Cinder continued, a sudden frown appearing before it vanished just as quickly. Emerald wasn't even sure if she'd seen it or it was just her mind playing tricks on her. "And finally – Ruby Rose."

A young girl with red-tipped black hair, a cute face and curious eyes. Emerald had never seen anyone with that hue before, a deep silver that she found a little unsettling.

"This girl has been a thorn in Roman's side, as of late," Cinder stared at Ruby's photo, considering. "Not only did she foil one of his heists but it was her team that halted Roman's little rampage in the stolen Paladin. That is twice now that she has caused disruptions. Once may be happenstance but twice?"

The beginning of a pattern.

"Coincidently, these two teams are close friends, making our job much easier," Cinder snapped her scroll shut. "Emerald, while Mercury is busy gauging Nikos' strength, I want you to find out everything you can about our little friends here."

"Ma'am?"

"Befriend them if you must. Gain their confidence and trust. No matter how insignificant, I want you to find it. I wish to know everything about them. Their school files can only tell me so much. Use whatever means required, so long as it doesn't reveal our plans. The Schnee in particular is of note. Their semblance is powerful, if Nikos is not as skilled as everyone says, she is a likely candidate."

Emerald nodded. "It will be done. I swear I won't fail you."

Cinder nodded. "I know, dear Emerald – because we all know what happens to those that fail me, don't we?"

The threat was clear, Emerald grimacing.

"You two need to be on your best behavior. I will not tolerate another incident like what happened with Tuskon," Mercury groaned. "If I have not given you leave to do something, then don't. If something does come up, inform me of it at once and I will take care of it. Am I understood?"

They both nodded.

"Excellent. Now go be seen. I am expecting Neo with a delivery from Roman."

Emerald bowed her head before quickly making for the door, desperate to escape the stifling atmosphere that had engulfed the room. Mercury was close behind after slipping his shoes back on, and they walked together down the hall for some time before he sighed.

"What's got her panties in a bunch?"

Emerald scowled. "She is close to her goal. Now isn't the time for mistakes."

Mercury rolled his eyes. "So she's a little high strung. There are ways of dealing with that."

The implication was clear.

"You really are a pig," Emerald snapped, finally giving voice to what she'd felt since his comment about those Beacon girls.

He laughed. "All I'm saying is if she got laid – you know, engaged in a little bit of stress relief – then we'd all be better for it. I can't believe she is still steamed about us taking out that White Fang defector."

"We were meant to lay low."

"Yeah, well – he was about to skip town, wasn't he?" he shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Torchwick was dragging his feet. And if I remember correctly, that had been your idea. You were so desperate to please her but it ended up backfiring on us."

"Shut up."

"You really need to get over this hero worship," even though his tone was mocking, when she turned his way, his eyes were pitying. It immediately raised her hackles. "You're just a means to an end, just like I am. She doesn't care about us. We're convenient."

That hit a little too close to home. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Mercury scoffed. "Well, if you want to be blind to it, I can't change that. But just a word of advice—"

"Save it," she cut him off, speeding up. "I don't want to hear it."

If he said anything else, she didn't catch it, lengthening her stride and marching down the stairs until she reached the bottom floor. A few students were loitering in the lobby but she ignored them, stomping outside, in a much worse mood than she'd been in only a few minutes ago.

Stupid Mercury and his annoying voice. He didn't know when to shut his mouth.

The worst part about what he said was that it wasn't anything she hadn't thought of herself at her lowest points, when her self-esteem was in the dirt, when those old insecurities from before reared their ugly heads, attempting to tear her down, reduce her to the person she'd once been. Poor, pathetic, starving – a street rat, reaching with greedy hands for any scrap of substance, be it food, shelter or…

Emerald grit her teeth.

She let her feet take her where they will, following the path she was on without thought. While she probably should have been keeping an eye out on her surroundings, mapping out the school for potential escape routes or interesting tidbits, she instead allowed herself a moment to just exist, to not worry about the plan they were about to enact, and about what that plan would mean for the school and the city.

For herself.

If she thought too much, she might have doubts. She'd come too far and had done too much to have doubts now.

Beacon was a lot bigger than she thought it would be. Haven had been pretty small in comparison, considering that the academy had been built within the city of Mistral itself. It meant less room. At Beacon, they didn't have that problem. Built upon the towering cliffs that overlooked the city, they were surrounded by forests in the immediate north, south and east – Forever Fall and the Emerald Forest stretching as far as the eye could see. Further east were the mountains that granted Vale an incredibly valuable natural defense against the Grimm, creating a fertile valley that made the kingdom so prosperous in the past and the modern day.

It was picturesque, beautiful, spread out – and the school reflected its surroundings.

Wide avenues paved with stone connected each building, separated by sprawling courtyards and gardens filled with lush, vibrant flowers. Immaculate lawns flanked smaller pathways, and Emerald passed more than one monument or statue, dedicated to fall heroes of the past. Looming above was the Beacon tower, the tallest of them all, reaching for the sky while a little to the left stood the CCT, keeping the kingdoms connected. Beacon students meandered around, chatting with friends, seated on plentiful benches, their voices cheerful, happy as they went about their business. The foreign students looked around with wide curious eyes, drinking everything in. While Emerald had never visited Shade or Atlas, she doubted it looked anything like this.

It was nice.

Too nice.

As a child, this was the type of place she could only ever dream of attending. An institution of higher learning where you pursued an actual career, somewhere you could forge a future for yourself. Emerald tried to remember if she had any such desires, once – but there was nothing. The only things she could remember from her childhood were hunger, pain, fear.

Attending one of these places had been more about an escape. It didn't matter what pathway it took, as long as it wasn't the streets. As long as it put food in her belly and a shelter above her head.

But street rats didn't go to Huntsmen academies or universities. They remained in the gutter with the trash.

She eventually found herself at the library by chance. Stepping inside, she let her eyes wander around the room. It was humongous, towering windows allowing streaming sunlight to illuminate rows upon rows of bookshelves heaving beneath the weight of countless books. Down the middle were tables and chairs, couches, as well as computer terminals to access the internet. There was a curious scent in the air, old parchment and paper, slightly musty but not unclean.

It was the scent of knowledge; old knowledge, new knowledge. It was the lifeblood of any school.

A group of students were crowded around a nearby table, their voices hushed as they discussed something. As she walked by them, she noticed that they were playing a boardgame. Further on, a pair of girls from Atlas going by their uniforms tapped away at a terminal, clearly searching for something. Further still, a group of friends lounged beneath the high windows, soaking up the sunlight.

It was all very normal.

To Emerald, it might as well have been a different world. It made her feel uncomfortable. This was not a place she was used to.

By chance, she happened to see it. As she was turning to leave, a flash of white drew her attention. Sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the library, a girl with purest white hair sat. Next to her was an even smaller girl, if only slightly, with red-tipped black hair. She was wearing a red cloak thrown over her school uniform, rocking back on her chair while she chatted excitedly with her friend.

Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose.

Emerald hadn't been planning on getting started with her assignment but this was an unexpected development, and an opportunity too good to pass up. After Nikos, Schnee was Cinder's next pick for potential Fall Maiden. Hesitating for only a moment, she sighed and made her way over, snagging a random book off a nearby shelf.

Numerous angles of attack crossed her mind, immediately discarded. Without knowing their personalities, it was useless to speculate on the best way to go about forming a friendship. They were teenage girls, as was Emerald – but their circumstances were night and day, their life experiences completely at odds. If she just started yapping about inane topics like pop culture or boys, it was just as likely to backfire as succeed. Emerald decided she needed more information before making first contact.

She picked a chair close by. Not so close as to look like she might be trying to overhear their conversation but close enough that she could. Glancing at the title of the book she'd picked up, she scowled.

Montague and Capulet.

It appeared that Beacon had a romance section. Even Emerald, street urchin that she was, knew all about this one. Though calling it a romance was perhaps a little misleading. It was undeniably a tragedy. Ill-fated love.

It was too late now to get up and change her choice of reading material. Cracking it open to a random page, she let her eyes settle on the words, though she took none of them in.

"—be fun! Come on, what's the problem?"

"The problem is we need to be preparing for the Vytal Festival, Ruby. We don't have much time to prepare. Fooling around in Vale is out of the question."

Emerald couldn't see their faces but she could hear the frustration in Ruby's voice when she said, "You say that but you've been spending every day planning that stupid dance!"

Weiss made a sound of outrage. "Ruby! How dare you! It is not stupid. It is an incredibly important event for the students of Beacon to meet and get to know our contemporaries from Haven, Shade and Atlas! It is about international cooperation and furthering our connections, a very much not stupid affair. Networking is a valuable tool for a Huntress and something you should learn more about."

"Uh huh. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you just wanting to show off," Ruby said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You and Yang both. You only care about impressing boys by throwing a good party."

Weiss spluttered. "W-What are you saying? That has nothing to do with it!"

"Right," Ruby scoffed. "Anyway, that is two weeks away. Just put some of the time you've set aside for planning that and come to Vale with us."

"I've said it once and I'll say it again; no."

"Sun and Neptune are coming."

"...when are we going?"

Emerald almost palmed face; almost. That had been way too easy.

"Not doing it for boys, right," Ruby snarked.

"Will you be quiet? I won't stand for any more of this slander."

"Jaune and his team are coming as well."

Jaune could only mean Jaune Arc, and his team – Pyrrha Nikos among them. Emerald perked up, casually leaning closer by resting her chin in hand, elbow against the desk.

Weiss made a strange sound. "Must he?"

"Weiss," Ruby said crossly, a little bit of fire in her voice.

The heiress sighed. "Fine."

Now that was an interesting reaction.

When Emerald glanced their way, it looked like Ruby wanted to say more but thought better of it. Instead, she said, "This will be good for Blake. She's been… withdrawn."

Suddenly the mood changed, Weiss leaning back in her chair. "She's being an idiot, you mean."

"Weiss, don't be mean."

Now it was Weiss that sounded frustrated. "I'm not being mean, I'm just telling the truth. She is becoming obsessed and it isn't healthy. I… understand her circumstances. It can't be easy for her, I get it – but spending all of her time looking into—" here she paused, and Emerald quickly glanced away when the heiress checked her surroundings. "—the White Fang is only going to exhaust her, and drive her insane. It isn't helping anybody."

"That's why this is important, Weiss. We need to get her out and socializing."

"Fat chance of that happening."

"Well – we have a plan."

"Oh? And pray tell, what is this plan?"

Ruby hesitated. "...there is a new restaurant opening that specializes in seafood, they're having a grand opening and they've got a bunch of deals and stuff."

"...let me guess, this plan was suggested by Yang."

"How'd you know?"

Weiss sighed. "And I'm the one that is meant to be the bigot."

"What?"

"Just because she's a cat faunus, Ruby, doesn't mean you can just wave some fish under her nose and she'll come running!" Weiss hissed.

"We can't?"

Weiss made a strange sound, almost like she was choking. "...fine, I'll help you convince her."

"So we can wave fish under her nose?"

"It might just work since Blake is the worst," Weiss then slapped the table. "Now – focus! You barely got a passing score in our last History test. I won't have my leader flunking out because she is too busy reading comics and goofing off."

"Aw, Weiss – do we really have to? It's so boring."

"Yes, we do," she countered, voice cold. "Now open your book!"

What the hell was she even listening to? These were the girls that were getting in Torchwick's way? Was he even taking this seriously?

Emerald hung around for a while longer but other than some complaining on the part of Ruby and some harsh reprimands from Weiss, the pair were focused on their work. Closing her book, Emerald got up and placed it back on the shelf before making her way outside.

For a single conversation, she felt like she'd learned quite a bit about them. Making friends with Ruby wouldn't be too difficult, she felt. She appeared to be a rather happy little brat and a few words of encouragement would be more than enough to endear herself to her. Weiss Schnee seemed like she was much more serious but the fact that she was willing to indulge her teammate was a sign that she wasn't so rigid as to not bend.

Emerald could work with this.

She also learned that Blake Belladonna was currently undergoing a little bit of a crisis. Looking into the White Fang, was she? That piece of information would have to be passed on to Cinder as soon as she returned to their room. Did that silly girl not realize that Adam Taurus was looking for her? Emerald found him distasteful but he was strong, and wasn't the type of person you messed with on a whim.

He didn't take someone defecting lightly.

Then there was their little upcoming trip to Vale. That would be a good opportunity to collect some more information on her targets. She'd be able to move much more freely down in the city and Team JNPR would also be present. Pyrrha Nikos was the ultimate prize but also the most dangerous, so she needed to be careful. Getting to her directly might be difficult, so she would target her team.

Jaune Arc was their team leader, wasn't he? Emerald wondered what type of man he was. To be selected to lead Nikos of all people meant that he must be quite the impressive Huntsmen-in-training. Cinder spoke often of how cunning and formidable Ozpin was. Surely he would have surrounded his prize student with only the very best.

Emerald smiled. She'd done quite well.

Not bad for a casual stroll around campus.

New story time~! The first of three. The next two will be posted in a couple of weeks.

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