The Grimm.

A will that seeks to consume civilization.

No matter how many seasons pass. No matter how many eras have gone by.

The Grimm still hunger in humanity in the Darkness, seeking to devour our homes and slaughter our loved ones.

Man, born from Dust, cling to the hope that within the Light, they may thrive and persevere as the Heroes in the tales they so cling to.

Yet time has long since buried the Truth.

What remains here are nothing more than somewhat amusing tales.

The lands ravaged by the Grimm lie in ruins. Nothing is left aside from heavy stench of death. Yet, among these endless ashes, a new hope is sprouting.

Perhaps in time, this small hope shall bloom. And in turn, Man will be able to finish this tale. A tale that began long ago.


Go to Vale.

That was what his grandfather said. On the day of his graduation from Signal, he was supposed to be out celebrating with what little friends he had. Maybe finally hit up that psychotic blonde chick from his class. No. He shook his head as he walked down the streets. He didn't have enough lien on him to go visit the hospital afterward. Word on the grapevine was that she was a party animal with endless stamina.

And so, Rowan Schwarz made his way further into the city of Vale.

His ears twitched. The feeling of anxiety and unease was not helping in the slightest. Some would say that it was because his animal instincts were kicking in because he was a wolf faunus. But those people were racists. Someone more rational would have said something along the lines of:

"Rubia is going to tear you to pieces~!"

That goddamned sister of that psycho blonde.

"Goddamnit, Grandpa. Sis will kill you if she finds out you sent me to get alcohol…"

He put his hands in his pocket and walked down the streets. His red headphones hung snugly around his neck. The cool wind of Vale did little to penetrate the fabric of his thick jacket. And so, under the light of the broken moon, he slowly made his way to the grocery store.

Pick up the beer. Don't ask questions.

Use the fake ID he got one time that he somehow managed to hide from Rubia.

Thankfully, the cashier didn't ask questions when Rowan placed a case of beer onto the counter. He figured she had seen too many things that night. Too many minors going out and buying alcohol, getting into Gods know what.

"That'll be 100 lien."

"Oh! Um… right. Here," Rowan fished the money out of his beat-up wallet. He really needed to consider going digital.

As the cashier put the six pack in a bag and handed it to him, his scroll vibrated in his pocket. He sighed and pulled it out of his jacket pocket. The device extended, causing the holographic screen to come to light.

That profile picture.

Those red eyes.

"Haha, hey sis," Rowan said.

"Hmm? You sound nervous. What's going on?"

Rubia Schwarz. His older sister of nine years. She was a well-renowned huntress, or at least, that's what she called herself. All Rowan knew about his older sister was that she used to work in Atlas before they moved to Vale. However, that was three years ago. For the most part, Rowan knows that his older sister has an assistant teaching job when she's not out handling other things on the field.

"Nothing. I just didn't expect you to call," Rowan sighed as he walked down the street.

"Why wouldn't I call? Grandpa told me. You graduated from Signal today and got into your first choice of Huntsman Academy," Rubia said with a slightly jubilant tone to her voice.

"I was going to tell you myself but I got busy doing the onboarding stuff. The VTOL leaves in two days and I'm still not done getting everything. My package from Cost Go got delayed to tomorrow so I might be short on fire dust cartridges," Rowan said, sighing into the phone call.

"Hmm? Did you call customer service? I can contact an old friend from Atlas. She can get you a shipment straight from the SDC," Rubia offered.

Rowan's lips pursed into a line. If his older sister offered to ask that person that means that other person would find out where he was, and Rowan would rather not let her know where he was for now. She's probably still mad that he left abruptly without telling her. He waved his other hand, causing the bag to slide into the crook of his elbow.

"No, no. It's fine. It comes in tomorrow," he replied quickly.

"Mmm? Really? You know she won't rat on you, right? Especially not to her sister, who by the way I was told was attending the same school as you so if you see her, say hi at least."

"I know. I know. I'm more surprised you two still talk. I thought that the whole moving to Vale thing drove a wedge between you two" He stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the sign to turn green.

"Not really. We're not you guys. Ice Princess and I still talk. By the way, when you get to Beacon, don't forget to call me. I'm going to go into a no-comms zone in a few days and I want to know you got in there safely before I go, Cub."

Rowan rolled his eyes. That nickname. The sign turned green and he began to walk.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

"When you pack, don't forget to bring extra clothing. Beacon may have a state-of-the-art laundry system but you can never bring too much fresh underwear."

"Oh my gods, sis, I got it, I got it!"

"Don't you talk back to me. I'm not done. Did Grandpa give you that maintenance kit I got you for your graduation?" Rubia said.

"The one for Crimson Birch?" Rowan said as he adjusted his headphones.

"Yes, that one."

"I packed it away already, don't worry," Rowan reassured her.

"Good. You don't want Crimson Birch to break down there, do you?" Rubia said.

"It's fine. If it breaks down, I'm sure I can find the parts I need over in their weapons workshop. The only thing that's super sensitive on the weapon is the arm for the mechashift," he replied.

The sound of music blasted into his sensitive lupine ears. He groaned as he looked to his left.

Ahead was a nightclub that some of his friends frequented. If he remembered correctly, it was called Junior's. Rowan had been there on a few occasions when his sister was off on jobs. His grandfather let him go, solely on the basis that young people should have fun.

"You're not thinking of dropping by Junior's on your way back, are you?" Rubia asked. Her voice had a dangerous edge to it. She must have heard the music through the scroll's speaker.

"No, no. Not tonight. I need to finish packing and spending three hours there is not going to help get the packing done. Besides, I need to catch the last ferry to Patch before the stations close," Rowan said.

"I swear. That blonde is a bad influence on you."

Rowan chuckled. "Nah. We're acquaintances at best. I think that—"

All of a sudden, he was nearly thrown off his feet. The bag of the six-pack of beer he had been carrying fell to the ground. An explosion had broke the front door of the night club. Fire dust from what it looked like. A table fell in front of him, shattering to pieces.

"Rowan? What's wrong? I heard an explosion! Are you okay!?" Rubia's worried voice came from his scroll.

"Um, sis. I'm going to have to call you back," Rowan said.

"What!? No! Rowan, don't you dare hang up on me!"

Rowan hung up, effectively ending the call. His hand dropped to his side, gripping his weapon, Crimson Birch. The weapon whirred to life as he drew it from its sheathe. The odd crossguard of the weapon and the design of its blade was the bastard child of a katana and a saber.

"..." His eyes flitted over to the hole in the wall above the entrance. He didn't need to wait. After a few seconds, a man flew from the hole and landed violently in the street. He was an older, slightly heavyset man. He rubbed his jaw, glaring at the hole in the wall.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Rowan ran up to the man.

The man, having just now noticed him, looked up. "Do I fucking look okay to you? I just got thrown through a wall by this psycho blonde—"

The door to the club shattered. Splinters and shards of wood flew across the street. A blast of hot air blew past them. Rowan narrowed his eyes when he saw a slight golden flame glowing from within the dust.

That meant that his intuition was spot on for once. The person in that building causing all this chaos was surely Yang Xiao Long.

"Goddamnit, Yang," he cursed. Rowan got up and stood in front of Junior. He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulder before stepping forward.

A burst of flaming buckshot flew toward him. Rowan's eyes widened. He swung Crimson Birch, slicing the blast in half. His eyes narrowed when he saw her fully walk out of the club. She dragged an extremely bruised and beaten girl by the back of her collar and dropped her. Her blonde hair had flickers of flame wafting off it and her eyes were blood-red, almost like his older sister.

"Hey… now. Isn't destroying private property a bit much even for you, Yang?" Rowan asked.

Yang scoffed as she raised her arm. The golden gauntlet on her left arm clicked as it reloaded. "Get out of my way, Rowan."

"I'd love to but… I can't let you run out of control in the middle of the street," Rowan said.

"You…? Stop me? Haha!" Yang laughed. She grinned and widened her stance. Without saying another word, she darted forward. Flames engulfed her arm as her fist sailed across the air to land a decisive strike on Rowan.

Rowan's eyes widened as he ducked under the path of her punch. He sliced upward, causing Yang to stumble.

She looked up and saw Rowan's boot filling her vision. In an instant, Yang was sent sliding across the road. "You little—"

Yang suddenly raised her arms, blocking Crimson Birch's blade. Sparks flew across the road as the two were locked in a deadly hold. Yang's eye twitched as Crimson Birch pressed down on her gauntlets, slowly cutting into the metal.

"You calm down yet?" Rowan asked.

"Screw off, Schwarz! This has nothing to do with you!" Yang snapped. She pushed back and performed a jump kick.

Rowan raised his arms. His eyes widened when he felt his aura crack. He staggered backward but caught himself with Crimson Birch. He ducked and danced under Yang's relentless volley of punches before blocking one of her fists with his sword.

"Come on! It's just a strand of hair!" Rowan said.

"Shut up!" Yang roared.

Rowan clenched his jaw. He flipped a switch on Crimson Birch, causing the hilt to shift. A thin blade extended, followed by a telescopic handle. Rowan grabbed the blade and detached it from Crimson Birch's main body. He parried her back and swung the dagger upward.

Yang was pushed back. A flicker of yellow aura appeared around her.

"That was dirty," Yang growled.

Rowan said nothing and gripped Crimson Birch's dagger tightly. A flicker of energy appeared around him. His heel shifted and he vanished from Yang's vision.

"What—!?" Yang's eyes widened when he suddenly appeared in front of her. She raised her fist at the last minute, barely parrying Crimson Birch's blade. She saw a chink in her aura as it flickered. Her arm swung outward, forcing Rowan back. "What the hell…?"

Rowan said nothing as he held Crimson Birch tightly. As he was about to move, the sound of sirens filled the street.

Yang and Rowan froze. The tell-tale red and blue lights of police vehicles were moving in on their location rapidly. Rowan's red eyes darted to the hole in the club door where a girl dressed in a white and green dress limped out, holding a scroll.

"Oh…"

"Crap…"

Yang and Rowan said simultaneously. As the police cruisers came into view, Rowan turned to Yang for any ideas, only to find that she had vanished. His eyes widened considerably. He was under the legal age of drinking and he had a bag full of alcohol. A club was destroyed by Yang. And now, she was gone, leaving him to the police.

"Ah fuck," Rowan cursed as the police vehicles surrounded him. He raised his hands into the air as the authorities stepped out of the vehicles.

His eyes spotted their Huntsman licenses gleaming on their badges. One of them walked up to him, a tall man with dark hair. The moment the man spotted Rowan's ears, his gaze hardened.

"Hey! Watch it—!"

The huntsman gave him no room to protest as he slammed Rowan against the hood of the police car. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

Rowan groaned from the sudden impact. However, he was less worried about being arrested by Valean authorities and more worried about something else.

His sister was going to kill him.


The authorities were not in any way gentle with him. The rough way he was handled while being brought into the station reminded him that to humans, he was nothing more than a feral dog with rabies. And while it pissed him off to no end, it also reminded him that lashing out might make it more difficult for his older sister and grandfather to bail him out.

Rowan sighed as he was shoved into a holding cell, which was surprisingly empty. He figured that with the graduates from Signal all going to Vale to party, there'd be more in here for drunken misdemeanor or aggravated assault. However, he saw only one other girl in there.

He knew immediately who she was from her silver eyes alone. Rowan let out a tired sigh. Both of them. He just had to run into both of them.

The girl looked up, having just noticed him. The dark cloud that seemed to hover around her faded almost instantly. She pulled her hood down, causing her short red and black hair to jostle as she did.

"Umm…" the girl started.

Unlike her boisterous, outgoing sister, she was the calmer of the two. A bit socially— no, scratch that, very socially awkward but calmer. The only thing Rowan couldn't get over sometimes was how she spoke to her weapon as if it were a living breathing person. However, judging from her droll demeanor, Rowan figured the cops must have confiscated it like they did his.

"Uhh… Hi? How's it… going? Um, I—"

"Your sister is the reason I got tossed in here, Ruby," Rowan said as he took a seat on the bench. There was a considerable distance between the two.

"Oh. Damn it, Yang…," Ruby cursed. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry about her."

"It's fine. It's not like you destroyed a nightclub," he said, leaning back against the cool hard wall.

Ruby's eyes widened. "She did what?"

"Yang blew up a nightclub. Well, I'm overexaggerating. She rampaged inside a night club and beat up the owner. I was getting groceries when it happened and I got into a small fight with her before she ditched me to take the fall," Rowan explained.

"Oh… Oh Gods. Damn it, Yang. I'm so super duper sorry for what my sister did! Please don't be mad at her!" Ruby clasped her hands together and begged.

"It's fine, Squirt," Rowan waved her off. "I think she got her hair cut or something."

"That's… but still! Disproportionate response!" Ruby said. "But yeah, if she did get into a fight at the club, then getting her hair cut could… escalate things."

Rowan snorted. "You got that right."

Their conversation was interrupted when a woman with blonde hair, wearing a white blouse and a black cape came walking toward their cell. She had a riding crop in her hand. The woman pushed up her glasses as she gazed upon the two of them. Her imperious green eyes caused them both to shrink in their seats.

Rowan could have sworn he had seen her on TV or something.

"Not only do I have to deal with Miss Rose but a Beacon applicant as well?" the woman said. She flicked her riding crop, causing the cell door to open. "You two will come with me. Now."

Rowan and Ruby exchanged glances before nodding stiffly at the woman. They got off their chairs and followed her down the hallway. The police working at the station gave the woman a wide berth. As they passed by, Rowan felt the gazes of some of the police officers. He should have been used to it by now.

"Please take a seat in here, Miss Rose. Mister Schwarz, please wait in that other room." the woman said.

"W-Wait! Can he sit in there with me? I get anxiety really easily!" Ruby protested.

The woman raised an eyebrow before glancing at Rowan.

"Please! He's my big brother!" Ruby said, lying through her teeth.

Rowan blinked several times, trying to process what he had just heard.

"I… I don't recall you ever having a brother, Miss Rose," the blonde lady narrowed her eyes.

Ruby yelped, fumbling to find an excuse to get Rowan to stay with her. "Y-You know. We're childhood friends and all. Ahahaha, Rowan's just my brother… from another mother?"

Rowan slapped his forehead, cringing at Ruby's words. He raised his hands in defense when the blonde woman looked at him.

"Very well. You two may enter the room together," the woman finally relented.

Ruby and Rowan nodded as they entered the interrogation room. The low light of the general surroundings was jarringly offset by the single bright luminescent lamp hanging from the ceiling. It reminded Rowan of those old cop TV shows that his grandfather loved to watch. Now, all he needed to know was if this lady was supposed to be the bad cop, then who was the good cop?

Rowan sat down next to Ruby, who was understandably nervous considering the circumstances. Him? Well, he was doing a better job at hiding the fact that this woman was almost as terrifying as his older sister. His heart felt like it was skipping several beats as he struggled not to let his nerves show unlike his unwilling companion.

The light dangled slightly as the woman began to walk around, listing off their alleged crimes from a scroll in her hands.

"Obstruction of justice. Destruction of property. Aggravated assault. Illegal possession of alcohol by a minor. Now, both statements from the people involved said that you two intervened on their behalf in your respective situations," the woman said.

Ruby shrank in her spot as the crimes were levied against her. Rowan, on the other hand, grumbled at the fact that Yang's charges were being thrown at him instead.

The Huntress woman kept pacing around the room. "I hope you two realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly. Both of you put yourselves and others in great danger with your actions."

"B- But they started it!" Ruby protested.

"Yeah! And I was just passing by!" Rowan added.

"If it were up to me, the two of you would be sent home with a pat on the back," she said.

Ruby's eyes lit up.

"And a slap on the wrist."

Rowan pulled his hand back barely in the nick of time as the woman's riding crop met the table with a resounding thwack. Ruby paled at the sight, almost falling out of her chair in shock.

"But… unfortunately, I can't. There is someone here who would like to meet you. And by you, I mean you, Miss Rose. As for you Mister Schwarz," the woman sighed as she typed a quick message, presumably to whoever was coming inside, "We'll handle the bail."

She stepped aside, allowing a silver-haired man dressed in a dark suit and an emerald tie to walk in. He carried a plate of chocolate chip cookies and two cups of milk.

"Ruby Rose. And Rowan Schwarz," the man said, setting the plate down.

The pair warily eyed the man, though Rowan knew who this man was. And if this man was who he thought he was, then that woman must have been…

"You have silver eyes."

The comment was enough for Rowan to almost mouth off sarcastically but he held his tongue.

"Um…," Ruby said, unsure of how to respond to such an obvious comment.

"Now. I know Mister Schwarz here learned how to use his weapons from his older sister. A huntress under our employ. But where, oh where did you learn to do this?" the man asked as the blonde woman showed the video footage.

"Whoa. Hah, nice going, Rubes," Rowan chuckled as he watched a video of Ruby beating what seemed to be mafia wannabees.

"T- Thanks! Ahaha," Ruby said, her cheeks flushing red from the praise.

"Answer the question, Miss Rose," the woman said.

The man smiled and raised his hand. "Now, now, Glynda. But I am wondering the same thing, Miss Rose."

"Um… Signal Academy?" she said.

"Really? And they taught you how to wield one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" the man said. His dull golden eyes gleamed with life as if they hadn't in thousands of years.

"Well, for her, it was one teacher in particular," Rowan said, vouching for Ruby's skills.

Ruby reached for the cookie and snatched it. She ate it and just like that, the cookies began to disappear rapidly before Rowan could help himself.

"Mmm, I see. It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder with that level of skill. A dusty old crow," he said.

"Thash muh unkhle!" Ruby said with a mouth full of cookies.

"Dude, swallow your food," Rowan said.

Ruby's face turned red. She swallowed her mouthful before composing herself. "S- Sorry, that's my uncle, Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal! I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. Rowan can vouch! He's had to help me a couple of times whenever I played out in the woods! But now I can keep up with Yang and Rowan. I'm all like— Hooowahhha! Hayaaa! Witchaaaa!"

"I… I see," the man said. "And you, Rowan. I believe that you…" the man signaled for Glynda to play the footage of his fight with Yang. "My my, this little aura control technique is something I've only seen a few times. To be able to sneak into their defenses like that."

"Er… that's my Grandpa's technique. Shadowless Flight. I didn't name it that! My grandpa did," Rowan said.

"That move is cheating by the way. You don't see him until the last minute!" Ruby protested.

"Well, enough about that. I want to know what a young girl such as yourself is doing at a school designed to train warriors. And you, Rowan, I believe you never put on your application a reason either," the man said.

"Well… I want to be a huntress!" Ruby said.

"You want to slay monsters?" The man asked.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. Rowan was almost jealous of her enthusiasm. He had… less than selfless reasons for wanting to join.

As Ruby finished explaining her reasons for wanting to join, Rowan felt the man's gaze turn to him. There was an inviting smile on his face. "And you, young man."

"I'm not as selfless as Ruby. My parents were killed by Grimm when we were younger. Me and my sister, we used to live in Atlas. After my parents died, we moved around a lot because she had to work. First, we moved to Mistral for a few months, then Vale, and finally Patch. I… I want to help people but most of all, there's someone I want to see again. I made a promise to find them again when I got older. I hope that by going to Beacon, I can find this person," Rowan said, remembering the promise he made to a friend.

"When we get older… all three of us, we'll become the bestest hunters ever! We'll show everyone! We'll be the strongest hunters to ever exist!"

But that was before everything. Even if he hadn't seen either of them in years, he still held onto that promise. A naive promise that they would see each other again.

"I see. Reunions. That's… an unexpected reason but a good one nonetheless," the man said, smiling. "I too know the pain of separation."

The man pushed his glasses up before looking the two dead in the eye. "Do you two know who I am?"

"I'd be stupid to apply to your school and not know who you are," Rowan said.

"You're Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon," Ruby said.

"Hello," Ozpin greeted.

"Um… Hi?" Rowan said.

"Nice to meet you," Ruby greeted.

"So you want to come to my school?" Ozpin said, though Rowan knew the question was more directed at Ruby than himself.

"More than anything!" Was the answer Rowan expected.

Ozpin smiled and glanced to Glynda. Glynda rolled her eyes and let out a silent "Hmph".

"Well okay."


"Oh my gossshhhh! I can't believe it! I can't believe it! I can't believe it!"

Rowan smiled as Ruby jumped around. The two were let out of the station and, after a few threatening glares from Glynda, Rowan's charges were dropped and his weapons were returned. He chuckled as Ruby ran over and jumped on his back.

"Rowaaaaaannnn! I get to go to school with you and Yang! Oh my gosh, this is gonna be so cool! We're going to be like wahhh! And you're going to go SCHWING SCHWING!" Ruby darted out in front of him and made exaggerated motions.

"And Yang is going to go Hiyaaaa! BOOOM!" Ruby spread her arms as if to imitate an explosion.

"Ahahaha!" Rowan laughed at her antics. "Yeah. Maybe. Though, I don't know about me and your sister. She did just get me arrested."

"Oh. Right. My bad. Don't worry! I'll yell at Yang for you! Promise!" Ruby said. "But… we will see each other at Beacon, right? You're not going to ditch me when you see your friends, right?"

"Ruby, I have like 3 friends and you and your sister are two of them," Rowan said.

Ruby's eyes lit up and she nodded. Her beaming smile was almost blinding.

"Don't worry. I got your back," Rowan said.

Ruby nodded.

The two continued their trek to the docks. And as they did, Rowan couldn't help but smile as he looked up at the shattered moon. Maybe tonight wasn't such a bad night after all.


Crimson Birch

Owner: Rowan Schwarz

Weapon Classification: Dust Conductive Katana-Sabre

Description: A katana-sabre hybrid. This weapon was personally designed by Rowan Schwarz and the actual engineering was done with the help of resident nutcase Ruby Rose. The blade is 0.9 meters in length and forged from a composite process with high precision. The alloy is made from two metals, both of which are conductive to the energies released by Dust. The handle is telescopic in nature, allowing it to elongate to twice its original length. Within the handle is a retractable blade, allowing a dagger to pop out.

Once fully elongated, the two weapons can be separated and reattached thanks to the gravity dust that binds them together at the connecting point. The scabbard of Crimson Birch doubles as a high-powered rifle that is capable of firing dust rounds. In addition, there is a mechanism that switches the firing mode, allowing Rowan to fire Crimson Birch from its sheath for explosive quickdraws.


So... this is awkward for everyone who read D'Arc is Not Evil.

Yes, I started a new RWBY Fic. Allow me to explain.

When I wrote my RWBY Fic, I was still into RWBY. But as the series progressed or... lack thereof, I began to lose interest in it. I don't know. There were just so many cool concepts that they had that I feel they failed to utilize properly. I know 90% of you will agree to disagree but that's personally how I felt. Because I lost interest in RWBY, I ultimately lost interest in D'Arc is Not Evil. And it has been a few years now since I wrote the last chapter. I'm at a point where I can't get back into it simply because I don't know how to write it anymore. So, I did the next best thing. I took a lot of the ideas I used in D'Arc is Not Evil except the obvious trigger for the plot which was Jaune getting... you know. The Transcripts. Heh.

But yeah, that's a very brief summarization of why D'Arc is Not Evil is never going to get updated ever again so you can all breathe now.

I hope you don't write this fic off just because it has an OC team with OC characters. It is... an expanded AU that fills in RWBY Lore. I brought back some old ideas from D'Arc is not Evil like I said in earlier. Mainly some lore points which you'll see happen at the end of the arc.

So yeah, please stick around and I'll see you later in another chapter.