Remnant. A world inhabited by three lifeforms. The first are humans, simple and basic. Second, are the Faunus, human-like, but with the features and abilities of animals. And finally, the Grimm. Mindless, savage beast, created from the darkness in the hearts of both humans and Faunuslike. From the beginning, the human and Faunus were at each other’s throats, and an endless war raged on between the humans and Faunus. The creatures of Grimm seek only death of all life on Remnant. And from the conflict, four kingdoms rose from the ashes. To the north is the kingdom of Atlas, a human-controlled kingdom where the rich and powerful live with their armies and machines. In the south, the kingdom of Vale is a peaceful place where humans and Faunus live in harmony with one another. Vacuo, the Kingdom of the West, is a wasteland-like place in which survival is possible but challenging. Mistral, the kingdom of the east, with mountains to protect the people. Most come here to lead a life of peace. All the kingdoms have armies and huntsmen, to hold back the Grimm, and to protect the world from the darkness.
(Echoes Of The Past)
In a huge study, with many bookshelves, filled with many, many books, is a small table, with a young-looking woman with blond hair and wearing a white dress, and a tall man with grey skin and white hair and wearing a black suit, sitting in armchairs as they face each other. On the table is a Chess Board, already set up for a game. The woman was using white pieces, while the man used black pieces.
“Let's be honest here,” said the man in a cold voice, as he made his first move of the game. “This Godless world is doomed. It is only a matter of time. And when the darkness swallows this world whole, You know I’ll hate to say I told you so.”
The woman simply kept her gaze locked on him as she gave a sweet smile. “You may think the world might be swallowed by the darkness,” She said, as she made her first move. “But I believe where there is darkness, there will also be light,”
There was silence between them as the game continued. As the game neared its end, the man held up one of his remaining pieces.
“Well, then. We’ll just let time be the judge for us, shall we,” He said, as he placed the piece on the board.
“Very well then. We shall see who will prevail, the Light, or the Dark,” The woman agreed, as she also placed one of her last pieces on the board. It was her White Queen, which now faced the man’s Black King.
Both this conversation and this game will be lost to the march of time as the world enters a new era.
(Present Day)
Flying towards the gleaming tower that was Beacon Academy, an airship full of new students, on their way to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. On this ship are four individuals, Ruby Rose, Onyx Shinra, Sunset Shimmer and Eclipse Khan.
Sitting in an isolated area, Onyx is on his scroll. He was dressed in a traditional tuxedo and black shades.“Yes, I'm en route to Beacon… Don’t worry… I threw a dart at the map. I've told you all of this, there is nothing you can say to change my mind… ok I love you too… goodbye.” He put his scroll in his pocket, looking out the wind, seeing the reflection of someone. He then turns to look at the person. “Weiss Schnee. There’s a face I never thought I’d see outside of Atlas.”
Standing before him was a young girl with white hair tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes, with a scar over her left eye from her brow to her cheek. She wore a white dress, with a matching jacket with red lining, a silver belt around her waist, and white high-heeled boots which also had red lining. On her belt, she had a rapier. She looked down at Onyx, in more ways than one. “Onyx Shinra,” she said in an icy tone. “What in the whole wide world of Remnant are you doing here?”
“Well, that's a fine ‘how do you do’,” Onyx said.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” said Weiss.
“I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m doing here,” Onyx replied. “I’m here to become a Huntsman. What are you doing here?”
“Simple,” Weiss said smugly. “I’m here to become a world-class Huntress.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Onyx said, rolling his eyes.
“Now, listen here, Onyx,” Weiss said. “You and I may be cousins but were from completely different families. A Schnee and a Shinra simply can not work together.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Onyx said. “So, why don’t I go to Beacon, and you go back to Atlas.”
“Excuse Me!” Weiss snapped. “What gives you the right to tell me where I should go to receive my education?!”
“Ok, I overstepped my bounds,” Onyx said placatingly. “Look, here’s the deal. We are both going to Beacon, but you stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. Deal?”
“Alright, fine,” Weiss said with a huff. “You know, sometimes I have to wonder how in the world you and I are cousins.”
“We’re cousins on my mother's side,” Said onyx. “But then again, you probably wouldn’t have known that, see as she was kicked out of your family.”
“Hmmph,” Weiss huffed dismissively, as she turned on her heel and marched away.
Onyx sighed. “I don’t know why, but she always brings out the worst in me.”
In the lower area, a young girl with red and yellow hair, fox ears and a large bushy fox tail was watching a news report that was being aired over the airship's broadcast system. “The White Fang is just making things worse for the rest of us,” She muttered with a frown, as she continued to watch the news feed.
At the front of the airship, sat a young Faunus with stripes like a tiger. Next to him was a young, dark-haired girl wearing a black bow on her head. The girl was reading a book, and the boy was reading a comic. He suddenly laughed out loud. “Ha, Ha, Ha! Stupid Coyote. He’s never gonna catch that Bird.”
“Eh-hem!” The girl said, nudging him with her elbow.
“Sorry, Blake,” He said. “But this is just too dang funny.”
“Look, Eclipse,” said Blake. “I don’t mind you chuckling, but volume control.” Before Eclipse could answer, at that moment, a woman with blond hair and a witch-like outfit appeared on the holo feed.
“Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Here at Beacon Academy, we will teach you the skills to fight the good fight and protect Remnant from the creatures of Grimm, and maintain the long-standing peace which our world now enjoys, and we hope you have a most prosperous time during your stay here at Beacon. Welcome to the first day of your new lives.” The feed then ends.
When the airship landed, the recruits disembarked to see their new home from home. A young man with blond hair ran out of the ship to the first trash can to vomit.
“If he pukes from motion sickness, it makes you wonder why he’s even bothering to become a Huntsman,” said a tall, blond-haired girl, as she walked past with a younger, dark-haired girl with dark red highlights, and wearing a red hood.
As the fox girl stepped off the airship, she was just in time to see the blond girl dash away from the red-hooded girl with a bunch of other people, practically abandoning her. “Survival of the fittest,” She said under her breath. Taking in the sights of the school campus, the fox girl’s breath was taken away. “Wow! It’s Beautiful!” She gasps. She then heard a loud bang. Turning around to look, she saw a girl dressed in white, yelling at the poor red hooded girl, who looked like a kicked puppy right now and immediately recognised her as a member of the Schnee family. “Oh, great! A Schnee! That’s all this school needs! A pampered little princess!” She said with a groan and a scowl. She then muttered and turned to walk away again. “Whatever, I’ll deal with her later.” Then, without warning, someone stepped on her tail. “Ahhh, what the hell! That hurts!” She screamed. She spun around to confront the person, coming face to face with a tall, brown-haired boy, with a huge smirk on his face.
“Oops, sorry, not my fault you didn’t have that thing cut off!” He said cruelly and started to laugh along with his flunkies.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY!?” The fox yelled furiously, her tail bristling.
“What, are those ears for decoration?” He continued snidely. “I said you should have that thing cut off!” He threw back his head and laughed mockingly, his gang of goons following suit.
The fox girl's ears folded back, as her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Oh, you’re just asking for a fight, aren’t you, tough guy?!” She snapped.
“Oh, this is gonna be fun,” Smirked the big guy, as he and his goons cracked their knuckles. But before anything else could happen, the thug spontaneously began to lift off the ground and float in mid-air. “W-whoa, what’s going on!” He shouted in shock.
“Whoa, boss, you never told us you could fly,” said one of his goons dumbly.
“That’s because I can’t you idiot!” The bully shouted angrily. “Don’t just stand there, do something! Get me down, now!” At that moment, he was suddenly flung through the air, and landed, head first, in a trash can.
“Aw, man that was like a pure cartoon/anime group right there,” laughed a new voice. Just then, Eclipse the tiger Faunus stepped up in front of them, smirking.
The thugs turned to glare at the newcomer. “Did you do this to our boss?!” One of them snapped threateningly.
“Would you prefer the truth or the lie?” Eclipse said, still smirking.
“You little freak!” Yelled one of the other thugs, pulling out his weapon, his cohorts following suit.
Eclipse then raised his weapon, which looked like a giant pair of scissors “Oh, you wanna fight?” He said confidently. “I’ll give you a fight! I’ve got nine lives and I’m willing to waste them all here on you guys! Come on! Come on!”
At the sight of the giant scissors, the cowardly bullies lost their nerve. “W-we’ll get you next time you freak!” One of them stuttered, before they turned and ran, one of them knocking over the trash can their humiliated leader was still stuck in.
“Well,” Said Eclipse, “That was disappointing?” He sheathed his weapon and turned to the fox girl. “So, you ok, there-” He was cut off when she gave him a hard left hook to his cheek, knocking him to the ground.
“You should have kept out of it!” The fox girl snapped. “I was just about to give that meathead just what was coming to him! I didn’t need your help!”
“Then what was the punch for?” Eclipse asked, holding his cheek.
“I just felt like it,” She replied with a dismissive wave.
Eclipse’s eyes went wide. “Wait! Don’t tell you're a Tsundere?!”
“A what?” The fox girl raised an eyebrow.
“Tsundere,” said Eclipse as he got back to his feet. “You know-”
“You know what, I don’t care!” She interrupted rudely. “Here's what’s going to happen, cat boy! You stay out of my way, and I stay far away from you!”
“For the record, I’m a tiger,” Eclipse said.
“Don’t care! I’m out!” With that, she turned and marched away.
“Geez, can’t a brother help out a sister,” Eclipse muttered to himself, just as Blake walked up beside him.
“Did I miss something?” She asked.
“You missed a lot!”
(5 minutes earlier…)
At the landing platform, a tall, dark-skinned woman, with a huge, square Athro, wearing a sharp black suit and large black shades, stood in front of Onix, presenting him with a large rectangular metal case. “You will require this,” she said calmly.
Onyx took the case. “Thanks for coming with me Garnet,” He said.
“No problem sir.” Garnet then noticed the airship was preparing to leave. “I must be leaving you now, sir.” After saying their goodbyes, She then reboarded the airship, and Onyx made his way toward the school. He didn’t get very far when he suddenly heard a loud BOOM! He looks up to see Weiss walking away from the red-hooded girl, as well as Blake walking away in another direction. He heads toward the red-hooded girl, hearing her mutter under her breath.
“Welcome to Beacon.”
“Where everyone wants you dead,” He said jokingly.
The girl's eyes went wide. “What? Really?!”
“No,” said Onyx with a smile. “Just kidding. But I so had you going there, didn’t I?”
The girl leapt back to her feet, pouting in annoyance. “That wasn’t funny!”
“Yeah, it was.” Onyx then looked at the girl curiously. “Wait. Aren’t you a little young to be attending Beacon?”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” She said in frustration. “This isn’t your typical combat school, we're here to fight monsters.”
“Let me guess,” Said Onyx. “That girl in white told you all that?”
“Yeah, she did,” The girl grumbled. “Little Miss Know-It-All Princess.”
“Yeah, she’s a handful,” Said Onyx wistfully. “Well, allow me to apologize on behalf of my cold-hearted cousin.”
“Wait, what? That girl is your cousin?”
“Yeah, we’re cousins. Oh, by the way…” He paused, looking closely at her. “Wait a minute…” He suddenly zoomed in close to her, his face just inches away from the girls. “You have silver eyes.”
The girl flinched nervously. “Uh, thank you, I think?” She said awkwardly.
“Sorry, it’s just,” He paused, reaching up to remove his shades, revealing... “I have silver eyes, too.”
“You have silver eyes, just like me?” The girl asked. “But, wait, why is that such a big deal?”
“Well, think about it,” Onyx said. “Out of every single person you know and love, how many of them have silver eyes?”
Ruby thought hard before she gasped in realisation. “Oh, my gosh, Your right! None of them!”
“And you know what that means?”
“It means…” Her face lit up in glee. “That we’re silver eye buddies!”
“That’s right,” Onyx chuckled. “Now, I think it’s about time we properly introduced ourselves. I’m Onyx Shinra.”
“I’m Ruby Rose!” She then stopped and stared at him. “Wait? Onyx Shinra? Are you part of the Shinra Family?”
“Well, I don’t mean to toot my own horn,” Onyx said casually. “But I’m the fourth in line to the Shinra Legacy. So, tell me, Ruby. What are doing here at Beacon? Aren’t you a little young to be here? What, are you on a field trip or something?”
Ruby scowled indignantly. “Do I look like I’m twelve?” She said, placing her hands on her hips.
“Whoa, sorry. I was just curious, that’s all,” Onyx said placatingly.
“I was allowed to skip two years,” Ruby said sheepishly. “Miss Salem said, based on my abilities, I was eligible to attend Beacon.”
“Ohh, you must be the bee's knees,” Onyx said with a chuckle.
“No no no no, I’m not, I’m just a normal girl, with normal knees,” Ruby replied in a panicky voice.
At that moment, they heard the sound of a bell. “Oh, no!” Ruby panicked, “The ceremony! How could we forget that?!” The two of them dashed away toward the great hall at a run.
Ruby and Onyx ran as fast as they could to reach the great hall where the students were instructed to go. They finally arrived just as the ceremony was about to begin.
“We made it just in time,” Said Ruby, gasping for breath.
“Yeah, just in time” agreed Onyx
“Now where’s Yang?” Ruby said before looking through the crowd and spotting her sister. “Oh, my sister! Well, I’ll be seeing you.” Ruby then walked away, waving goodbye.
“Yeah, see you around,” Onyx said as he waved back.
“Hi Yang,” Said Ruby.
“Hey Ruby,” said Yang. “So, how was your first day of school, little sis?”
“Since you ditched me and I exploded?” Ruby huffed.
“Yikes, meltdown, already?” Yang said.
“No, I exploded a hole in front of the school,” Ruby went on. “And there was some fire, and think some ice?”
“Are you being sarcastic?” Yang smirked.
“Huh, I wish!” Ruby scoffed. “I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and she yelled again, and I felt bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me.”
“You!” Said an annoyed-sounding Weiss from behind her.
“Oh, god It’s happening again!” Ruby whimpered as she lept into her bewildered sister's arms.
“Your lucky we weren’t blown off the side of the cliff,” Weiss, unported
“Oh, my god, you exploded,” Yang said in astonishment.
“It was an accident! It was an accident!” Ruby insisted as she was put back on her feet, only for Weiss to shove a pamphlet labelled Dust For Dummies in her face. “What’s this?”
Before Weiss could reply, the pamphlet was yanked from her hand and tossed away. “For goodness sake, Weiss, leave the poor girl alone,” Said a voice. They all turned to look. It was Onyx.
Weiss scowled in annoyance. “What do you think you're doing, Onyx?” She scolded him. “I was just about to tell this upstart-”
“You mean ‘Prodigy’, not ‘Upstart,” Onyx interrupted.
“What? There is no way that this little kid,” She said, pointing at Ruby, “Is a prodigy at anything except being a total klutz!”
“Regardless, I would prefer if you left her alone, now,” Onyx said, staring Weiss down.
“Why should I do anything you tell me to do?” Weiss shot back. “Besides, why are you so interested in her?”
“That’s because,” He paused, looking over at Ruby. “She and I are silver eye buddies.”
“Yeah,” Ruby smirked, stepping up beside Onyx, who held out his hand for a low five, which she gladly returned with a resounding slap.
Weiss was confused by this. “What, I don’t understand…” Then she looked closer between them. They both had the same silver eyes.
“Well, in any case, she said she was sorry, so leave her alone,” Onyx commanded.
Weiss deflated under Onyx’s gaze. “You know what, I don’t care anymore,” She pouted.
“Hopefully that will end this whole thing between the two of you,” Onyx said to Ruby.
“Thanks, Onyx,” Said a grateful Ruby
“Ooh, is he your new boyfriend?” Teased Yang.
“Eww, no!” Ruby shouted, her face scrunched up in disgust. Onyx just laughed at this, while Eclipse looked on from across the hall.
“Hmm, looks like they're having fun,” He said to Blake.
“Yeah, looks like they are,” Replied Blake.
“Can I have your attention please?” Everyone turned their eyes to the stage. Standing on the stage was Glynda Goodwitch. “Welcome to Beacon Academy. And now I would like to introduce you to your Headmistress.” Miss Goodwitch stands aside and a woman dressed in black steps forward. Her hair is blonde and her eyes are blue.
“Greetings, students. My name is Salem, and I am the Headmistress of Beacon Academy. It is my task to turn you from children to Huntsmen and Huntresses. I will do my best to do so and I can only ask the same from all of you. Tomorrow, you will be divided into teams, but for now, all you need to do is rest and mingle with your peers.” After she finished her speech she walked out of the light and back into the shadows, and Ms Goodwitch continued the assembly.
It was now nighttime, and all the students were gathered in the same room, getting ready for bed. The fox girl was looking for a place to sleep, when, suddenly, she crashed into Onyx.
“Oh sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” Onyx apologised.
“It’s fine,” she said, looking up at Onyx, only to scowl at him with anger and hatred. “Wait, you're a Shinra!” She yelled.
“Umm, yes, is there a problem?” Onyx asked in confusion.
“Yes, there is! I’ve got a spoiled princess from the Schnee family and now an overly rich daddy’s boy from the Shinra family!” The fox girl ranted.
“Well that’s uncalled for,” He said, trying to calm her down.
“Look at my face, does it look like I care?!” She exclaimed, pointing at her face. “Stay away from me Shinra!” She turned and stormed away from a stunned Onyx.
The fox girl stopped as Eclipse walked up to her. “You know, that was a little uncalled for,” He said to her.
“And why do you care so much?” She asked, rolling her eyes.
“I just think that you’re not gonna make any friends with that attitude,” He replied.
“Let me make this clear. I don’t do the whole friend thing. Never have and never will,” She said in an ice-cold voice, before heading off once more.
“Wow, it just got chilly around here,” Eclipse stated.
Ruby and Yang naturally have their sleeping bags next to each other. Ruby was sitting up, writing a letter. “What are you writing there Ruby?” Asked Yang
“Writing to my friends at Signal. Telling them all about Beacon,” Explained Ruby.
“Aww, cute!” Cooed Yang teasingly.
“Yang, get a life!” Ruby said with a huff, rolling her eyes.
“No way, you make it way too easy,” said Yang, her voice full of amusement.
“Hey, Ruby. Hey Yang.” The girls looked up and saw Onyx standing above them.
“Hey Onyx,” Said Ruby.
“What can we do for you?” Asked Yang.
“I was hoping that you would let me crash with you two tonight,” He explained.
“It's fine with me,” said Yang.
“Just set yourself up,” Said Ruby.
Onyx rolled out his sleeping bag. “Thanks a lot, everywhere else is taken,” He said gratefully. He settled himself down and pulled out a small silver box.
“What’s that?” Asked Yang.
“Just a midnight snack.” He opened the box and showed the girls. The box was filled with cookies. “Can I tempt you?” He asked.
Ruby's mouth was drooling. “Well, maybe I'll just have 1 2 3 4 5 6!” She said excitedly, quickly snatching a handful of cookies from the box.
“Hey, save some for the rest of us!” Onyx shouted, but amused.
“I was just counting down the seconds,” Chuckled Yang at her sister’s antics.
“I have no sin,” Said Ruby firmly.
“Yeah, none at all,” said Onyx with an amused smirk, before eating a cookie from the box.
In another corner of the makeshift dormitory, sat Blake, reading a book, as Eclipse sat down next to her.
“Hey, Blake,” said the striped-skinned boy. “I’ve been thinking about this whole being split into teams business. Do you think that we should be on the same team?”
“I can’t guarantee that we’ll be on the same team, Eclipse. But in case we are split, I think you should try and start making some friends,” said Blake.
“Your right, Blake,” Said Eclipse with a sigh. “I’ll try tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Yeah, goodnight, Eclipse,” said Blake. She placed a bookmark and put her book away, before then laying down.
Then silence filled the room as the students fell asleep one by one.
Meanwhile...
In a large warehouse, dozens of White Fang members were going through crates of stolen goods, Dust, weapons, etcetera. The crates were either stamped with the emblem of the Shinra or Shnee companies. One White Fang member opened a crate with the Shinra Emblem, marveling at the weapons inside. “You know, I gotta say, credit where credit’s due. The Shinra copcorporation knows how to make quality stuff,” he said.
“Yeah, I know,” said one of his colleagues. “I can’t wait to try out these beauties.”
Overseeing the whole operation was a well-dressed man with a cane, and wearing a bowler hat. He smirked as he puffed on a cigar. At that moment, a White Fang Lieutenant walked up to him.
“Everything is proceeding on schedule, Mr Torchwick,” He reported.
“Yes, yes, that’s all well and good,” The man known as Torchwick said. “But I’ve just received orders from up top. We need to double our efforts.” He then walked over to a wall, pointing to a world map. “Which means,” He continued, “We are expanding our operations from Vale to the remaining three kingdoms. So from here on out, we’re going to be busy.” He finished by taking a big drag on his cigar and blowing out a big plume of smoke.
To Be Continued...