Chapter 5: Archer

"Hey, Pyrrha!"

"Good morning, Pyrrha!"

"Umm, Pyrrha, do you know the answer to question 4 on the homework?"

Pyrrha sighed internally, but flashed a winning smile at the classmates who were swarming her at the cafeteria table. The star student of Beacon returned her admirers' greeting and, using the proper body language and eye contact, explained to the confused student the concepts of resistance and resistivity laws in an electromagnetic circuit with such eloquence that the student left the table certain he would pass the afternoon test with flying colours. Soon afterwards, all the other students waved their friendly goodbyes at Pyrrha before going back to their lunches, leaving her sitting alone.

Pyrrha, though appreciating the peace and quiet, felt a tinge of sadness as she continued to devour her Caesar salad. It was funny that for all her popularity and the admiration piled upon her by the entire school faculty, she had very few actual friends.

Certainly, there were many other women at Beacon who enjoyed the same degree of fame as young Pyrrha Nikos. Excelling at every subject, perfect grades across the board, and beautiful…she wasn't the only one who fit those categories, but while those other talented girls were perpetually surrounded by friends and chatting happily, Pyrrha seemed to have achieved such a high degree of awe and respect among the student populace that she was regarded as something totally above them; no one seemed to believe they were worthy of her presence.

And in a certain way, they were right. Pyrrha was different from the other students at Beacon, not just in terms of skill and talent, but knowledge. Knowledge granted to her by her lineage. Not that anyone knew, of course. Even if it wasn't to be kept secret from the public at any cost, if anyone knew of her involvement in something like that, it would just drive everyone even further away from her.

And so, the rest of the day passed. There was a test on electrostatics in the last period. Pyrrha had to focus a little more than usual today, as her mind was preoccupied with other matters, but she was still confident that she'd gotten perfect. As the final bell of the day rung, Pyrrha packed up her bag and left for home.

"Hey! Redhead!" Cardin called out to her as she walked down the hallway. "Lookin' sexy as always, baby! Wanna go out to the movies with me tonight? All my other babes are taken!"

Pyrrha felt an instinctive rush of annoyance; she found it very abhorrent how the school bully could be the most insufferable, insensitive delinquent most of the time, yet became the supreme kiss-ass of the entire continent when around the popular and well-loved students. It was really quite pathetic. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy," she said, forcing a smile at Cardin. "You know, Cardin, I'm certain you wouldn't have to lie about your romantic life all the time if you didn't spend every waking moment picking on other students."

"Urk…" Cardin stammered. "Y-yeah, uh, well, I mean, I-I'll consider it…" Before his tortoise-powered brain could register a rebuttal, Pyrrha had already walked out of his sight. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she'd dodged that particular metaphorical bullet.

As she walked out of the school building into the sunny afternoon, she noticed her classmate Jaune standing by the road. She walked over to him. "Hello!" she greeted him with a wave.

"Oh, uh, hey Pyrrha!" Jaune grinned at her with his signature awkwardness. "Uh, how was the test today? Not too easy for you?"

Pyrrha was rather fond of Jaune. Unlike everyone else, he didn't treat her like some sort of unattainable symbol of perfection-to him, she was just another engineering student. With him, she could have normal conversations. She'd even defended him once or twice from one of Cardin's idiotic tirades. Out of all of Beacon Academy, he was the closest thing to a friend that she had.

"I think you overestimate me," Pyrrha smiled. "It was certainly harder than I expected, though. I always tend to mess up on the essay question."

Jaune gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, please. Knowing you, you probably aced it like usual. I completely bombed the multiple choice section, that's for sure. I honestly don't know how I haven't been kicked out yet, aha."

"Don't put yourself down like that. For the next test, I can help you study if you want," she suggested.

Jaune smiled. "Thanks, but I think I'm alright. Anyway, I've, uh, got someone to talk to, so I better get home now. See you on Monday, Pyrrha!" With that, he walked down the street towards his home.

Pyrrha frowned slightly as she watched him go. He seemed a bit different than normal-on one hand, he was just as, if not more nervous than usual, but at the same time he talked a lot more confidently than he had just a few days ago. Pyrrha shrugged it off. I guess despite what he says he feels pretty good about the test.

She drove home by taxi. On the radio, popular news anchor Lisa Lavender reported on the mysterious murders of several Faunus in the Vale district. The victims were all reportedly former members of the terrorist organization known as the White Fang. A string of bank robberies had also plagued the region around the same time. So much chaos in the world today, Pyrrha thought grimly. But that's why I'm here-to make it better.

That was her dream…and tonight was the first step to making it a reality.

Pyrrha reached her destination. Her house was a large, comfortable affair, though nothing extravagant. It was a handsome mahogany structure with a beautiful flower garden and pretty ornate windows. The interior had a large, spiraling staircase, a spacious basement, and a fine helping of four bathrooms and three bedrooms. Giving the driver a generous tip, Pyrrha got out and entered her home. Leaving her belongings on the couch, she went directly down to the basement.

Turning on the lights, she saw the large red sigil painted in Dust on the floor. Against the wall stood six bookshelves holding over three hundred books, all of which Pyrrha had read at least five times. A veritable treasure trove of vials and flasks were scattered around the room, filled with Dust of many different colours.

She took a deep breath. The moment she'd waited for her entire life was here. In front of her lay the key to her destiny. To the Holy Grail War.

The secret conflict that was waged in Remnant every sixty years…in which seven Masters, each accompanied by a Servant, a warrior hailing from a different world, wielding incredible power and weaponry, fought to the death to determine the champion of the Holy Grail-an artifact capable of granting any wish.

Pyrrha's grandfather had participated in the last Holy Grail War, but had perished. Even with such a tragedy, the Nikos family had chosen to stick to tradition-one day, they would achieve victory, and become renowned among the League of Huntsmen-a secret organization that studied Dust in order to fight similarly as Servants, and combat threats during the years in between Wars. And Pyrrha was their next hope. Right now, her parents were in Mistral, praying for her victory.

She'd read every single book on the Holy Grail War she could possibly find. She'd learned all she could about the seven summonable Servants. She'd studied and trained as much as she possibly could and finally, the time had come. Pyrrha held out her hand and recited the ancient text, just as she'd memorized. As she spoke the final verse, "Now arise, and Serve!" an enormous flame erupted in the centre of the sigil. Calmly, swallowing her fear, Pyrrha stared resolutely into the inferno, waiting for the light to clear.

A tall, raven-haired woman stood atop the summons symbol. She had beautiful amber eyes, and a fancy scarlet-red dress that gave the impression of being living flames. In her hand was clasped an archer's bow that was black as obsidian.

She turned her mesmerizing gaze to Pyrrha. "Mmmm, so I've been called for at last," she murmured in a low, sultry voice. "Fascinating…I never imagined you'd be the one to summon me."

Pyrrha met the woman's gaze head-on. She could tell this Servant was immensely powerful; to ensure she'd see her worthy as a Master, Pyrrha would have to make a good first impression. "You are the Archer-class Servant, correct?" she asked calmly and commandingly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Pyrrha Nikos, and I am your Master. Like you, I wish to obtain the Holy Grail, and if you follow my every command, I promise you it will be ours."

Archer chuckled. Despite herself, the laugh sent shivers down Pyrrha's spine. "Well said. You may be the Pyrrha of another world, but I see you are as confident and composed as always, Miss Nikos. That pleases me very much."

She gave a slight bow. "My name is Cinder," Archer purred. "I look forward to working with you…to the very end."

The old man smiled as he glanced upon the seven bright rays of light that now reflected themselves in the pool of stars. Once again, his role and identity have no relevance to our story at the moment, but for brevity's sake, henceforth he shall be known as 'the Overseer'.

The warriors have finally gathered, he mused to himself. He had to admit, this most recent Holy Grail War had attracted quite the fascinating ensemble. Fourteen individuals, each with their own hopes, dreams and histories, ready to fight for the sake of seeing their dreams become reality.

The Overseer looked forward to seeing what trials and tribulations awaited these promising men and women. Who would emerge victorious? Who would crumble to dust beneath the unrelenting opposition? The worlds were far more interesting to observe for the fact that despite one's best, most honest efforts, not everyone could be a winner.

Certainly, he could simply raise a finger and immediately bring an end to the conflict if he wished, but as so many beings with such power had come to realize, it was far more fulfilling to simply sit back and watch the events unfold. And the Overseer felt confident that this was one show no man, god, or anyone in-between would dare miss out on.

The Holy Grail War had begun.

Now that I've got the introductions out of the way, I probably won't be updating this for a while. I've got both school and my other fic, Stark, to worry about and I really just wanted to get Fate/RWBY started while the idea was still fresh in my head.

So yeah, if you want to see more of this before at least the end of June, I'd say don't get your hopes up. Don't worry, I WILL be continuing this, just not anytime soon.

Anyway, thanks for reading!