R W B Y

We like to believe that people reap what they sow. That good actions, borne of good intentions, will inevitably lead to positive consequences. And consequently, that would mean only the truly virtuous, those who act purely because they fully believe in doing what is right, can bring about peace and happiness.

But the world is not so simple - nor so fair. A man with the best of intentions can bring about the ruin of a civilization. A self-centered person who cares for no one can become a celebrated hero simply because of circumstance. We may like to think heroes are chosen by destiny, yet it is often a matter of simply being in the right place at the right time, regardless of one's character.

To some, this could be taken as a maxim of hope; that anyone can become a hero when their opportunity presents itself. But it should also serve as a warning to those same people: that we never know when the tides of fate will sweep away the ground beneath our feet, leaving us to flounder in the boundless chaos…

It was her night out, and she intended on enjoying it to the fullest.

Of course, fun wasn't the only thing on Yang Xiao Long's mind as she strolled into the shady nightclub on the edge of town, but if there was pleasure to be had from it, who was she to stop herself? No one else was going to tell her no, that was for sure.

Entering the club, flooded with the dancing beams of neon coloured lights, Yang immediately felt the gaze of several pairs of eyes, as if her very presence was magnetic to onlookers. It was understandable, of course: with her flowing golden locks, tall and voluptuous figure, and her piercing, violet gaze, it was practically impossible to not be mesmerized by her.

Yang didn't always appreciate the attention that came with her gifts, but tonight she did. Putting on her fiercest smile, she tossed her hair back and blew a kiss in the direction of her admirers, some of whom began pointing her out to their friends nearby. That was good; she wanted as many eyes on her as possible.

She glanced over the endless sea of faces, deciding on who would be the most worth her time. A couple of lean, nerdy-looking boys, probably not legally allowed to be there (of course, she had no moral authority in that regard), a pretty but plainly dressed girl dancing to the music, and a broad-shouldered jock with a rather brutish expression. No luck there; disappointed, Yang turned her gaze elsewhere.

A peculiarly dressed man was standing near the bar, catching her attention. He was wearing an expensive an expensive black suit, a matching top hat, and a pair of garish red sunglasses that were a size too big. His gaze met Yang's for a moment, and she saw an unpleasant, leering grin appear on his face. Well, not exactly my first choice, she thought distastefully, but he'll do.

Putting on her biggest smile, Yang sauntered over to the man. "Well hello!" she greeted him cheerfully. As she did so, she ordered a drink from the bartender - a Strawberry Sunrise, her favourite. "What's a good-looking guy like you standing around alone in a place like this? You should live it up a little!"

"Heheh, well, ya gotta make some sacrifices for the job, I guess," he muttered, clearly intoxicated as he cast a flattering glance at her figure. "And what 'bout you, missy? Hard to believe you ain't got anyone wanting to give you a good time. Care for a little drink with me, maybe?"

"Aw, well thanks for your concern," Yang giggled, leaning in closer and flashing a flirtatious wink at him. "You know, it's a little too crowded down here for my own taste. Too many eyes on us...plus, it looks the same as any run-down club around here in this city. You wouldn't happen to know anyplace more...fancy, that you could recommend, would you?"

The sunglasses man seemed to hesitate for a moment, opening and closing his mouth as if he were contemplating saying something. Deciding to tip him in the right direction, Yang simply smiled and tossed her hair back as she turned away from him. "Well, I hope you have a good night, mister," she said softly.

She had barely walked three steps away from him when he ran up to her and grabbed her hand. "W-Wait! Wait just a sec, lady!" he stammered. "You want a fancy place! I'll show you fancy - the fanciest there is in Vale! Here, check me out!" A lopsided grin on his face, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold-plated card with the letters 'VIP' engraved on it. "See, I'm top class here! Appointed by the big boss himself! Wherever you wanna go, I can take you there, no problem!"

Jackpot. Yang grinned, knowing she had him dancing in the palm of her hand. "Well, I think I'd like to meet this 'big boss' of yours," she said happily. "He must be a man of good taste if he hired someone like you."

And that was hook, line and sinker. Without further questions, the sunglasses man (whom Yang had decided to nickname 'Scruffy') led her to the elevator on the other side of the club. The doors were being blocked by two tall, imposing men wearing the same hat, glasses, and suit as Scruffy, but they let the pair through after seeing his identification.

Yang found herself standing there in the elevator, alone with an shady, drunk man who continuously stared at her with the sort of look that she was all too familiar with. A dangerous situation for many a young maiden, to be sure, but she wasn't particularly worried. She listened to the upbeat, jazz-cum-technobeat soundtrack playing as the elevator rose - she liked it; she could see herself dancing to it during her free time.

They reached the club's top floor, and as they exited Scruffy drunkenly pointed toward a large door at the end of the hallway. "The boss should be in there right now," he muttered.

"Thanks," Yang said cheerfully, and knocked him out with a single punch. Whistling to herself, she opened a nearby broom closet and casually stuffed his body inside before locking it shut. Now that was unpleasant, she thought, wiping herself off in disgust. It was a necessary evil, she supposed, but it was hardly pleasant. Just once, she'd like to attract someone who was nice, approachable, and not creepy. One day, hopefully.

The first thing she did when she reached the door was to try and open it. Of course, that was no good; it was firmly locked. She supposed Scruffy's fancy VIP card could have solved the problem, but there was a far easier solution, and it was what she'd been planning to do anyway. Yang pulled back her fist, and with her beloved shotgun gauntlet, Ember Celica, blasted the door open in a single punch.

"Intruder!" "Stay down! Stay down!" Immediately, she found herself surrounded a group of the black-clad mobsters, all armed with pistols and batons. Unperturbed, a grinning Yang strolled forward to where a tall, bearded man - no doubt the leader of these hoodlums - sat in a makeshift throne with two young ladies by his side; one clad in red, the other in white.

"You've got some nerve strolling in here, blondie," the man snarled, slowly getting up from his chair. "I'm gonna assume you had no idea whose club it is you decided to crash tonight, cause you're in for a whole world of hurt. In the name of the Xiong clan, I, Junior, am gonna make you regret the day you-"

Yang decided not to let him finish, electing to simply punch Junior in the groin as she walked up to him. "Don't give yourself too much credit, silly - I'm not here for you," she told him as he keeled over onto the floor, whimpering like a little boy. She nodded to his two proteges: "I'm here for you, ladies."

"Us?" the white-clad girl asked, without a hint of emotion in her voice.

"You two are part of the Malachite Family, aren't you?" Yang demanded. "That means there's no one in Vale who's better at finding people who don't want to be found. Hope you don't mind my entrance - but this was the only way I could be sure I'd get an audience with you."

"Hey Melanie, I think this girl needs a lesson in humility," the other girl said to her sister, her voice equally emotionless.

"Good suggestion Miltia," Melanie replied. "We should knock her down a peg."

"Whoa, whoa, let's all calm down for a second here!" Yang said, raising her arms as she gestured around the room with her gauntlets. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm heavily armed and ready to let loose. You sure you pretty things want me to mess up this fancy little joint you've got here? Cuz if not, I think it's best you hear me out."

Miltia and Melanie looked at each other with uncertainty, but after a second they both nodded their heads in unison. "Fine," they muttered, motioning for their henchmen to stand down.

"There we go, see? We're all friends here." Yang took out her Scroll device and showed it to the twins. On the screen, the image of a stern-faced woman with jet-black hair and deep red eyes was displayed, wearing a shallow-cut black dress and a set of necklaces. "Here's who I'm looking for - one Raven Branwen, who no one alive has seen for about seventeen years. But I bet you've got an idea of where she is, right?"

There was a silence. Confused, Yang waved the Scroll in the twins' faces, both of whom had gone utterly pale. What's wrong with them? "Uh, hello? Are you guys paying attention?"

"What business do you have with her?" Melanie asked, her voice radiating emotion for the first time - namely, terror. "And how do you even know her name?"

Yang frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Suddenly, she shook her head. "No, forget it - just tell me where she is! You wouldn't be having that reaction if you didn't know something, right? Now spit it out!"

The girls turned to each other, and after a few moments Yang saw both their faces tighten in resolve, and they nodded before turning back to her.

"...The edges of Mistral," Miltia said reluctantly. "Her movements are difficult to track, even for us, so I'm afraid you'll have to judge our intel for yourself."

"Raven's last known location would be in the untamed forests near Lake Matsu," Melanie continued. "With the area a popular breeding ground for Lancer-type Grimm, very few ever approach it. You could find her there…"

"...but you won't," said both of them in unison, as they drew their weapons - Miltia a pair of metal claws, Melanie two thin blades on the edges of her heels. Behind Yang, the henchmen raised their guns again, preparing to open fire.

"Heh. Bad idea," Yang chuckled, closing her eyes as her hair began to glow the brightest shade of gold. When she opened them again, they had changed from their natural lilac to a deep red. Melanie and Miltia recoiled at the sight of it.

"We should have known. You're…!" Miltia hissed, beckoning to the mobsters. "What are you waiting for? Shoot her!"

Suddenly, a massive, ear-shattering explosion erupted from Yang's body, shattering glass and sending the men flying into the walls. Many of them were knocked out cold, while the few that remained were kneeling in agony, holding their hands over their hands or contending with their now-broken ribs. Yang remained where she stood, fiery energy radiating from her hair as she bumped her fists together.

Thankfully, the twins had mostly withstood the blast, but were clearly unhappy about their now-dirtied dresses and hairdos. "Alright, that's the last straw," Melanie snarled, grinding her heel into the floor. "You're not leaving this place alive, girlie!"

"Come on!" Yang shouted as the two of them charged at her, Miltia running with her claws outstretched and Melanie leaping upwards. She parried Miltia's first strike with her left gauntlet, and blocked Melanie's heel blade with her right. The three remained in a deadlock for several seconds, before Yang managed to overpower Miltia and knock her, with a swift punch, back into the wall.

Melanie, regaining her balance, leapt off of Ember Celica, twirling around with several more kicks in the air as if dancing. One of her hits managed to knock Yang off guard, and she followed up with a roundhouse kick that struck her in the jaw. Yang reeled back in pain, but simply retaliated with a stronger punch, sending Melanie flying over to where her sister lay.

Suddenly, she heard a yell from somewhere behind her. One of the henchmen ran up to her, shouting wildly as he smashed her over the head with his baton. It simply snapped in half as it bounced harmlessly off of her, and as he stared at his now-wrecked weapon, Yang knocked him out with a single punch. The other henchmen were recovering now, and preparing to open fire. Cocking her shotguns, she blasted each of them into the walls, one by one, before any of them could get the chance.

While she'd been contending with them, the twins had regained their footing. They came at her again, this time attempting to overtake her from both side, with Melanie on the left and Miltia on the right. Snarling, Yang met them blow for blow, but she only had one arm each to contend with either of them, and found herself being slowly pushed back.

"Hrahh!" Yelling, Yang punched Miltia with all her might, sending her crashing through the floor. The foundations gave way, and they all fell down onto the dance floor below. Several people screamed at the sight of the three young women who had suddenly appeared along with fragments of what had been the ceiling.

Without missing a beat, Yang continued her fight against the twins, grinning as she timed her attacks to the music. Right now, it felt less like a fight for her life and just another fun night at the club. The people watching the battle seemed to think so too; instead of screaming in fear and confusion, they were now cheering her on and taking pictures like an enraptured audience.

Melanie leapt at her; Yang grabbed her by the heels and swung her around like a ragdoll, smashing her petite head into the glowing floor. Miltia tried to slash her with her claws, but Yang simply charged forward, overpowering her attacks with her superior brute strength. She fired shotgun shell after shotgun shell at her opponent, who tried to deflect them, but the force from the blasts began to tear the weapons apart, and before long they were nothing but useless metal stubs. With Miltia helpless, Yang shouted excitedly as she punched her in the chest, sending her body flying into the crowd.

The spectators all burst into applause; most of them probably had no idea what they'd just witnessed, but all that really mattered to them was that they'd seen something really, really cool. Yang grinned and pumped her fists up in the air, bringing about more cheers from her newfound admirers. This is the life!

Suddenly, she saw something fly down through the ceiling, landing directly on her and causing a massive explosion as the grenade detonated. The sounds of glass shattering filled the room as people began screaming, running away in all different directions. Disoriented, and groaning in pain, Yang slowly got up, her hair and eyes brought back to normal.

Murder in his eyes, Junior leapt down from above, a bulky grenade launcher in his hands. "You didn't forget me, did you, blondie?" He yelled. "Go ahead and try to tank this!" He fired another projectile at her.

Time itself seemed to stop. Yang's instincts told her to roll out of the way and dodge the grenade, but her body wouldn't allow her to do that. Behind her were crowds of innocent people, people who did not have the sacred protection that warriors like her did. If she ran now, they would all be hurt. Which meant the only way out was the only way she had ever known: to go forward.

Readying Ember Celica, Yang ran at the projectile and punched it with all her might, deflecting it back at Junior. The explosion launched him upwards, sending him crashing through the walls of his own club and into the busy streets outside. After a moment's pause, the crowd began to cheer again, clapping for her as though she'd won a tournament.

Yang decided that she'd done enough fighting for tonight. She walked over to the bar, smiling at the bartender. "Hey. My Strawberry Sunrise is done now, right?"

"Sure is," he replied with a grin, passing her the drink. "Take it on the house, ma'am."

Of course, that wasn't the only thing she'd gotten for free that night. She'd found the information she'd been searching for, and while it came with a lot more destruction than she'd anticipated, at least she wouldn't have to pay for it - money was a bit hard to come by these days.

Enjoying her well-earned cocktail, Yang stepped out of the club, only to be alerted by the buzzing of her Scroll. She pulled it out and was greeted by an incoming call from her younger sister, Ruby, along with a message: OMG YANG YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Whoa, she thought. And here I thought I was the only one having a crazy night.

She put the Scroll to her ear. "Heya, sis. So what's going on?"

"I still can't believe this is happening!" Yang laughed, giving her sister a hearty embrace. "To think the two of us would both be attending Beacon in the same year! And here I was, worrying about what you'd do without me to watch your back!"

"Y-Yang...that's the fifth time you've said that," Ruby protested, her voice muffled. "Um, also, you're kinda squishing me…"

"Whoops! Sorry about that." Yang let her go, and smiled as she beheld Ruby in her Huntress getup. She really did look like a mighty warrior in that battle dress, clad in black and red and a few hints of silver. It was hard to reconcile this Huntress-in-training with the tiny, sickly little girl Yang had looked after for years. "Oh, just seeing how much you've grown brings a tear to my eye," she sighed happily.

Ruby glanced down, her face full of uncertainty. "Grown, huh? You think so? That's nice, I guess…" She glanced around them, at the countless of other aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses aboard the Atlesian airship Naglfar, and gulped. "I was excited to get in early, but now...I dunno, everyone else here's so tall. And most of them look like heroes already."

"So do you," Yang insisted. "Not just any fifteen year-old girl can hunt Grimm as effectively as you do. Hell, I'm willing to bet you're already as badass as some pro Huntresses out there. You're gonna do just fine, sis!" She put a reassuring hand on Ruby's shoulder, and her sister looked up at her with a smile, her expression relaxed.

BREAKING NEWS, the airship's television suddenly blared, catching their attention. Yang and Ruby turned to see Lisa Lavender, Vale's most renowned news anchor, standing in front of a wrecked department store. The picture of a shady-looking man appeared on the screen, and Yang felt Ruby stiffen beside her at the sight of him. "That's…" she gasped.

"Today, yet another incident in a long stream of Dust robberies was committed in downtown Vale," Lavender reported. "The authorities believe that once again, the crime lord Roman Torchwick was responsible for the attack. Several large bombs were detonated, and the perpetrators managed to sneak in and steal large shipments of Dust in the chaos. Despite a quick response from the local police force, the suspect managed to escape." Numerous images of the crime scene showed up on the screen, depicting the damage caused.

"That's awful," Yang muttered. She turned to Ruby, noticing her expression. "What's the matter…? Oh, right - that's the guy you fought, right?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded quietly. "He's scary. I almost managed to catch him, but...well, he got the better of me. It's only cuz that Huntress showed up that I got out okay."

"At the time of the crime, a small rally held by the local Faunus was taking place near the building," the reporter continued. "Several of them were killed and many more were injured in the explosion as well as the ensuing attack. While the victims have not been identified, it is believed that they were members of the White Fang branch in Vale. One of the group's high-ranking members, Adam Taurus, has released a statement regarding the incident."

A video began playing, showing a red-haired, masked Faunus with bull-horns addressing the camera in front of a blood-red flag, on which a white wolf's head and claws were depicted. "This attack is simply the latest stage in an unending crusade of violence and discrimination against our people," Adam declared. "Roman Torchwick and those like him have made their hatred of us no secret over the years. And soon, we will respond in kind."

Drawing his crimson blade, he stepped closer to the screen."This message is for all of humanity, to inform them that we of the Fang will no longer sit idly by and let your butchery continue. The day of retribution draws near, and when the dust settles, this land will belong to Faunus and Faunus alone!" With a menacing snarl, he swung his sword, and the screen cut to black.

"He's...pretty scary, too," Ruby muttered, staring at the screen as it returned to the broadcast. Several people had also stopped to watch the report, and some of them cast nervous glances at the many Faunus onboard the ship.

"Well, people like him are also part of the reason we're here," Yang said reassuringly. "Him and that Torchwick guy. We're gonna get even stronger, and we'll be able to keep everyone safe from being hurt by them. I promise!"

As she said that, the TV screens were suddenly filled by a notification of an important announcement: the hologram of a regal blonde woman appeared at the front of the airship, catching everyone's attention. Yang recognized her: she was Glynda Goodwitch, a professor at Beacon Academy, and one of the most popular Huntresses out there - particularly among young boys. Ruby had told her all about her encounter with Goodwitch on that fateful night, and how the Huntress had rescued her from Roman.

"Welcome, students," Professor Goodwitch said, and her voice was kindly yet stern. "You all have the incredible privilege of attending Beacon Academy, to become the next legion of Huntsmen and Huntresses, sworn to protect Remnant from the Creatures of Grimm and other threats. At this academy, you will be tested to the very limits of your strength, in order to forge you into the best possible versions of yourselves. But for now, please enjoy the view, and on behalf of all the staff here, I welcome you all to Beacon."

As the hologram faded away, Yang and Ruby saw the silhouette of a large castle emerge from beneath the clouds. It's beautiful, Yang thought. If anything, the pictures had been selling it short. We're gonna be spending the next four years here...I wonder how long it'll take for me to think of it as home. Well, the food's not gonna be better than Dad's cooking, that's for sure!

As the aircraft descended, Yang turned to her sister, who was staring down at the academy with her eyes practically sparkling with excitement. She didn't know what the road ahead had in store for her, but at least she would have Ruby with her every step of the way. Besides, the unpredictability of it was what made it so exciting in the first place. She wouldn't have enrolled here if she'd thought it would be boring.

Beacon Academy, huh… Yang smiled to herself. I think I'm gonna have a pretty good time.

A/N:

And that's it for the trailers! No idea when I'll continue the series; I've got a general outline of how things are gonna play out compared to canon, but I don't know if I'll have it written down sooner or later.

In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this little 'preview'!

Cheers,

donutkirby