Chapter 1: New Arrivals

All was darkness. Gasping for breath, Summer glanced around her frantically, clutching her bow in her hands. There was no sign of the enemy. She checked her Aura level on her Scroll. 25 percent…not good. Closing her eyes, Summer tried to listen for sounds.

Thump. Thump. Footsteps to the right. "There," Summer muttered to herself, turning in that direction. She drew her bow, ready to fire.

A blast of bright-red energy lit up the darkness, flying toward her. Summer dodged out of the way as the projectile barely scraped the surface of her neck. In that split second, she could see the enemy's shape dart back into the blackness. Gritting her teeth, Summer fired a fire-Dust infused arrow in their general direction.

There was an explosion of bright, blinding light. As flames lit up the area, Summer's opponent spat in frustration. They leapt at her, holding their sword above their head.

Rather than dodge out of the way, Summer stood her ground. She took a deep breath. Okay. Time to see if this works. Grabbing her bow, she flipped two small switches on the ends of the weapon. With a smooth swish, the bow split into two halves, and sharp silver blades jutted out from each end.

"Hrahh!" Remembering her practice, Summer swung her right blade, meeting her opponent's strike. Sparks of crimson and silver lit up the darkness. However, it became clear to her that she was still outmatched. Swiftly, she pulled the trigger on her blades. From small barrels protruding from below the swords' edges, short bursts of pellet gunfire shot out, disorienting her opponent.

In retaliation, they swung their blade, catching Summer in her lower abdomen. A burst of red Dust energy from the weapon sent her flying into the air.

But now I have the height advantage, Summer thought. Quickly, she attached her dual blades together, turning it back into a bow. Turning in her opponent's direction mid-flight, she placed three explosive arrows into her bow and fired them all one by one.

She missed the first, and the second, but not the third. BOOM! The enemy went down.

Summer landed, flailing clumsily as she hit the floor. Graceful landings were something she had never really improved in. "Are you alright?" she called out anxiously into the dark.

"Ah…I'm fine. I'm glad you didn't hold back." The voice of Raven Branwen responded.

A loud buzzing sound filled the room. "And that's the match!" Professor Glynda Goodwitch called out.

The lights in the combat room came back on, and Summer and Raven were greeted by the applause of the fifty-something first-year students in the audience.

"Skills like these are what we will expect of you all as you progress through the Beacon curriculum," Professor Goodwitch narrated to them. "In this combat course, you will also be evaluated on your ability to cope in various situations a Huntsman might face. Fighting in total darkness, as we just demonstrated, as well as stormy conditions and treacherous landscapes-a Huntsman must be prepared for all of these. We expect only the best from all of you. Please, another round of applause for Miss Rose and Miss Branwen for participating in this demonstration!"

The audience applauded again, this time with cheers. "You guys are so awesome!" "I loved you in the Vytal Festival Tournament!" "Go out with me, Raven!"

Raven walked over to Summer, brushing herself off. "Well done," she smiled at her. Although she seemed genuinely happy for her friend, Summer noticed a tinge of resentment in her voice. "You really seem to have improved over the break."

"Thanks…but I think it's more due to this than anything." Summer smiled down at her new bow.

Shortly after winter break had started, Qrow and Raven had come over to her house for a visit…and a proposition.

"If you wanna get stronger, you'll need a better weapon," Qrow had stated. "A measly wooden bow isn't gonna kill much high-level Grimm."

They'd provided her with some basic blueprints, instructions and materials, but had left the details to her own discretion. Qrow would stop by from time to time to help out, albeit reluctantly (or so he claimed).

Summer had decided to go for a more versatile direction with her bow-now it also functioned as two dual bladeguns. The Wind Dust bullets that they fired weren't very damaging, but were useful as a quick stun maneuver. Also, the bow itself was much more flexible and efficient-she could fire more arrows at a time, and at a faster speed. All in all, it was a significant improvement over the one she'd previously used.

Phoenix Heart. That was what Autumn had called it when she saw it for the first time. Summer thought it sounded as cheesy as something out of the girl's favourite morning cartoons, but eventually she'd warmed up to the name.

She wondered how Autumn was doing now. She'd left her back at her home in Patch under the watch of a babysitter, a disgruntled middle-aged woman named Tremina.

"How long'll you be gone, mommy?" Autumn had asked as she'd left, tears forming in her eyes.

"For the last time, I'm not…oh, forget it," she'd sighed. "I'll come back for the summer break, alright. And if we ever get a surprise long weekend where I'm not drowning in homework, I'll come visit you."

"Oh…okay," Autumn had sighed resignedly, turning back to run towards an impatiently waving Tremina.

She'll be fine, Summer reassured herself. If she was worried about anything, it was that Tremina, that old hag, would run her wallet dry by the end of the year.

"Want to go down to the lounge?" Summer asked Raven. "Tai and Qrow should already be there."

"Sounds good to me," Raven smiled.

Student Lounge, Beacon Academy

The lounge was filled with students. It was the first day of school, so there were no classes. Many second-year-and-up students were hanging around in the room playing Hunters VS Grimm, reading books, or getting a snack from the half-dysfunctional vending machines.

On a table nearby, Summer's gruff partner and Raven's twin brother, Qrow Branwen, sat talking with Raven's partner, the blond martial artist Taiyang Xiao Long.

"And then I said, 'now THAT'S a katana!'" Tai narrated, gesturing dramatically with his hands. "And the ladies all seemed to love it, and hey, I had nothing to do for the rest of the day, so I decided, heeey, they could sure use my lovely company for just a little longer, right…?'"

"You're making that up," Qrow said bluntly.

"Hey, come on, Birdy. Why would I lie?"

Qrow sighed. "You expect me to believe you smashed an entire nightclub's worth of chicks over a joke you stole from a kids' cartoon."

"Well I'd like you to believe it, but I actually just got booed off the stage with a bunch of rotten apples and banana peels," Tai admitted sheepishly.

"So basically, you were lying about the whole thing," Qrow grumbled.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'lying'. I just…wasn't telling the whole truth."

"Funny you say that, there's a word in the dictionary for that. Know what it is? Lying!"

"Shhh!" From the other side of the room, Heather Fox glared at the two boys, holding a finger to her lips. Next to her on the couch, an unfamiliar young man was lying on his back, snoring, with a textbook covering his face.

Summer and Raven walked up to the table. "Hey guys," Summer greeted them.

"'Sup." Qrow waved back. "How'd it go?"

"Quite good," Raven smiled. "Summer has improved considerably. It looks like our help was worth it, brother."

"Heey, good on you, Summer!" Tai grinned at her, flashing a big thumbs-up. Summer felt herself blush just a little.

"You didn't even help her at all," Qrow grumbled.

"I was with her in spirit," Tai replied cheerfully.

"What does that even MEAN?!"

Raven walked over to Heather. "I hope you're up for some sparring later today." she said to her fellow ace student.

"Sure thing," Heather smiled. "I'm down for some practice, once I get this waste of human space to do his homework, at any rate."

Beside her, the boy stirred, the textbook falling off his face. He had messy, ash-blond hair and ice-blue eyes. "Hrrmmm….is it lunchtime 'lready?" he yawned.

"No," said Heather. "It's time for you to finish the remaining fifty-seven questions I've assigned for you."

"Wha…but there isn't even class today," he moaned, turning over on the couch.

"The Beacon curriculum is different from Atlas. If you want to survive here, you'll need to become accustomed to it."

The lazy young man simply groaned and covered himself with his coat like a blanket.

"Umm…who is that?" Summer asked. The boy's coat didn't look like anything of Valian make, with its peculiar white stripes and soft-looking fabric.

Heather poked the boy violently. "This thing is Mr. Herman Whitehead, formerly a student of Atlas Academy, and unfortunately my new partner. He's…Harriet's replacement."

Summer laughed nervously. "He has no idea what he's in for."

"He's not gonna survive the month the way he is now," Qrow chuckled.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Herman turned back over, smiling sleepily. "Gotta say though, this place is great! Not sure why your friend wanted to transfer out-sucks to be her, eh?"

There was a moment of silence. No one really wanted to talk about Harriet Maroon, Heather's former partner, who'd been revealed to have participated in a terrorist plot last year.

"So why'd you transfer out of Atlas, Herman?" Tai asked.

Herman shrugged lethargically, flipping aimlessly through his book. "Uh, well, I couldn't keep up with all the homework they crammed down my throat, so I thought, 'hey! Maybe Beacon'll be easier!' My partner doesn't seem willing to let that happen, though."

Qrow snorted. "That may be the worst reasoning for anything I've ever heard in my life."

"Well, if he got accepted into the Huntsman Academy in the first place, he must be capable," Summer pointed out. Herman seemed nice enough. Even if he was extremely lazy, she'd come to expect that there was always more to people than what they presented.

She smiled at Herman. "Good to have you with us, Herman. Don't let Heather murder you with extracurricular work, alright? "

Heather flashed a sinister smirk at her partner. In her hands she held a stack a veritable stack of heavy textbooks.

Herman Whitehead grinned nervously. "H-hah…I'll do my best."

Unknown location, Outskirts of Atlas Kingdom

The plane landed on the cold desert ground. The door opened and a single person walked out. He looked up calmly into the night sky.

He was a young boy, no older than sixteen. He was of rather short stature, with a short mop of black hair, golden eyes, and rectangular eyeglasses. Despite his young age, he had a mischievous smile on his face, the reflection of the pale moon on his eyes giving off a sense of cold, malicious cruelty.

"Oh, what a lovely night!" he laughed, at no one in particular. "It sure feels great to be in Atlas again! The air is as gross and polluted as I remember. Talk about nostalgia."

"You're late, Rok." The voice came from a few feet away. Argent Fox, the blond, middle-aged General of the Atlesian military, walked into view. "You said you'd be here by evening."

"Ari! Good to see you!" The boy, Rok, grinned at the general, saluting mockingly. "As rigid as ever, I see! How's your little girl doing?"

"She's...holding up well, considering the circumstances," Argent replied. "I didn't think you'd be showing up alone. Didn't the headmaster request more men?"

Rok sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Little hiccups, here n' there. Fenrir is still in Vacuo-says the preparations aren't complete. Dr. Merlot, the old fart, I haven't been able to get in touch with him at all. Last I heard of him, he was making those high-tech weapons-the ones used in that riot you guys so conveniently stopped."

Argent smiled wearily. "Hah, that sounds like 'Thousand Minds' Merlot, all right. His genius is a nuisance to friend and foe alike."

"I doubt he HAS friends," Rok snorted.

"Gentlemen." Another voice, this one female, rang out. Harriet Maroon materialized in-between Rok and the general. "I'm glad to see things are getting underway."

"Well, if it isn't our favourite bunny girl," Rok grinned at her. "How was it playing traitor with our friends at Beacon?"

The rabbit Faunus smiled back. "You'd be surprised. They're really quite pleasant people-and of course, that made it all the easier to fool them." She turned to General Fox. "Your daughter is just as impressive as you claimed, general."

"…I'm glad to hear it," Argent said, forcing a smile.

"The Grandmaster was particularly interested in one Team STRQ," Harriet continued. "Taiyang Xiao Long is a decent warrior, nothing particularly noteworthy. Summer Rose has potential, but she still has quite a way to go if she wants to meet my master's expectations." She turned to Rok. "And then there are the Branwen twins-Qrow and Raven."

"Oh, so THEY'RE involved in this, huh?" Rok smirked. "This just got a lot more interesting."

"The boy is rather unimpressive, but the girl is certainly the strongest of the group. I have to give her credit-having my secret exposed was not part of my plan."

"That sounds like Rae, alright," Rok agreed. "So, Harrie, did you bring the goods?"

Wordlessly, Harriet took out a spherical black jewel from her pocket. It glowed with a sinister dark sheen. "So this is the Yin…the source of limitless energy," Argent muttered, in wonder, as he took the jewel into his hands. "Your master has my thanks for allowing us to utilize this."

Harriet stared at the general coldly. "I will remind you, General, that I have no love for you or your species-and neither does Grandmaster Salem. To ally yourself with us is to acknowledge that our long-term goals have nothing to do with yours."

"There's no need to remind me," Argent sighed. "I know no apologies will ever justify what people have done to the Faunus over the years. All that matters to me is that I complete the Project."

"Good," Harriet nodded. "Now then, let's be on our way. I'm sure Headmaster Onyx is anxious to see that we've arrived."

"Hey, who died and made YOU the leader?" Rok grumbled.

Argent Fox took the lead. "Follow me," he ordered. "On my authority, you'll be allowed onto the military grounds. If we hurry, no one will see us." He walked off in the direction of the city, Harriet right behind him.

Rok stood there for a few seconds before following them. He turned his gaze to the sky, his face breaking out into a grin that reached from ear to ear.

"Qrow and Raven…" he chuckled. "I think they're going to be quite a lot of fun."

Like Summer's new weapon? I sure enjoyed coming up with it-I couldn't let her just use a boring old bow and arrow the whole story, could I?

I've also finally started giving weapons names. About time, am I right? Now I just need to give names to everyone else's weapons that they for some reason never used before. Also, I figured it would give the weapons more personality than just "her sword" and "the gun".

Also, yes I referenced RWBY Chibi. Hey, that show already milked the katana joke for all it's worth, I have an excuse.

Hope you enjoyed!