Ownership:

RWBY is owned by creator Monty Oum, God rest his soul, and Rooster Teeth Productions
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is owned by 20th Century Fox, Chenrin Entertainment, and TSG Entertainment.

I, the humble author of this fan-work, own absolutely nothing, gain no profit whatsoever, and wish only to express his writing and love for these fandoms artistically.

Warning: a wild FANFICTION WRITER appeared

Prologue

Heroes. A symbol of greatness and influence, a character meant to overcome any obstacle. They are loved by all, praised for even their simplest of efforts, and sometimes worshipped by a certain few. Many stories of various heroes have been told, but each of them share a similar premise: saving a village from terror, rescuing a damsel in distress, retrieving a magical artifact, and anything else of such heroic nonsense. However, if there is one thing a hero is best known for, it is arguably this – slaying monsters.

The monster is the hero's mortal enemy. They are evil incarnate, eternally hideous, and forever shunned… the sinful opposite of the virtuous hero. Monsters are feared by all common folk, which is what all monsters take advantage of as they are seen as plundering villages and preying upon the innocent. The hero, however, does not fear the monster. That is why heroes slay them, an act of chivalry that restores the people's faith and confidence.

Yet… when was there a time when the monster was praised? A time when the monster was accepted and loved by others? Or even a time when the hero was the monster? When was a story told about a hero who did everything only monsters do? A story of a monster in the form of a hero… or a hero in the form of a monster?

The answer to these questions: never. Stories like these were never created, and if they were then they are long forgotten… or destroyed. The reason for this is simply control, to keep those who rebel and inquire under check and to keep one under the "safety" of another's rule. If such stories existed, they would cause the questioning of morality and the eventual collapse of a society.

There is no such thing as a heroic monster. At least… until now… for this is no mere tale of heroes and monsters. This is the strange, heart wrenching, and evolutionary tale of a girl who wished to slay monsters… until a "monster" changed everything she knew, along with the rest of the world. Society, order, dominance, and all will never be the same again…

Bloody Evolution of the Planet of the Apes

Chapter 1: Mission Day

Remnant is an interesting and colorful world, but also a very hostile one. Currently, there are four active nations, better known as kingdoms, that are in power – Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo, and Vale. They are the last remaining kingdoms; countless others having fallen over time. Its continents were Sanus, the largest landmass, Anima the land of culture, Solitas, having the coldest climate on Remnant, and Menagerie, the small island-like continent. Remnant's two dominant species are Humans and the Faunus, a human subspecies that have physical animal features and heightened senses who have originated from Menagerie. Despite slight racial tensions and even a civil war between the two races, they have coexisted for as long as they could remember.

One could say that the best example of their coexistence is that both members can partake in a certain job. Actually, it would be more accurate to address this "job" as a role. A role of a hero… the role of the Huntsman and the Huntress. Composed of both Humans and Faunus, this profession is one of if not the most celebrated, profitable, and adored role in the entirety of Remnant's culture. Their work includes protecting villages, keeping the peace, and upholding the law. They even inspire the people of future generations to uptake the mantle of the Huntsman and Huntress.

These men and women are not immediately born to be a professional Huntsman though.

Many who want to take up this life are first trained in Huntsman Academies. Training and crafting weapons do not begin until their adolescent years, and students can only take up official missions, within or outside their kingdom, during their young adult years. Each kingdom has at least one academy or more. To even qualify for accepting this difficult role, one should have each of these three factors: a versatile weapon, a durable aura, and a powerful semblance.

A weapon could be bought from any weapons seller or even a blacksmith, or they could be crafted from one's own hands. A consistent theme with Remnant's weapons were their transformability, being literal combinations of deadly melee weapons and powerful ranged weapons. Normal swords, regular guns, and others existed of course but many preferred a weapon of their own design.

Aura is a natural ability that all living things could possess. It is the physical manifestation of a person or even an animal's soul, a spiritual force that links their body, mind, and soul. It can be used to enhance one's strength, heighten the potential of their jump, or act as a literal shield that can absorb damage from an attack. A high amount of damage can overpower and shatter an aura, but it would heal in time after rest, if given the chance to do so.

Then there was the semblance, a hidden potential within any and all. It is an extension of the aura, and it can only be used once aura is unlocked. The potential and abilities of semblances vary, as they can reflect the personality of the user. For example, one can be easily angered could have a semblance that enhances their strength, stamina, or other aspects. However, all semblances have two common traits. First, the same semblance can be passed down in families, like a hereditary trait. Second, semblances can have an influential effect on physical phenomena, depending on the nature of a semblance and the one who uses it.

Even with these talents, such things cannot always be easily used off the bat. Techniques with their weapons must be developed and full control of their aura and semblance should be perfected. That is the reason the Huntsman academies were founded, to train the huntsman and huntresses of the next generation and prepare for the world ahead. In fact, a certain academy is where this story takes place. Beacon Academy is perhaps the most prestigious academy on Remnant. Sure, there was Shade in Vacuo, Haven in Mistral, and Atlas in… Atlas. Though, it can be argued that neither had given… results, like Beacon has.

Right now, it was the beginning of dawn. The sun began to rise out of the night sky, its light shining over the face of Remnant. The people of Vale were getting up for the day, preparing the plans for today. The faculty and students of Beacon were already starting their daily routines. It was still early before classes began, so the academy's students had spent time in their rooms alone or with their teammates, or using their time to study before their first class. The teachers were planning their lesson plan for the day and other staff were performing their respective obligations.

Although a few students were still asleep, against their better judgement, much like a young girl sleeping on the top of a bunk bed. She looked rather young to be a college-level student huntress, having a pale, healthy complexion and a youthful face. She had short black hair that was red at the tips, the right side bangs longer than the left. She was sleeping on the top bed of a bunk bed setup. Beacon is a boarding academy as well, containing many dormitories for at least four students to reside in. The rooms don't come with a pair of bunk beds, however, explaining how the one the sleeping student's bed is hanging by the ceiling, held by rope… it looked rather unstable.

Who is this girl? Why, she's Ruby Rose! A weapons fanatic, team leader, and aspiring huntress. She's also the youngest to ever be accepted in Beacon, at age 15. It hadn't taken longer for her to wake up. As the sun's warm light reached her, her senses began to activate and Ruby opened her eyes – bright, silver colored eyes. Yawning, she propped herself up on her elbows, but noticed what exactly she was sleeping on: Paper and books. She slept on own her homework.

Darn, she must have overworked herself last night. Life in Beacon was harder that she expected, with all of the extensive paperwork assigned, and each written assignment had gotten harder after the last. She hopes this doesn't become a habit anytime soon.

Shrugging it off, Ruby was about to sit up and hop off her bed-

PFWEEEEEEEET!

"Eeep!" *SMACK*

Until the sound of a loud whistle went off, surprising her enough to accidentally fall off her bed and hit the ground hard. The funny thing is, her only thought was that it sounded liked her own whistle.

"Ow~" she drawled out.

"See? Told ya it would work."

"I'm not sure if causing her to hit the floor like that counts."

Upon hearing that, Ruby slowly looked up to see who were speaking and/or who blew exactly the whistle – her own sister… of course. In Beacon, and any other huntsmen academy, all first year students are set up with a partner and then set up in a team with another pair, a team of four, and must work together for the four years they stay at Beacon. Ruby was the leader of her own team, comprised of her fellow first years: Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Together they form Team RWBY! …which definitely wasn't a confusing setup at all.

Weiss Schnee is Ruby's own partner. Her lengthy hair held in a ponytail was as white as snow itself, perhaps whiter, her complexion pale but fair, only slightly marred by a scar crossing the corner of her left eye, and has icy blue eyes. An initially cold and indignant character but in her time with these three, she 'thawed' into a caring friend. Blake was the quietest of them, though she wasn't soft spoken. Her skin was fair but more tan, long hair that was black and styled wavily, and catlike eyes that were an amber yellow color. She chosen to be more antisocial but being with these three, she learned to open up more.

And then there was Yang. Within the whole of team RWBY, she had at least three roles – the heavy hitter of the four, Blake's partner… and Ruby's own older half-sister. Yellow hair that shined like gold, a healthy complexion similar to Ruby's, and light lilac eyes. Though boisterous, overly lighthearted, and even vain in certain occasions, some would say she made the group livelier. She was rather nice and interesting to be acquainted with… as long as her hair was not damaged of course.

Aside from that, the situation with Ruby awaking from her sleep was still at hand. Ruby started to get up, holding her head as she felt some pain from landing on the floor ungracefully. She may have seen something like stars or birds spinning around.

"Morning Rubes! Had a good night's sleep?" Yang asked in a cheery voice, unaware of Ruby's plight.

Ruby countered with her own question, asking in a peeved tone, "Yang? Why did you blow my whistle?" she felt it was a little unnecessary to do so, and in the middle of actually waking up no less!

Yang blinked at her younger sister's statement, then she donned a nervous smile and scratched the back of her head. "Heh, sorry Ruby, you kinda overslept and we needed to get a move on." she explained with a chuckle.

…Well, at least Yang had a reason to do something drastic.

"Also, it was Weiss' idea." Yang added.

Huh? Ruby turned to Weiss, secretly asking to confirm if she was the one behind this or not.

"It was just a little retribution, nothing more" she said with a smirk. Confirmed it was.

Ruby was surprised to hear Weiss say that. What did she do? "Wha-? I don't get it–"

Weiss interjected, "Remember our first day of classes? In the morning?"

Ruby blinked. The morning of their first day? What did she… wait a minute…

Then it came to her – the morning of that day, Ruby thought that Weiss wasn't getting up anytime, she blew her favorite whistle to startle her, which worked (at least, in Ruby's mind it did)! That's what Weiss meant!

Wait a minute, did Weiss hold a grudge? For this long? And why didn't she blow it herself?

"At first, I thought it would be funny so I went with it, but then you hit the floor," Yang partially explained, bringing Ruby out of her thoughts. "Sorry about that, sis. Seriously though, it's time to get up."

"Huh? Why? It's not time already time for classes, is it?" Ruby asked innocently. She really hoped that she didn't sleep on classes.

"We're not attending classes for today, we have to see Ozpin for a mission," Blake said since Yang's and Weiss' explaining of the whistle incident. "Don't you remember?"

…What? They had a mission today? When was it assigned? Ruby was drawing a blank on all of this information, like it was the first time she heard it, despite her teammates saying otherwise. The only thing she could do to voice her confusion was stare at her friends owlishly, and drawl out "uh~…"

Exasperated, Weiss took it upon herself to jog Ruby's memories. "Ruby, you dolt! Don't you have the faintest of realizations? The email from two days ago? Who we're going on the mission with? You were the most ecstatic about this assignment too!"

Ruby blinked, but decided she should at least try to remember everything Weiss said. Focusing her energy into digging up her memories, hoping to find something. Scrunching her facial expression in focus and frustration, she kept up at looking for memories, her teammates waiting.

Any second now, she'll find something… any second now… any time soon… any moment– oh wait, there it is!

Two days earlier, in the campus dining hall. Ruby plopped herself down on a seat next to her teammates, who were already eating their dinner. She rested her head on the table, groaning in exhaustion.

"Rough class?" Yang asked. Ruby grunted sadly in response.

The beginning of the second term for team RWBY started off to be interesting, but later proved its difficulty. The homework and written class assignments were growing in size, figuratively and literally, as each assignment due required more work.

Ruby wasn't even certain if it was worth it. She'd rather spend more time fighting with her beloved Crescent Rose! Like yesterday, under the highway… fighting a giant war robot… piloted by a notorious criminal…

Well, more sophisticated fights at least.

Indeed, Ruby had participated in a fight outside of Beacon grounds the other day. It wasn't senselessly going after a criminal for justice's sake, mind you, and she wasn't alone in the battle. Much earlier than this, it was revealed that Blake was a Faunus, unknown to her friends, and was formerly part of the White Fang. They were a former pacifist group that protested for Faunus' civil rights, but soon turned to violence under new leadership.

On her own adventure that Ruby briefly witnessed, Blake discovered the Faunus terrorists were behind multiple robberies of Dust, and were in a secret partnership with the infamous serial criminal Roman Torchwick. A sly, cruel, and silver-tongued man, and an impressive fighter despite focusing his life on criminal activity, Blake couldn't help but question why the White Fang were working with him since they never allied themselves with humans before.

Seeing that Blake was left with more questions than answers, Ruby enthusiastically suggested that their team should investigate further – and hopefully take down criminals in the process – to which they all agreed. After almost of full day of investigating, and Ruby learning a certain friend's secret (Penny), the end result was team RWBY squaring off with Torchwick himself piloting a prototype Paladin-290 – a massive mech suit designed by Atlas' military.

Team RWBY had defeated him and destroyed the Paladin, but the criminal mastermind had ultimately escaped with unexpected help from an unnamed accomplice. In the end, the student huntresses progressed a little, but not very far. The next day, however, Ruby discovered something so shocking, so terrible, and frightening that it couldn't be true!

…She forgot to turn in a paper for class. She screamed internally after discovering the truth.

It was the one class in her curriculum where she wasn't with her usual friends. What the class was, it didn't matter, she was just devastated knowing she missed an assignment. What was worse was that she actually had it completed much earlier; she must have forgotten about it after the fight with Torchwick last night. It was enough that she had to deal with Grimm Studies with Professor Port and Professor Oobleck's history class!

There was much begging, pouting, and more begging from her to convince the professor to give her a second chance. Thankfully, the professor did give Ruby a chance to submit extra credit, but on these conditions: The essay had to be re-written (it has a rather short word-count anyway), and a shorter paper relating to the same topic, but contrasting with the first paper's thesis, had to be given along with it.

Now that the class was over, Ruby was able to reach the dining hall and her friends in time. Unfortunately, she was also extremely tired out.

"…Do you wanna to talk about it?" Yang asked, hoping to sympathize with her little sister.

"…I forgot to turn in an essay." Ruby admitted.

Weiss, having heard what her partner just said, was shocked. "Ruby!" she scolded. "How could you disregard something so important?!" Weiss took her studies very seriously. Sometimes, she hoped her peers would follow her example.

"I-I just forgot, okay?! I was tired out from our fight last night!" Ruby retorted, raising her head up and giving her attention to Weiss.

"Last night? Did you have a big sparring match yesterday?"

…It appears she spoke too soon.

Ruby didn't notice them at first, having been so exhausted. Turning her head to see who spoke, she saw the team that RWBY was well acquainted with – Team JNPR (juniper), consisting of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren.

Jaune is this team's leader, having earned such a role with his surprising skill in strategizing. Fair skinned, blonde hair, a rather toned physique, and deep blue eyes. He can be described as friendly and thoughtful, though aloof, timid, and poor at… flirting. The last part could be considered a virtue, really. His partner, Pyrrha Nikos, could be considered Jaune's opposite in skill. A renowned student Huntress trained by Sanctum Academy and have won several tournaments in the past. She even received so much recognition, she starred in a cereal commercial! Her hair is the brightest red one would ever see, styled in a ponytail, and her eyes a bright vivid green. She is kindest that anyone could ever meet, though not many would know that if they were not so modest around her, because of her reputation.

Nora is… well… one of the best words that described her was ludicrous. Short orange hair and vibrant turquoise eyes, she is constantly enthusiastic, imaginative, and very talkative. Nevertheless, she stays a true friend to anyone, always takes the optimistic route, and is even able keep control and think rationally in combat. Finally, there is her partner and closest friend, Lie Ren. His long, messy black hair was also tied into a ponytail, with a single streak of magenta visible, his eyes matching this color pink color. His own personality is the opposite of Nora's, being much more level-headed than his teammates, perhaps even more so that the members of team RWBY themselves. He even provides words of wisdom on occasion.

This team was almost, in a way, team RWBY's equivalent. They share common traits with each other, like Ruby and Jaune's hardships as leaders, Blake and Ren's preference for peace and quiet, and Yang and Nora's ability to deal heavy damage. Each of them were first years, fought together in their initiation trial, and spent much time together since.

Well, they didn't know everything about each other. Like how JNPR didn't know that RWBY was fighting for their lives last night, hence why Jaune asked what Ruby meant.

"…Uh, not really… we'll tell you later guys… it's not really something to say in public," she answered, the rest of her team agreeing. At least they didn't keep secretes from each other… not too many.

"Oh? I hope it's nothing too serious," said Pyrrha, showing concern for her friends. What had they gotten into?

"Don't worry, it's nothing our team can't handle," Weiss said with a hint of pride in voice, easing the champion's worries. "But it's still a private matter."

"Yeah…" Ruby agreed, then suddenly she felt her leg vibrate.

"Oooh~, did you break someone's legs?" Nora asked. If her friends and team didn't understand the type of person Nora was, they would have questioned why she said that with slight enthusiasm.

"It's better not to talk about it now, Nora," said Ren, who understood her the most out of everyone present.

Ruby checked her left pocket to see a message sent to her scroll, a tablet with a holographic touchscreen. The device was very versatile, serving as a cellphone, camera, video streaming, they were even connected to each students' rocket propelled locker. When she checked who sent her a message, her eyes widened slightly.

Yang took notice of that. "Whatcha got there, Rubes? A secret admirer~?" she asked cheekily with a sly grin.

"It's from Professor Ozpin," Ruby answered, catching everyone's attention.

"Headmaster Ozpin? What is he –" *buzz* Weiss was about to ask, but felt her own scroll buzz. The rest of team RWBY's and team JNPR's scrolls followed suit. Each of them received a message from the same academy's headmaster.

To make things clear, these weren't personal messages to each of the first year huntsmen and huntresses, and Ozpin usually never did send such things. It was required for the students of Beacon to have the headmaster's and other teachers' contacts in their scrolls. This way students could receive news regarding the academy, like mission dates, fieldtrip dates, updates on class schedules, anything of that manner.

The message sent to our protagonists read:

Team RWBY (JNPR),

I hope all of your evenings have been well and have learned something from your classes today. I am contacting your team and team JNPR (RWBY) to inform you all of an important date. In two days from now, your teams will participate in a joint-team overnight mission outside of Vale. What the mission is and why two teams are required for this mission, I will explain later, but then again, why question going on a mission with your friends from another team? Aside from that, report to my office on the morning of the mission day, before 8AM.

Best of luck to you all,

Ozpin

Ruby's energy was starting to build up from excitement. A team mission in two days! No, a joint-team mission! With JNPR!

"Guys! We got a mission together!" Ruby shouted in pure excitement.

"I-I know… wow!" Jaune responded in shock from reading the message.

Yang pumped her fist in the air, shouting "Nice!", excited to have another adventure. Pyrrha was elated to have a mission with her friends, donning a large and kind smile on her face. Weiss smirked, believing this couldn't be a better opportunity to sharpen her skills, especially in front of team JNPR. Nora was staring in awe at the message with comically wide eyes, and Ren was simply happy to share a mission with another team, giving a small smile. Blake…

She was oddly quiet. In fact, she was quiet during the entire conversation, much more than usual. She would have at least said one thing during the whole time, usually, but not today. What was on her mind? Seeing that Blake was the only one not giving a response, her teammates and JNPR turned to see what exactly she was doing – nothing. Just staring down at the food on her plate, hardly touched. Her eyes were slightly puffy, but still looked well besides staring.

Yang, being the closest to her, attempted to get her attention. "Uh… Blake? You okay?"

Seeing that it got her out of her thoughts, it worked. "H-huh? Sorry, just thinking to myself… what were we talking about?"

Ruby immediately got into Blake's personal space and explained everything, in her own excited and hyper way, "BlakeweandJNPRgotamissiontogetherintwodaysit'sgoingtobeawesome!"

"…uh~…"

"Our team and Jaune's are scheduled for a joint-team mission in two days." Weiss explained, knowing that Blake didn't understand what Ruby said so hastily.

"Oh! Um… that's nice… I can't wait?" Blake said haphazardly. Before anything else could be said, the bell rang, signaling the end of dinner.

"Well, I guess that's all that can be said on the matter then. I hope to see you all then." Pyrrha noted, starting to get up from her seat.

"Yeah! See you guys tomorrow, too!" Ruby replied.

Both teams were getting ready to leave the dining hall, disposing their food trays, and heading for their respective dorms. . Before she went to sleep, having forgotten about the extra credit work at the moment, Ruby had one more thought about the mission in two days. "This is going to be so much fun! And we'll get to spend time with Jaune's team! I'll make sure to not forget about this!"

"I can't believe I forgot about this!"

As the flashback had finally ended, Ruby gasped and looked to her teammates in shock. She forgot about the joint-team mission! Dang it! If only she didn't have to rewrite her paper the past two days, she would have remembered!

"Well? Do you remember now?" Weiss asked, seeing Ruby's change in expression.

"I do! Oh my gosh I do! Today's the mission with –!"

*Knock* *knock* "Hello? You girls ready yet?"

Hearing the interruption, Yang went to open the door. It was Jaune, himself and his team behind him ready to head for the mission.

Jaune spoke again, "Hey! …uh, none of you forgot about today, did ya? Heh," adding a nervous chuckle.

"Oh of course not, vomit boy! Ruby just overslept, that's all." Yang explained. Adding the 'vomit boy' comment irked Jaune slightly, reminding him of her and Ruby's embarrassing first impression of him.

Putting that feeling aside though, Jaune focused on the current situation. "Okay, but hurry up! It's almost 8 o'clock," he responded.

…

Now that Ruby noticed it, everyone around her were wearing their school uniforms – Jaune and Ren in a black suit, blue vests, white shirts and red ties. The rest of the girls were wearing brown jackets, plaid skirts, black stockings (optional), brown vests, white shirts and red ribbons. She was just in her… pajamas.

Realizing how she had limited time, Ruby immediately pushed Blake, Weiss, and Yang out of the room.

"I GOTTA CHANGE! I'LL BE QUICK! NEED PRIVACY!"

She slammed the door shut and locked it after explaining her actions brokenly, everyone staring at the door in slight bewilderment.

Ruby wasn't lying when she said that she would finish quickly, but she did take enough time for them to leave later than they wanted to. Running as fast as they could in the school's hallways and between different campus buildings, the two first-year teams rushed to where Ozpin's office was – the Beacon clock tower. The academy's signature piece of architecture, the headmaster's working quarters was located under a unique clockwork system within the tower, visible through the office's glass ceiling.

Entering the base of the building, teams RWBY and JNPR reached the tower's elevator, the best way to reach the professor's office. They entered into the available compartment, Ruby pressed the button leading to the floor where their destination was, and the elevator's doors closed. The first years checked the elevator's installed clock, and they sighed in slight relief – 7:51am.

"Heh-heh, we made it! Right guys?" Ruby asked with a giggle as the elevator started going up.

"Hmph! We wouldn't be arriving at this hour if you didn't sleep for so long!" Weiss scolded. Reminded of her mistake, the red clad girl looked down to the floor and whimpered quietly. Her partner wasn't finished speaking though, "and why exactly did you enforce your need of privacy to change? You realize myself, Blake, and especially Yang are of the same gender and we sleep in the same room, right?"

"Huh, I was kinda wonderin' that myself," Yang added, realizing that Weiss brought up a good point. She and Ruby were sisters –well, half– and they lived together for the majority of their lives. What made her self-conscious now?

Seeing that everyone was looking at her curiously, the young leader felt uneasy as everyone gazed at her and waited for a response, a single drop of sweat running down her face. After what felt like a full minute, but may have only been a few seconds, she came up with an answer, "Um… heat of the moment? I don't really say or do anything sensible when I'm under pressure… or overly excited… or anything else like that…"

…

"I can understand that," said Jaune.

"That is kind of a thing with you," Yang admitted.

Weiss just rolled her eyes and brought her attention to the elevator door in front of her, waiting for it to open, and everyone else just kept to themselves. Ruby sighed in relief, seeing that the spectacle she made of herself was put aside for good.

After a dinging noise was heard, the elevator's doors finally opened to reveal their destination. The room was wide and rather spacious for a personal office, large windows that gave a large view of the world beneath them, and a glass ceiling that revealed tower's inner gear workings. Between the window, there was the back of the tower's large clock, half of the face visible, and a desk in front of it. Behind the desk, however, was Beacon academy's most prominent figures: Professor Ozpin, the rather mysterious headmaster of Beacon seated behind his desk, and his assistant, the notorious Professor Glynda Goodwitch standing next to him to his left.

The aged headmaster was an enigma to his students. Hardly anything was known about him, even though he is an experienced huntsman. However, he has shown himself to be stoic, indifferent, and gave counsel to most who met, though others say to have seen a kind and even humble side of him. Wherever people would see him, he always carried his coffee mug or his custom cane. His tussled hair closely resembles the color of pure silver, though his eyebrows were a contrasting black, and his eyes a thin brown color. His attire persisted of dark pants, black shoes, a matching suit over a buttoned vest and green shirt, and a thick cowl around his neck with a cross like pin on the center. He also wore small dark spectacles.

Goodwitch was the academy's professor who overlooked the students' sparring sessions. She was infamous for her harsh but solid criticism and her cold attitude towards any kind of misconduct on campus grounds or anywhere in general. She was basically the stereotype of a high school or college teacher, only more menacing with the riding crop she wielded. Though she never kept this personality up all the time, having shown weariness and even compassion before… she was human after all.

Her eyes consist of a bright green color, her light blonde hair tied in a bun with a lock of curled hair hanging down the right side of her face. She wears a white pleaded top with pleated wrists and keyhole that showed the top of her chest. Her shirt ended at her lower body, where a dark, high-waist pencil skirt with bronze buttons was worn. She wore dark brown stockings and knee high boots with brown heels. She also had a cape, purple inside and black out, with bronze diamond beads sown into it and aligned horizontally. The cape was stylized to end in what seemed like arrows and flames. Finally, she wore teal earrings and a similar teal collar pendant, and clear ovular glasses.

Ozpin was the first to greet them with a small smile on his face, apparently being glad to see them. "Good morning, teams."

"Morning Professor!" said Ruby in a cheerful tone.

"It is eight minutes before 8am," Professor Goodwitch stated in a matter-of-fact tone, emanating a hint of disappointment. "It would have been more proper and easier if all of you arrived earlier."

"Our apologies Professor," Weiss began, "but our team leader had slept longer then she should have." The tone of her voice gave a hint of irritation while giving the professors their excuse

"Eh-heh… Sorry" Ruby apologized, using her hand to rub the back of her head and having a nervous smile.

"…I see," the combat professor simply acknowledged, blankly staring at them.

"Aside from your delays, I'm glad you all could make it." Ozpin interjected. Ture, they should have arrived earlier so that he could have more time to explain the mission, but it was nothing he could control. Standing up from his seat, Ozpin plugged a device into a port in his desk, and almost immediately a holographic screen sprouted in the center of the room.

"As you already know, your teams are participating in a joint-team mission. A rare opportunity for each of you," he reiterated as he was walking closer to the screen, the eight students quietly containing their excitement for the assignment. "However, the reason why two teams are necessary is because of the grand scale of this mission, and I mean that quite figuratively and literally."

The hunters-in-training had different reactions, slightly gasping at what the headmaster was saying or raising an eyebrow in curiosity, trying to comprehend his meanings. Suddenly, with a flick of Ozpin's wrist, an image appeared on the large holograph-screen. It was a map of their world, Remnant, clearly presenting the planet's continents and islands. The students recognized where the kingdoms were located – Vale and Vacuo are established on Sanus, Mistral thrives in Anima, and Atlas operates in Solitas. Ruby and Yang even saw their home of the island Patch, despite its incredibly small scale to the other locations.

Yet, there was one landmass on Remnant that was not occupied by a kingdom. It wasn't even classified with an official name. In the top left corner of the holograph-screen's map, west of where Atlas is located, a large island–continent stands out. Judging from the details that portrayed each continent's environment, the southern half of the landmass has a forest, indicated by green coloration, the center covered in brown, perhaps portraying a field of soil or something similar, while the far north was covered in pure black, representing the land's unexplored area. The strangest aspect of the land was its shape, which almost perfectly resembled a winged dragon.

"It is here that your mission will take place," Ozpin instructed, pointing his cane to the mysterious continent.

This continent was unofficially and popularly called the "Land of the Western Dragon," or simply "West Dragon*," in contrast to Anima, as a part of it is shaped like a wingless and more serpentine dragon. As such, it is nicknamed "Land of the Eastern Dragon," or "East Dragon." The "dragons" of each continent also came to represent something – East Dragon representing safety, culture, and knowledge, while West Dragon represented the opposite: danger and mystery.

There is a simple reason why West Dragon has not been colonized by civilization: the creatures of Grimm. The continent is known to have one of in not the largest populations of all Grimm kind. This was known without actually setting foot there, because many attempts by settlers and explorers were foiled by the soulless beasts, all of them having never returned from their voyage and ultimately hindering the kingdoms from expanding there. No recordings of their escapades have never been found. The Land of the Western Dragon has been left as a place of mystery to this day.

The creatures of Grimm were the closest to being the dominant species on Remnant, beasts that were soulless, fear and hatred incarnate. They are as dark as a person's shadow, ageless, and they crave the flesh of mankind. They're skin and fur is as black as night, and bone spikes and armor protruded from their bodies. The Grimm have lived their eternal lives for the only purpose of consuming humans and Faunus, and destroying their creations. There are thousands to millions of them, and multiple types like the feral Beowolf, the brutal Ursa, hideous Creeps, and many more that were known or yet to be discovered.

They have plagued the word of Remnant, since the beginning of mankind's upbringing. They have sought their utter destruction, raiding villages and slaughtering thousands. Some have even been powerful enough to kill off elite Huntsman. The survival of humanity and the like was evident and essential, and that was what these students were here for. They entered Beacon to train, reach their physical peak, master their skill, develop their semblances, and slay the Grimm! They aim to be huntsmen and huntresses of the next generation, to give their aid in the war against the darkness.

This was what the hunters were praised and admired for, protecting the masses from the clutches of the Grimm. It was the obvious setup of heroes versus monsters: The Huntsmen and Huntresses were the heroes of Remnant… and the Grimm were the monsters. That was how it was and always had been.

"The 'West Dragon' continent?" Weiss donned a look skepticism, something she was infamous for, after hearing her mission's location. "Pardon my questioning Professors, but wouldn't this place be more suitable in a mission for upperclassmen or a high ranking huntsman or huntress? There is a massive Grimm-infestation there, correct?"

"That may no longer be a problem, Ms. Schnee," answered Professor Goodwitch, which slightly shocked the eight students. "We, the council of Vale, and the other leaders of the world have been monitoring the continent for a long time now and, strangely, we noticed that the infestation had been dwindling, slowly but surely." As she explained, Goodwitch pushed her glasses up with two fingers.

"Oh, and in relation to upperclassmen and high ranked hunters," she continued. "I'm afraid that neither were available for taking this mission. A rather inconvenient coincidence of timing. In fact, because of this timing, though I don't if this will please any of you or not, you eight will not have a supervising huntsman for the mission."

Now that was a surprise. As freshman, it was mandatory to be accompanied by a huntsman of senior ranking on their missions until their sophomore year. But with the knowledge that they have not been given no such supervision for this mission, would it be safe for them to even participate in it? That was what the students were thinking. "Professors, doesn't it seem unwise to send us, who are freshman, to an untamed continent without proper supervision?" Ren questioned.

"Well, even with the accounting of the lowering number of Grimm, I have considered the chances of other dangers, which are actually low, surprisingly." Ozpin explained. "However, another problematic aspect of the mission is the time needed to complete it, which is rather short. None of our staff or hunters we're in contact with could not find an open space in their schedule for this mission. So yes, the unconventionality of this mission could be considered unwise but at the same time, it is considered a legal mission with the low risk of hazards and the urgency of its completion."

The students looked to each other in question, perhaps looking for another opinion from each other, but the all decided to trust in the mission's terms. "… So… the Grimm are no longer present in 'West Dragon?'" Pyrrha asked, returning to the subject of the Grimm, and still surprised by the information.

"Yes and no, I'm afraid," spoke Ozpin. "Over the time myself and others monitored the continent, the Grimm had become more widespread over the land, and later became scarce." To emphasize this, the holograph-screen zoomed onto West Dragon and depicted red dots, representing the Grimm, spreading out on the land and many of the dots blinked out as Ozpin explained. "However, we found what may be a large gathering of Grimm in one specific location of the continent." The holograph-screen then depicted the red dots clustering into a massive blood red dot, pinpointed between the green and black coloration of the land met, leaning more to the green.

The students gazed at the holograph-screen's imagery. Never have they seen such an organization of the Grimm by that scale. Yes, they fought large hordes of Grimm, but this appeared to be greater number then they have faced. The eeriest part was that the map did not show to scale or indicate a specific number, so they didn't know how large this horde could be.

"Woah…" Ruby exclaimed.

"Dang… didn't know these guys could make such a huge party," Yang noted. "Hey Professors, just out of curiosity, how long has this been happenin'? A month?"

"Much longer than that, actually," the headmaster answered.

"Um, two months?" she asked again.

"Longer," he deadpanned.

"Three? Four? C'mon, gimme a hint–"

"This strange behavior has occurred only in 'West Dragon' over the past ten years, Ms. Xiao Long," Glynda interrupted with the correct, and shocking, answer.

The past ten years? What was so interesting for the Grimm to stay in the exact spot, and slightly regrow in number, for about ten years? The Grimm were a tenacious species, usually stopping at nothing to consume their prey and many of them are fiercely territorial. Even so, it was known that the Grimm do not stay in one place. They may stay longer due to increases of negativity in the area but they would always move to find somewhere with more prominence in negative activity. It's what they truly fed off of.

"…Oh…" the answer quickly made Yang at a loss for words.

"The past ten years? What is possibly so interesting for the Grimm to congregate there for that long?" Weiss asked, disbelievingly.

"We're not sure Ms. Schnee, but despite this gathering of the Grimm in 'West Dragon,' I believe that the threat of Grimm is low because they do not cover the entire continent anymore. The mission your teams are assigned is to explore the continent, a mere search operation. If you do not go too far into its forests, I'm certain that you will be at a safe distance from the Grimm." He assured, despite adding the passive warning.

The revelation of their mission's objective underwhelmed the students, slightly. An exploration mission? In a land formerly inhabited by the Grimm, no less? Despite the implication that they might not experience too much adventure, it was still a mission, and the young hunters accepted. At least they still have the chance to socialize.

"A search operation? For what, exactly?" asked Jaune.

"Dust." Ozpin answered, "Now that the continent has seemingly become safer, 'West Dragon' can now be explored and surveyed so that future settlements can be established there, but with great caution of course. There is also the chance to discover new sources of unmined dust. Your objective is to discover as many dust mines possible, map out their locations on the continent, and report your discoveries to me once you return."

The students looked to each other, as if briefly and quietly debating their own opinions on the mission. Again, with the supposed lacking of Grimm and the simplicity of the assignment, they might not experience much adventure with this mission. Still, Dust is a very important part of the society of Remnant.

The crystalline material has many properties and uses, such as being the main fuel source for vehicles, powering up buildings, and enhancing weapons or one's own physical abilities. Dust has many elemental variants like fire or air and, most importantly, it is the backbone of humanity's survival and war against the Grimm. Since they had an opportunity to attain even more Dust, teams RWBY and JNPR were more than willing to take this mission.

Then again… there is an industry that is much more associated with such work…

"Professors," spoke Blake, the first thing she said since entering the headmaster's office, "I don't want to put the logic of this mission into question, but wouldn't the Schnee Dust Company be more adept for this operation? Dust-mining is their specialty." She said the last part with a hint of cynicism. Weiss looked to Blake in surprise for bringing up her family's company, having brought up such a good point but also because she still thought ill of it.

The Schnee Dust Company, since it was overseen by its current chairman had become notorious for taking itself into a moral grey area. In summary, the Schnee Dust Company is Remnant's most powerful distributor of Dust, and Weiss is its heiress. The SDC had a stronghold over the market for Dust, supplying everything to shops to selling the material, or take over stores and sell it themselves. The current chairman, her father Jacques Schnee, who preferred to be addressed by his family's personal title of lordship, Herr Schnee**, was considered the worst leader of the SDC in history.

He had plunged the company into an unethical state, being involved in shady experiments with the almighty Atlas military, hiring criminals and bounty hunters for certain jobs, and, the cruelest of all, the company's Faunus employees have been subjected to unfair working conditions which still worsen gradually. The company's recent and growing mistreatment of her kind had earned all of Blake's ire. Weiss hadn't understood this fact at first, having felt disdain towards the species thanks to the White Fang. Thankfully, she had learned better from an experience that was new to her; the experience of having a Faunus as a teammate and friend.

"Ah yes, the Schnee Dust Company," Ozpin began, but he hesitated before speaking again, "…it's feels rather odd to say this, but the SDC's chairman himself took part in organizing this mission."

The moment he revealed the chairman's involvement, the students gawked with open mouths and wide eyes. Well, most of them; Blake narrowed her eyes in suspicion, Pyrrha raised her right eyebrow inquisitively, and Ren was the only one keeping a neutral, save for his eyes widening only slightly.

The one who definitely took this harder than everyone else was Weiss, the second daughter to the chairman and his heir. Her greatest, and secret, reason for attending Beacon was to distance herself from her father and the company's shady practices. Now, it seems that her father is deeper involved with her life than she thought.

"M-my… my father set this up?!" she exclaimed. The headmaster nodded his head positively to her, but she felt the need to further inquire, "Why?!"

Ozpin took a moment before answering. "…Herr Scnhee has been most diligent in monitoring 'West Dragon,' hoping to find an opportunity for his company." As he explained the holo-screen changed its image entirely, swapping the map of 'West Dragon' with the logo of the Schnee Dust company, which heavily resembled a snowflake, as if it was corresponding with what Ozpin was saying. "His reasons for not doing this himself are… convoluted, to put it in simpler terms, but I am sure he is merely being cautious."

"Or rather, he is attempting to excuse himself from a ridiculous case of indolence." Glynda spoke in a distasteful tone. Apparently, she did not approve of the SDC chairman's choice of not investigating West Dragon himself.

"Glynda…" Ozpin cautioned, only getting a scoff from his aide. Putting her response aside, he turned his attention back to the students, who had looks of uncertainty and uneasiness.

"Please understand," the headmaster continued, acknowledging their doubts. "This mission is not entirely his doing. He had proposed this mission to me, but it would not have gone through if I had decided against it. And the only absolute benefit he will get from this is that I will share your mission reports with him, so he can organize his work force for mining there. I have faith in each of you to complete this mission without much harm. If I didn't, this meeting wouldn't even happen."

Given that West Dragon is a long distance from Vale's own continent overseas, and there is still a strange and large gathering of the Grimm there but he always has faith in his students. He has witnessed all of the students' combat skills during their initiations, especially teams RWBY and JNPR. The students still sported their qualms towards this, but they showed some appreciation for their headmaster's faith in them.

Weiss mentally judged whether she should protest or not. Her father basically had no regards for his children, considering herself and her sister more like property. Heck, he even placed her in a match against a giant, living suit of armor – which was claimed to be controlled by a "Possession-type" Grimm known as a Geist – to prove to him that she should go to Beacon! Now, he was trying to take advantage of her title as heiress during her time in Beacon. The nerve!

…Then again, all he did was just bring this to Ozpin's attention recently… and the headmaster still had control over this mission. It all just felt too… traitorous. He promised not to involve himself in her studies since she proved to him that she was dead-set on attending Beacon, so why was he going back on his own word? Was the company that much more important to him than his own daughter?

Deciding her pondering was pointless, Weiss put aside her inner turmoil for the time being. "…Oh, alright." She accepted the mission begrudgingly.

"Well… at least it's an official mission, right guys?" Ruby hopefully asked her teammates, though she herself was unsure of that. Weiss merely huffed, Yang shrugged her shoulders, and Blake just blinked at her leader with a deadpan stare. The members of JNPR could only give similar responses.

"It is as official as it can be," Glynda answered. "Now then, the mission is going to be long, up to three days, counting today." The students groaned. They had to search a continent for raw Dust, for three whole days? This started to sound more boring by the second…

"Do not complain," she sternly warned. "Once your three days are completed and you return, you all will report your findings to Professor Ozpin and myself. Return to your dorms, attain your weapons, don your combat gear, and pack the necessary supplies for staying out in the wild. Once you have prepared yourselves, move to the landing platforms at the Cliffside immediately, a Bullhead will be waiting for you. You are all dismissed."

The students looked at each other one last time before they turned to leave. Once they entered the elevator and disappeared from the Professors' sight, Glynda released a sigh and decided to speak what was on her mind. "I still think he's being selfish about this."

"Glynda…" Ozpin started to converse with her. "I know he is only reserving his resources out of his personal preference but I am sure that he does not want to lose his daughter."

"The man proposed that Weiss take this mission on by herself." She retorted, "even if the Grimm population in 'West Dragon' has diminished to a simple gathering there, it is still very much a high-risk mission!"

"True, but Mr. Schnee does not know of her team's strength, and had made that suggestion because of his doubt in team RWBY. The same could be said for JNPR." The headmaster explained. Ozpin returned to his chair behind the desk and unplugged the flash drive, deactivating the holograph-screen. "I however, as I said earlier, have faith in our students."

He ended the argument on the Schnee patriarch's moral by taking a sip of coffee from his ever-present mug. Glynda stared at him owlishly before speaking again, "Was it wise?"

"Hmm?"

"Was it wise not telling the students everything?" she clarified. "We didn't explain how we exactly monitored 'West Dragon' and we didn't assign them a supervisor for the mission, though I'm surprised that the students did not ask for such, and we didn't tell them… what else we found."

"…" Ozpin was silent when she brought that up. While the SDC's chairman found the dust, the headmaster himself discovered something strange. He couldn't tell if the reports contained false information and he wasn't sure if the digital images were a glitch. Yet, whenever he reviewed the images and reports again, he can't help but question the meaning behind it. Because of his insecurity with this, the only one he trusted this information with was Glynda. Having been reminded about it, he activated the desk's personal holograph-screen, acting as a computer, and with his finger touched a file on the screen, opening its contents.

"…Perhaps it was… or it was not…" he answered slowly. "…whatever this is, maybe those eight can shed some light on it… if they happen to find it." As he stared at the files mysterious content, Glynda walked to see the it as well. When she first saw it she was disbelieving and still is, but she couldn't deny that the report existed for a reason.

What they discovered… was aura. Through their anonymous method of monitoring of West Dragon, the professors could detect aura, meaning that there were possibly people in the wild continent. The aura was indicated by a large white circle. However, this finding was peculiar and frightening. It was peculiar for its large size and frightened them because it was the same size as the indication of the Grimm gathering… and they shared the same location on the continent…

Author's Note, 11/19/16:

Oh boy, where do I start. So… hello world! I am a young man who aspires to be a great artist, and writing happens to be, what I consider, an art. Probably one of my best areas of art. Then, I came upon reading fanfiction from this and other websites. After a couple years or so, I decided to start writing up my own work! … Which took me this whole year… to write one chapter… for a rather unconventional fanfic… man, I'm slow.

The Reason I went with this idea, which is honestly one of my favorite ideas (not surprised no one came up with it first though), is because my fanfics are kind of artistic experiments where I make characters face certain themes that can change their lives, negatively or positively. This fanfic in experimenting with how the certain teachings of a society are changed by the revelation of new information and what could happen to the society afterwards. I delve into what represents what in the future.

Here's a couple of things about this chapter:

*Thought I'd use the unnamed continent for the setting and give it a minor background. Might cause some confliction, if the name is at all revealed or if it is where Salem is hiding in Volume 4 (I personally don't think she is, but I could be wrong)

**I know very well that no German words exist in Remnant's language, but I'm using this because I like the sound of "Herr Schnee," it kind of has a ring to it.

Anyway, that's all I got. Chapter 2 might be posted soon, I dunno. If you can or if you want, leave a review, whether it is a compliment or positive criticism. No hate will be tolerated. Laters!