Author's Note: Welcome to my first fanfiction! I'm Mikainox, and I hope you all enjoy it. Since it's my first fanfic and more so the first chapter, it may not be as good as some others. Also it's a bit lengthy, and I probably will end up shortening subsequent chapters. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you all have some fun with this. Please note that this will have no shipping of official characters outside of established relationships like married couples or parents like Ruby's. I also would appreciate any and all forms of review and constructive criticism, as I know this isn't the best thing in the world, and I want to improve my work. Without further ado, read on.

Twilight ARTS of Beacon

Chapter 1: "Exam, Entrances, and Encounters"

Heroes. Villains. Light. Darkness. Good. Evil. Mankind is fond of focusing on the antipodal aspects of their own being, all too easily forgetting that these aspects are but portions of themselves, with every person containing some of each. For in every person there is both good and evil, and life is not always so clear cut as to reveal which aspect controls a person.

The day is overcast and chilly, the season having turned more towards winter. A few wisps of fog are floating about on the grounds of the prestigious and honored Beacon Hunting Academy. Most of the students are still in their dorms at this time of the morning, but there are still quite a few people loitering about in the main auditorium. These people are waiting for the famous headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, to come and inform them of their objectives in the rigorous transfer exam.

Off to the side of the massive auditorium, three young adults are conversing. One of them is a young girl on the shorter side with silver eyes, red hair so dark it's almost black, wearing a red and black combat skirt with a corset and a red hood, as well as boots. On her waist is a folded up weapon. Next to her is a tall young man with blue eyes, blonde hair, wearing jeans and an orange and black hooded sweatshirt, as well as gloves, sneakers, and a metal breastplate. On his waist is a sheathed sword. The two of them are animatedly talking to another young man, who is slightly shorter than the other boy, wearing black combat pants, black combat boots, an iron grey t-shirt, and a black vest that has multiple pockets and a high collar. He also wears a black and grey knit hat that completely covers his hair and he also has on dark sunglasses completely obscuring his eyes. His skin is a light white. On his wrists and forearms are a pair of chains wrapped multiple times around. The links are all different colors, in a varying pattern.

The girl says to the second young man, "I can't wait for you to finish this silly test. You'll probably breeze right through it, especially with your weapon. After all, I was the one who helped you make it. And I know my weapons, after all, just look at my sweetheart. " She says this while cuddling cutely with her high-caliber sniper scythe, some other people around them off-put by her affections for the scary weapon. The girl then turns to the sweatshirt wearing young man and with an adorable smile says, "Right Jaune?"

"Now Ruby, it's not all about the weapon, I mean, I just have this hand-me-down sword and shield," brushing his hand over the weapon in question before going on, "and I passed the entrance exam despite my, uh, shortcomings. So there's no need for him to worry at all if someone like me was able to get into Beacon and stay in," Jaune points out.

The other young man smiles warmly at his two friends and says, "I know, I know. I just have to pass the transfer exam and then I can officially join Beacon with you guys. I'm both excited and nervous, after all, I'm not exactly in a team with anyone. I'm also not sure anyone would want to even be in a team with me." Ruby and Jaune both look at their friend, then face each other and smile, before looking at him with huge grins on their faces and simultaneously chirping, "NOPE." Ruby then comments, "There's no way nobody would want to team up with you Art! You're a great guy, AND you've got a cool weapon," pointing at the chains on Art's arms. Jaune then pipes up, "Art, trust me, you'll be able to get in a team who'll accept you and support you for who you are. Me and Ruby both got good teammates who care about us, I'm sure it'll be the same for you. After all, it's like my mother always said, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.' My mom is almost always right you know."

Art gave them a conflicted smile, he loved his friends Ruby and Jaune dearly, but he wasn't sure if he could believe them, after all, with what he is and what he's experienced before he met the two of them, there wasn't a lot of support for what they are saying.

At that moment a young woman makes her way over to the trio, a cheeky grin plastered over her face as she saunters up to them. The new girl quips, "If you're here for the transfer exam pal, why the dust are you so chummy with those who are clearly already students?"

The young woman has feathery hair which is white blue at the crown and on her bangs, which transitions into reddish-orange streaks towards the ends. Her hair style is a single large French braid. Her left eye is a warm orange, while her right eye is an icy blue. Her skin is tanned deeply. She is wearing blue denim short-shorts with white ice crystal designs, with an orange and red flame-patterned tank top and suspenders as well as red and blue fingerless gloves. She also wears a sleeveless whitish-blue vest. She has dangle earrings set with small rubies and sapphires, and wears a silver ringlet on her right arm just below her elbow. On her head is an orange bandana, on her neck is a pair of good headphones. Her boots clearly were her weapons, being sturdy with metal plating covering the heels and capping the toes, with a firing mechanism built into the soles.

The newcomer slyly winked at Ruby and Jaune before addressing Art with confident look, "Most people who take this exam are either those who are coming from other combat academies in the other kingdoms, or those who passed muster in an interview session with a Beacon rep. Either way, it shouldn't be the case that you would already know Beacon students pal." Art silently looked back at the strange girl, an impassive mask devoid of emotion on his face. "So you aren't gonna play the easy way, huh handsome? Gonna make a poor, beautiful girl tackle the first intro huh? Too cool for that? You're gonna freeze my heart with how cool your actin'." The girl teased, slipping in a pun. "That's cool with me, guess I hafta intro first," the girl took a breath and said, "Well the name is Feuer Raureif. What's the monikers you all go by? I'm guessing crimson, soldier boy, and dark downer. Heh."

Ruby smiled, "Hello Feuer, I'm Ruby Rose, nice to meet you. Your shoes look awesome, is that dust forged? What kind of rounds do they shoot? I think the wedging on the heel was a good idea, it transmits more force that way. …" Ruby continued to babble on and on about Feuer's boots. Feuer laughed and Jaune and Art smiled at the redhead's antics. Jaune cleared his throat, stopping Ruby's monologue, and grinned at Feuer, "The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!" Feuer simply smirked and raised an eyebrow, and looked at Jaune until he said, "Well at least I hope they will." Feuer then expectantly looked at Art until he sighed, "You're going to stay here until I give you my name aren't you?" Feuer giggled, "You know it Handsome!" Ruby and Jaune gave silent looks of encouragement, motioning to Art for him to do it, he heaved another sigh, "Artorius Scheherazade. My friends call me Art. As Ruby's sister Yang put it, 'No way am I calling you Artorius every single time, that's waaay too much of a mouthful. From here on out, we're gonna call you Art. After all, you're always working on yours." Feuer smiled, "Sounds like Yang and I would get on famously. But you work on art huh?" She ignored the sudden warning looks Ruby and Jaune sent her while shaking their heads, "What kind of art do you do? I personally am a music lover." Artorius's demeanor drastically and suddenly changed, no longer feeling cold and distant, he proudly drew up his chest and declared, "Why, I work on the greatest kind of art in the world, scrimshaw! Noble craft it is." Feuer looked puzzled. "Scrimshaw? What on Remnant is that?" she queried. Artorius was aghast, "You don't know what scrimshaw is? Well allow me to enlighten you…."

At that moment, Professor Glynda Goodwitch spoke into the microphone on the auditorium's stage. "Would all examinees please gather in front of the stage and pay attention to Headmaster Ozpin. He will speak to all of you as to the structure of the exam and where it will take place. Thank you."

Artorius glumly sighed as his lecture had been cut off before it had truly begun. Ruby and Jaune breathed out in relief, as they knew that had Artorius been allowed to continue, he would have gone on for hours, as he is like Ruby is with weapons. Feuer grinned at Artorius and hooked her arm in his, to his discomfort, and led him over to the growing crowd in front of the stage.

"Come on Handsome, we need to be over there. Later Ruby, Jaune. Stay jiving!" Feuer shouted at the two.

"Let go of my arm, I can walk on my own." Artorius complained.

"Nuh-uh pal, if I did that you'd go to a different area than me." Feuer asserted.

Artorius planted his feet, stopping Feuer in her tracks, and turned to face Ruby and Jaune, a serious look on his face. "Ruby. Jaune. I promise that I'll pass this exam and then we can truly be together at this school. Wait for me."

Ruby and Jaune smiled at Artorius. "We'll be waiting for you and your team Art!" Ruby said, beaming. "I'll get Ren to make you a huge stack of his chocolate chip pancakes for you after you pass." Jaune said, a huge smile plastered across his lips.

"Just make sure Nora doesn't eat them, you know how she gets with Ren's pancakes." Artorius said, grinning.

Feuer was smiling now as well, she looked at Artorius and said, "You have great friends, Artorius." "I sure do." Artorius replied, as the continued to walk towards the crowd of fellow examinees.

Watching the pair, Ruby and Jaune looked at each other before heading back to their dorms. "I'm glad Art was able to make a new friend so quickly." Jaune said to Ruby. "She seemed great, though her puns remind me a little too much of Yang. 'freeze' 'cool' that was bad." Ruby replied with a small frown on her face. Jaune grimaced, "Tell me about it."

As Artorius and Feuer mingled in with the other examinees, Beacon's illustrious headmaster stood in front of the microphone, looking for all Remnant the sagely master huntsman he was.

The crowd started to hush as Glynda Goodwitch looked out at the crowd, a stern and intimidating look on her gorgeous face.

Glynda Goodwitch declared loudly, "Now if the chatter would stop, Headmaster Ozpin is ready to begin."

"Thank you Miss Goodwitch. Welcome young aspiring hunters, to Beacon's Transfer and Unique Circumstances Exam."

Feuer was confused at that, she thought that it was a transfer exam, so what was the deal with the 'Unique Circumstances' part. She snuck a glance at Artorius, he was as stoic as ever, and seemed unsurprised at the reveal.

Ozpin continued, "It's also called TUC for short, as I am sure you all are loathe to spend unnecessary effort in speaking long words. The young do love their acronyms, as do I. Beacon is one of the four greatest Huntsman academies in Remnant, and as such our TUC exam is no simple task. The exam will take place in the Shadewood." Many gasped at that, as the Shadewood is one of the most dangerous places in the portion of the continent that Vale is in, positively teeming with Grimm of both the common and even the rare kinds. Even Huntsman hesitate to enter the place with how dangerous it is.

Feuer and Artorius weren't particularly surprised, in fact this sort of thing was to be expected, as they were trying to enter the academy months after the semester had started. Several others seemed unsurprised as well.

Ozpin went on, "In the Shadewood is a shrine, at that shrine I have placed several relics, you will pass the exam only if you and your partner have a relic in your possession after surviving in the Shadewood for two days, after which you will make your way to the boulder shaped like an Ursa at the entrance of the Shadewood to be picked up by us. Remember to destroy everything in your way, or you will die for certain."

"We will now pass around a card to each person taking this exam. On this card is a number, a letter, and a color. You must find the person among your fellow examinees who has the same three traits to determine who your partner will be for the exam and the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin described.

As cards were handed out, Artorius and Feuer discussed what Ozpin had been saying.

"I'm curious as to what the relics are. I hope they're something awesome." Feuer said energetically.

"I don't know. But based on what Ruby and Jaune told me….. Probably something like chess pieces…." Artorius mused.

"Chess pieces huh? Bet those were the relics in your friends' entrance exam, 'ey Handsome?" Feuer asserted confidently.

"Yeah, that's correct." Artorius admitted.

At that point the cards reached the two. Artorius grabbed a card from the middle of the stack, while Feuer snatched one from the bottom.

"I got 4, X, Green. What did you get pal?" Feuer queried.

Artorius remained silent for a few moments before responding.

"Same here."

"Alright! We're partners! This is gonna be sweet!" Feuer cheered, pumping her fists up and down in excitement.

Artorius was more subdued about this, "I suppose as far as partners go, I could do a lot worse than you Feuer."

Feuer grinned at Artorius, "Well partner, I feel as though we will do epic things together. Wouldn't you say Handsome?"

Artorius gave her a small smile, "As long as you don't call me that anymore, I think we might be able to get along great. Seriously though, call me Art."

"Well then Art, let's do this thing."

Ozpin cleared his throat, and drew the examinees' attention back to himself.

"Now that the partners have been determined, the exam will begin at seven thirty in the evening. You will be dropped off in the Shadewood by dustplane. Any questions?" Ozpin concluded, taking a sip from his mug.

Artorius suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Scheherazade?"

"Exactly how will we be dropped off from the dustplanes?" Artorius nervously queried, remembering the stories his friends, especially Jaune, told him of their entrance exam in the Emerald forest.

Ozpin didn't say anything, remaining still for a few moments. Slowly, the ends of his mouth curved upward ever so slightly, and the Headmaster of Beacon grinned.

End of chapter note: Man Ozpin, you're a bit of a jerk! I guess I am too, considering I ended the chapter right there, *laughs*. In all seriousness though, thanks so much for reading the first chapter of my RWBY fanfiction Twilight ARTS of Beacon. I know it was a bit long, but this was a bit of a set-up chapter. Most chapters after this won't be that long. I think. Anyway, until next time! Mikainox signing off!