A single soul in an infinite pool of many can seem so insignificant, so pointless to behold. But sometimes, that single, tiny morsel can be the most important of all. Sometimes there not, that is, however, up to the one who owns it to decide.

Arc 1- Lights In the Sky

Chapter I: Just a Fragment

[Emerald Forest]

Among the wild, untamed roof of the Emerald Forest, Ruby was stomping her way through the brush as she swung her arms, mumbling to herself after another...disagreement with her partner, Weiss. Both were completely at odds with each other, and now, Ruby was doing everything in her power to avoid the Ice Queen, and rest her mind for a moment.

She kept walking, before she stopped, hearing the faint sound of growling Grimm ahead of her path. With a gleam in her eye, she smiled as she readied her weapon 'Crescent Rose' to help relieve her pent-up anger, however, when she brushed the foliage from her vision, she noticed the Grimm, and the person they surrounded.

This caused Ruby to gasp in surprise, before she feared for the person they approached with crooked fangs. The person didn't move, most likely unconscious. Taking the vanguard, Ruby burst into rose petals, before swinging her scythe around to her left, decapitated a wolf ahead of the pack, the rest soon took notice as they growled at their new target, forgetting their old prey almost immediately.

Ruby narrowed her eyes in preparation, before she ran towards the group, one pounced, but was quickly cut in two by Crescent Rose, the others both swung at her as Ruby however, so she jumped onto the spine of her scythe and propelled herself forward with a click of the trigger, impaling it on a tree, then she back-flipped, slicing the Grimm into ribbons.

Sensing the threat Ruby posed, the other turned, running back into the dark forest ahead, leaving Ruby to sigh in relief before she deactivated 'Crescent Rose' and rushed over to the boy, now that she could see what he looked like more clearly.

He wore a simple, crimson jacket, with a black shirt underneath, it matched with his black shoes and jeans. His hair was a faded black, with a faint hint of silver, the rest of it being short and messy. He did wear a dog tag around his neck, but nothing was on it, just a clean, silver surface that reflected the green light from above.

"Are you ok? Please don't be dead!" Ruby begged as she nudged him to wake up, and after a couple of shoves, he began to stir as his eyes slowly opened, revealing a set of hazel orbs that Ruby stared directly into

When he woke up, he gazed at the green ceiling above him, its glowing aura almost blinding him. But his attention was quickly shifted to the silver-eyed girl, she seemed to be concerned for him, to which he just stared at her with confusion, like he didn't belong here, he was right however, as the realization dawned on him, causing him to grunt, before trying to sit upright, but Ruby pressed her hand against him, making him slowly sit upright.

"Hey, don't get up so fast, you were just attacked by some mean looking Grimm, but...who are you?" She warned as he glanced at her and tilted his head, then his mouth opened to speak

"Wh-Where am I?" he asked, sounding lost then he looked at Ruby with a baffled expression, his eyes travelling around the forest in awe. "Same to you, who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Ruby, and right now we're in the middle of the Emerald Forest, but what happened to you? You looked like you were hurt pretty bad?" Ruby asked as he held his head, shaking it with a more clearer vision

"I honestly can't remember, I know I was walking through a forest at the time, but something felt...off, like my world began to twist, and reshape itself, then, next thing I know, I'm talking to you." He explained as Ruby smiled reassuringly

"Well I can help you, but we reeeeally need to get moving, I don't know if there are anymore Grimm in the area." Ruby insisted as he slowly got to his feet, dusting himself of, before carefully sticking to Ruby's side

"Why's that?" He asked as the sound of rustling leaves came from behind them, causing the two to jump back, watching the leaves rustle even more at the entity's approach. "I'm guess that there's more?"

Before Ruby could answer, a girl wearing pure white clothing appeared, but her face showed no kindness, unlike the guy's first encounter. The girl glared daggers at Ruby as she groaned, the guy just blinked, trying to grab his bearings, and possibly make sense of his dilemma

"You! Why would you just leave me behind!? Don't you know how hard it is to find the temple without you wandering off!?" She snapped as Ruby's eye twitched, her hand tapping her scythe delicately

"Atleast I'm helping! Instead of prancing around, acting like I know where I'm going!?" Ruby countered as the girl was about to blow a fuse until the guy stepped in front of them, his priorities straitening up in his head

"Hey! I don't know if you two notice, but I kind of want to live! So how about we just stay calm and figure out what we're going to do? That and I really shouldn't be the one saying that." He spoke calmly as the snobby girl spoke up

"And just who are you!? I didn't see you at the beginning of this test?" She asked as the boy sighed and rubbed his temples, his migraine beginning to fade a little

"Right now, I wished those creatures just killed me, and besides, I don't have the right mind-state to be given 20 questions." He groaned as Ruby butted in

"I found him surrounded by Grimm, but when he woke up he said he didn't remember how he got here," Ruby explained as the boy nodded, then Ruby looked at him. "Do you remember your name atleast?"

Now it was his turn to think of something, he didn't have amnesia, just alot of displaced issues, but if he told them that he wasn't from here, then they might leave him, or worse. So he thought about his options, then he smiled at his idea, it was stupid, but he was being cautious, I mean, would you trust people you just met?

". . . Sky. Sky Zaffre, nice to meet you by the way, Ruby." He introduced with a small smile, before slapping himself mentally. "Seriously? I chose my Alias of all things!?"

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company!" The other girl greeted stated proudly, as Ruby rolled her eyes and Sky just stared blankly at her

"Never heard of that company." Sky answered with a 'I couldn't care less' look. But before any more ranting could be shared, Sky noticed the black feather from the corner of his eye, it was massive, and was silently drifting towards the ground. "What the...?"

When Sky decided to let the two girls continue their argument, he noticed something in the distance, it was hard to tell through the treeline, but it was slowly becoming bigger, and more bird-like. Then Sky called out.

"Girls?" No response, just idle chat. "Girls...?"

"I mean honestly, you could have atleast waited for me?" Weiss continued, as Ruby quickly retorted

"Why can't you just be a little nicer, maybe then I wouldn't ditch you!" She snapped, before pouting. "I would have done it anyways..."

"Hey girls?" At last, they both look at him, his smile quivering in fear, as his eyes glued themselves to the sky. "What's big, has a massive beak, and might as well be from a fairy tale?"

"Umm, a Phoenix?" Ruby asked, as Sky pointed towards the now blackening sky

"Oh, then I guess that's just a crow then!?" He freaked out, as both girls slowly looked up, beginning to tremble alongside Sky. "Ok, this is by far my... third worse day ever, of all time," Sky thought, his throat gulping what little pride was left in his body

"You know, scratch that, I think this is my… second worse day ever, the first would still be that day my friends and I summoned a Dyslexic demon, using a Ouiji board made from scrap, but I digress," Sky thought to himself as him, along with his two companions, Ruby and Weiss held on for dear life. "So...is this what death feels like!?"

They were currently hundreds of feet in the air, holding onto a massive bird called a 'Nethermore', the wind making their shouting almost inaudible. Sky still didn't know why he was here, and how he was going to get back to the place he came from. However it seemed rather pointless now.

"Well, sort-of!" Ruby yelled, then she smiled weakly. "What are we going to do!?"

"Why me!? I just woke up in a strange forest, and now i'm roughly 50 stories in the air! What the hell do you expect me to do!?" Sky retorted as the Nethermore continued to try and shake the passengers off, much to their fears. "Besides, what the fuck is a Nethermore doing here!? Who thought this 'test' was a great idea!? Better yet, why did I agree to jump on its back!?"

"Ruby!?" Weiss called as we both looked at her. "I told you this was a terrible idea!"

"We're fine!" She responded as Sky just prayed he make it out of this alive. "Stop worrying!"

"'Worrying' is far beyond what I would be using right now!" Sky yelled, before Weiss added alongside him

"I'm 'so' far beyond worrying!" Weiss snapped back in fear

"In a good way!?" Ruby asked positively as Sky groaned

"Oh the Gods above…" He murmured in a pray that he'd make it out of this situation alive

"In a bad way! In a very bad way!" Weiss snapped as Sky smacked his face off the Grimm's back in annoyance

"To hell with this, I'd say jump!" Sky ranted, as Ruby grinned wickedly

"Heck yeah, lets to this!?" Ruby cheered crazily, obviously annoyed by Weiss's complaining, but the look on Weiss' face was far from fear

"What are you two, Insane!?" Weiss asked, but she didn't get a response as she looked back, seeing the lack of colour on the Nethermore's back. "Oh, you insufferable little red- "

Far below the Nethermore, Sky and Ruby were both screaming for their lives, both wrapping their arms around each other in their rapid decent towards the black and yellow girls below, one pointing directly at them. So they both quickly replied in turn.

"We're going to die!?"

But their cries were silenced due to the blonde guy smashing into their flailing bodies, all three colliding with a tree to the edge of the forest clearing. Ruby was now spinning her head in confusion, Sky was hanging upside-down from a branch, as he stared down at the guy below him, groaning in pain.

"Did anyone get the number of that flying-man-pigeon?" Sky coughed, a feather flying off his head, before he blinked at the new guy. "Good day, huh?"

"Yeah." He responded in turn. "So, you new around here?"

"Pretty much, nearly got mauled by...Beowolves, followed by a near-death experience with a flying-rat." Sky answered plainly, not minding the fact that he almost turned into a pancake with a serving of roses

"Cool," He finished before quickly adding. "Jaune, by the way."

"Sky," he gestured back as they got up onto the tree, both shaking the leaves off their clothes. Then Sky's head turned to the sound of a grenade launcher, before watching in utter bafflement at the girl falling off a massive bear's back. "Um, did that girl just ride over here on a bear?"

"Ursa." Jaune corrected for Sky

"Oh, ok then mythology, what next?" Sky answered simply as he just decided to take logic and reason, tie them up, and throw them both in a closet, then he felt the tree shake, followed by Ruby wobbling towards the two of them. "I was fucking kidding!?"

From the treeline, a girl leapt into the open field, avoiding a massive, bone-like pincers by mere centimeters, before she turned to hold the massive creature back.

"Cool, giant scorpion, why not? Gods, you can smite me now if you want." Sky sighed, before he leapt off the tree, following Ruby towards the ruins

"Hey wait!" Jaune called out, but they had already left him hanging, literally

Ruby then ran up to a girl with golden hair as they smiled happily, then the girl with pink hair jumped in front of them, screaming her name, 'Nora' as they jumped back in surprise. Sky just recoiled slightly, Nora proceeding to dash off towards some other guy.

"Ruby, who's this?" The blonde girl asked as Ruby quickly introduced Sky, obviously trying to keep up with the whole string of events that have gone down

"Yang. Sky." Ruby quickly gestured. "Sky. Yang, my sister."

Sky then looked between the two, his head darting back, and forth.

"Umm...you both look nothing alike." He stated, as they nodded in unison

"We get that alot." They both stated, as Yang held her hand out. "Sup! Also...give me a minute..."

They both quickly shook hands, then they focused back on the massive Scorpion.

"Did that girl just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail by the way?" Her pointed out, then Sky noticed Yang becoming extremely hot suddenly, making him step aside a few inches

"Just, gunna back away from miss volcano…" Sky laughed hesitantly as Yang exploded. "Holy shit, she really exploded, what the hell's with this place? Its like a freaking house of horrors."

"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again!?" She yelled as nothing proceeded to happen for two seconds, other than a guy in green stumbling over as he caught his breath

"Oh no…" Sky mumbled as Ruby also felt something dawn on her as she looked up. "We may have forgotten something..."

"Umm… Yang?" Ruby hesitantly asked the angered girl, before we all looked up at the Nethermore, and its cargo

"How could you two just leave me!?" She screamed at them both

"Somehow I doubt this was our fault." Sky deadpanned, before the white dot flew off the back of the Nethermore

"She gunna fall." Blake said simply

"She'll be fine," Ruby answered calmly with a wave of her hand

"She's falling," The guy in green added as they watched Weiss descend to the earth

"It's funny how we're doing nothing to help her right now," Sky pointed out as they all nodded, then Jaune jumped from the tree, caught Weiss and then fell face first on the ground, Weiss now crushing his spine, causing Sky to wince I he imagined the X-Ray from Mortal Combat X. "Clearly the hero of our time..."

Then the roman girl tumbled in front of the group as Yang spoke up, positively annoyed by the now giant scorpion, and Nethermore Grimm that were beginning to circle them.

"Great, the gangs' all here, now we can die together!" she said sarcastically as the Deathstalker turned towards them, as Sky pointed ahead

"Which do you prefer? Torn in two, or minced by bird?"

"How about neither?" Ruby retorted cockily as she ran towards the Deathstalker, this sparked fear in Yang as she called out for her to stop, but she didn't

Sky just looked around in concern, trying to locate any type of weapon, but found none as he groaned and ran after her, of all the things he hated about himself, his nerve for helping people was always a problem.

"Why me?" Sky wondered as she shook his head clear of any doubts and chased after her, Yang then follow a few feet behind him

Their fight was short, as the Deathstalker's armour was too thick to puncture, so Ruby quickly holstered her scythe and attempted a retreat. But not before the Nethermore above fired a volley of its razor-sharp feathers towards her, one pinned her cape as Yang avoided the rest, but they cut her off quickly.

Sky wasn't so lucky, one managed to graze his side, easily making work of his clothing and waist as he yelped in pain, his side flaring with a warm liquid as it stained his clothing, but his simply grind his teeth together, before he threw himself beside Ruby, who was now trying to pull her cape free.

"Sky! I can't move!" Ruby said in worry as the Deathstalker approached, causing her frantic tugs to quicken, Sky now trying to do the same with the massive feather. "I-I don't..."

"No." Sky interrupted as he smiled at Ruby, he didn't know why, but he couldn't help but do so. "Like ive just woken up to die here, we're in this together now, you and me!"

"Well... didn't think my life would end by a giant scorpion with a scythe wielding badass," Sky added humorously, feeling very confused by the entire ordeal in general, but then again, he was about to die, so making sense of anything was out of the question

Sky continued to try and pry Ruby free, not noticing her face, now matching her clothing for a brief second. Suddenly, Sky watched as a massive shadow loomed over them both, causing him to gulp, looking back at the silver-eyed girl before him, her face filled with terror.

"This is gunna hurt," Sky grimaced as they watched the golden stinger hurdle towards them, both waiting for the end, but something wasn't right, the air was far colder now, he could feel a shiver run up his spine from the temperature change, so Sky cracked an eye open

When he looked, he sighed in relief at the sight of a now irritated Weiss, who pulled her rapier from the dirt, an ice wall now encasing the golden tail above their heads. Then she quickly switched gears, beginning to tear into Ruby

"You are so childish, and dim-witted and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style," Weiss huffed as she looked at Sky. "And you shouldn't have run in without a weapon, what were you thinking?"

"In my defence, I was making all of this up as I went along," Sky commented as Weiss just shook her head in disbelief. "Well it worked."

"By sheer luck!" She backfired, as Sky just covered his side, his hand being stained slightly, they didn't hear him, both going back to their conversation, but Sky winced a little as he pulled back his stained hand, looking down at the crimson

"So, I know this is touching and all that good stuff, but we are kind of standing in front of a massive, killer Scorpion, so you know, just thought I remind you," Sky spoke sarcastically as Yang grabbed Ruby in a tight hug

"I'm so glad you're ok!" Yang interrupted, before she looked at Sky with a thankful look. "Nice job, thanks for helping me little sis out."

"...Sure, no problem." Sky nodded, his pride somewhat returning to him, but only by a fraction, then, she groaned, looking up at the sky once more. "This is gunna be my whole day, isn't it?"

"Guys, that thing's circling back, what are we gunna do?" Jaune pointed out as Sky kept his eyes on the Deathstalker, the creature nearly freeing itself from the ice

"Look there's no sense in dilly-dallying, our objective is right in front of us." Weiss added as they all glanced at the pillars

"She's right, we only need to grab an artifact and make back to the cliffs." Ruby added as they nodded in agreement

"Run and live, that's an idea I can get behind," Jaune agreed as he then looked at Sky. "Wait, what about you? There's no other relics?"

"I was never meant to be a part of this, I'll be fine, right now I just want to live a little longer," Sky reassured the group as Blake walked over to him. "What?"

"Do you atleast have a weapon? It would be easier for you to defend yourself without having to hide all the time," Blake asked as Sky thought about it and rummaged through his pockets

What he pulled out baffled all of them. It was a metallic bracelet of sorts, almost like a gauntlet, he noticed the strap and placed it on his arm, then he saw the small screen with a few buttons on the face of it, this did nothing to clarify what it was, but it seemed to resonate from his arm.

"I don't even remember having this, but I guess it's better than nothing," Sky shrugged as they all ran over and grabbed an artifact, Sky just played with the watch, trying to activate it. "Great, no 'ON' switch..."

Then he saw the ice beginning to crack, as the Deathstalker wriggled its way free of the ice, sending the shards flying from its armoured body

"Time's up guys!" Sky shouted as Ruby ran ahead

"Let's go!" She ordered as they followed her. Once over the hill, they saw the massive, foggy chasm ahead, then a tower of broken bridges and pillars circled around a huge, ancient tower

The Nethermore flew around it, waiting for the hunters to come. Then Sky felt a slight shiver of fear as he just stared at the creature. Then a nudge to his left broke him from his trance as he saw Ruby smiling at him.

"You ready?" Ruby asked in concern as Sky sighed, but still clenched his fist with the newly acquired gauntlet

"Armed and ready, I guess." He responded as he shook the gauntlet on his wrist, feeling slightly more confident, knowing he had people backing him up. "I just hope we'll make it through this alive..."

"Hey, we're in this together now, right?" Ruby asked with a cocky grin as Sky shook his head and laughed

"Yeah-yeah, lead the way, leader." Sky said as he ran down towards the massive open slope, unaware that his injury was dripping onto the cold earth…and the crimson eyes that watched from afar seemed to glow even more

To Be Continued…

...

AN: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of my RWBY story, given that my grammar and such isn't always great, hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Alpha Meet Beta