It was a cold and rainy afternoon on the island of Menagerie, and things seemed peaceful as a trio of young faunus were about to sneak onto a boat to Vale. They were Adam, Blake, and Keaton, three who knew fully well about the ongoing problems between mankind and faunus, and the rise of the White Fang. The three were stowing themselves away where nobody could find them, and began to make small talk among themselves.
"Once we get into Forever Fall, then we can start our plan." Adam whispered, placing his mask on his face.
"You sure you're ready for this Keaton? Your family isn't bothered by this at all?" Blake inquired, giving a look of concern.
"You mean my good-for-nothing father and pushover mother? I stopped caring what they thought after they practically disowned me. I'll show them who the weak one is one day when things are better for us." Keaton scoffed.
"If you say so..." Blake sighed, staring off at their homeland.
Keaton was a wolf faunus, with shaggy black hair. He had black, furry wolf ears where a human's ears would normally be, and a small black wolf tail. His right eye was blood red, while his left eye was silver. He belonged to the Greywolfe family; a family of wolf faunus that usually stuck together like a pack. Keaton saw himself as the lone wolf, being the "runt of the litter" and an outcast in the family. Because of this, Keaton took up arms with the White Fang to prove that he can handle himself without his brothers and sisters. He knew what the White Fang stood for, and was prepared to fight in their name as long as he had kept himself alive to prove his point. Despite this careless and rebellious nature, he had always valued those who saw him for who he was.
As the ship took off toward Vale, Keaton began to think about his childhood with his two allies. He began to have flashbacks to certain points in his life. During the earlier days of the White Fang protests, when they joined the cause to bring rights to the faunus. He stood by Adam and Blake and every other faunus to protest in some of the cities around Mistral and Vale. Keaton remembered one particular night that both solidified his friendship with Blake, and made him an outcast to his family.
Blake had walked with him to a residential area, the moon lit up the streets as they found a particular house where a young couple was enjoying a night to themselves. Keaton took a look and noticed that they were still awake.
"Blake, I think they aren't sleeping quite yet." He whispered. "You sure about this?"
"C'mon Keaton, these guys are known faunus haters." Blake crossed her arms.
"It is people like them that are what's wrong with the world." Adam added, handing him some eggs.
Keaton figured that he shouldn't argue the case at this point, knowing that he couldn't sway his friends. He took the eggs and stared through the window at the man who seemed to be opening it to let in some fresh air. This gave the three young faunus an opening to start egging them. In a moment's notice, a dozen eggs came flying in through the window, hitting the couple and creating a mess of yolks and shells all over them. The woman screamed while the man got angrier than any of them had ever seen.
"YOU THRICE DAMNED MONSTERS! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" He said, pulling out what looked like a rotating blade saw.
"RUN! LET'S GO!" Young Adam called out, leading them toward an alleyway.
Blake and Keaton took off to follow Adam, with the crazed man chasing them. In an instant, Blake had tripped and fell, allowing their pursuer to catch up with her.
"ADAM! KEATON! HELP ME...!" Blake cried, tears in her eyes.
Keaton immediately turned around and tackled the man to the ground and started hitting him in the face.
"Get out of here Blake! I'll catch up with you in a bit!"
Blake nodded as Adam helped her to her feet, running as she was instructed. After running for a few minutes, they stopped to catch their breath. Blake looked around with a worried look, wondering if Keaton had survived the incident. Then, as if her prayers were answered, Keaton came rushing over with a few scratches and a big grin on his face.
"Keaton! You're okay! Thank goodness!" Blake rushed up and hugged him.
Keaton's grin didn't seem to fade. "Heh, you think I would let him get me? Not a chance!"
"We're glad to see you mostly together. Come on, let's get out of here." Adam gave Keaton a pat on the shoulder.
This memory would often play through Keaton's mind as he thought about who his real friends were, and whenever he had doubts. He may have been disowned by his parents, but he didn't seem to care. He knew who he could trust, and the one he trusted most of all was Blake. Ever since that evening, they would always come to each other with their personal problems. They had learned quite a lot from each other, including their feelings about the current state of the White Fang. They shared all their doubts about what they fight for, and even expressed their interest in paving a real future for the faunus, creating a group that actually cares about equality between the two races.
Now with the sunset in their vision, they set out for Forever Fall. The ride went off without an issue, and they were soon at the new campsite for White Fang operations. Dawn was close as Keaton walked over to confront Adam about his doubts, it was shortly after Blake had left them.
"Adam, we need to have a talk." Keaton said plainly, almost emotionless.
"Not now Keaton, I'm planning." Adam stated dismissively.
"No Adam, we need to talk NOW." Keaton showed a bit of irritation.
Adam sighed. "Fine, what do you want from me?"
"How do you plan to move the White Fang forward?" Keaton inquired, his eyes not leaving Adam.
"I thought I made it clear before, need I explain it again?" Adam's voice showed a trace of anger.
"So you feel no remorse for what you do to humans? You would rather slaughter them than give them a chance?" Keaton was now angry.
"You sound like her, don't think I didn't know about you hiding things from me." Adam knew what was going on now.
"You'd rather cast Blake aside when she couldn't take how you operated this? You know DAMN WELL that killing innocent people isn't how we're going to have equality! Yet you choose to continue this madness!?"
"I've heard enough!" Adam interrupted, drawing his sword. "Either you walk away now or I will end you. But know that if you leave the White Fang, the next time we meet will be your last."
Keaton's eyes blazed with resentment. "Know that I have no intention to simply die Adam. If our paths cross in the future, I will fight you until my last breath."
He turned to leave, his old friendship now severed with Adam. He carried on until he reached Vale City, where he found a place to hold up for a while as he did odd jobs for the locals. He one day bumped into a tall man with silver hair and a cane. He wore glasses and introduced himself as Ozpin; the headmaster of Beacon Academy.
"I understand that you are something of a lone wolf Mister Greywolfe. How would you like to be a part of a team and hone your skills as a huntsman?"
"How so? You clearly have something in mind." Keaton crossed his arms.
"You could join Beacon Academy, and become something future generations can look up to." Ozpin took a sip from his cup and maintained eye contact.
"You should know that I don't care for reverence. How am I a good fit as a huntsman?" Keaton's eyes widened.
"Well, that is for you to determine for yourself. But I need to know if you will be attending." Ozpin gave a small smile.
Keaton thought for about a minute before his final decision. "Fine, I need to get better with Nyterayzr anyway."
"Nyterayzr? Your weapon I assume? May I see it?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.
Keaton stood a small distance from Ozpin and pulled out a small sword from a large sheathe, he swung it around to show off. Then he sheathed the sword, and transformed the whole thing into a sniper rifle. He then proceeded to fire it off at a distant pole, alerting the locals around them. He then transformed the weapon back to it's base sheathe form.
"This is Nyterayzr, a sword that turns into a high impact sniper rifle. I built this when I was... younger." Keaton smirked as he held the weapon in his left hand.
Ozpin simply nodded and turned to walk away. "See you in one week."
"Wait... one week? That soon?" Keaton was struck with confusion.
"Correct, be ready by then." Ozpin said, disappearing into a crowd.
"What?! You... YOU GRAY HAIRED ASSHOLE!"
PROLOGUE II: ALPHONSE NERO & MAIZAIR SCHWARZEREverything seemed to be calm in a small faunus settlement in Vacuo, where a small family of fox faunus lived. They had a son named Alphonse, a skinny but shy young man with an orange fox tail and hair that appeared to be well groomed. With him was his brother by adoption; Maizair Schwarzer, a large and built young man with brown hair and black eyes. He was taller than Alphonse, but was roughly two years younger. They were as close as real brothers, although this was not always so, as they were once bitter enemies.
As an only child, Alphonse was an energetic pup. He was more than content with the way his family was, he never had to share his parents' affection with anyone, until one day his mother and father came in with a human boy. He was immediately upset with this news and refused to call him his brother. This human boy was Maizair, and he was instantly friendly toward his new faunus brother. He would always try to get Alphonse to play outside with him, but to no avail. Then one day, their parents forced them to go outside and play.
This day was fairly cloudy, looking as if rain might come soon. Alphonse continued to ignore Maizair, which in turn started an argument between them, which drew in a very angry Ursa. Alphonse was paralyzed with fear at this tremendous sight, and Maizair simply gave it a smirk. The Ursa looked down upon Maizair and let out a ground shaking roar, be he simply imitated it by screaming back. He managed to jump out of the way of the first attack, and picked up a tree branch to fight back. Despite the branch getting shorter with each hit, Maizair seemed to be driving the Ursa back.
Seeing this display of courage, Alphonse had decided to rush in and help Maizair. Even without a tree branch to use himself, he had managed to cover Maizair's slower attacks. After a couple minutes of this a Huntress came rushing at the Ursa and wasted no time in rescuing the two children. When everything settled down, the Huntress looked at Alphonse and Maizair with a smile. She had dark hair, and wore a long white hooded cloak that swayed in the breeze.
"I hope you two are alright, you gave the townspeople quite a scare." She said, her silver eyes glistening in the light.
They nodded, knowing that they would be scolded for fighting a Grimm instead of running. Even when their parents had given them quite a lecture, Alphonse had seen Maizair as more than a child randomly brought home. It was on this very day, that Alphonse and Maizair became true brothers. Their experience together had brought them to a deeper trust and sense of understanding than before.
And now they were on their way to Vale City to join Beacon Academy together. Alphonse was already on his way because he had gotten old enough to attend normally, but Maizair was a special case. A few weeks before, Maizair had used his weapon, Silverlight, a broadsword/cannon to waste an entire hoard of Grimm. This hoard had consisted of Ursai, Beowolves, and a Nevermore. For this he was contacted directly by Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. As a result, he was allowed to become a student of Beacon Academy if he wanted to enroll.
Maizair was also a gifted weapon smith, making his weapon and helping with Alphonse's weapon, Lunar Eclipse. Lunar Eclipse was a lance/twin pistols that Alphonse had been using faithfully for quite a few years. Together they were almost like a dynamic duo on the battlefield, despite that Alphonse was still a bit of a coward and didn't like fighting for any reason.
They were about to load into a bullhead when their mother came to speak with them.
"I'm going to miss you two so much. Alphonse, Maizair, you take good care of each other now."
"Mom, you're embarrassing me..." Alphonse whimpered.
"Don't'cha worry 'bout us Ma! We'll be sure to kick some Grimm butt EXTRA hard for ya!" Maizair exclaimed, hugging Alphonse and their mother very tightly.
"I could never be worried about my boys, you two will make it to great places I'm certain." She beamed.
"Thanks Mom, we'll be careful." Alphonse smiled.
Giving their mother one final embrace, the pair loaded into the bullhead en route to Beacon Academy. They watched as their home grew further away, seeing their mother wave to them with a hopeful smile. Once the town was out of sight, they seated themselves and decided to talk to each other.
"So... do you think we'll have cool teammates?" Alphonse asked nervously.
"Of course! I just know that they'll be the coolest dudes around!" Maizair exclaimed with pride.
"What if we... I don't know... get bunked with cute girls?" Alphonse shuddered at the thought.
"It'll be fine bro! We can handle whatever Beacon throws at us. We just have to stick together." Maizair gave Alphonse a hard pat on the back, causing him to lunge forward a bit.
"Maizair..., I keep telling you not to hit me so hard." Alphonse whimpered.
Maizair laughed. "No promises bro, especially if we make the same team!"
"I should've figured..." Alphonse sighed.
They watched as many different environments seemed to pass by below them, along with many different animals and a few bullheads. They saw the many trees that made a forest as they flew overhead, eyeing each other at some of the strange sights. After what seemed like a long time, their bullhead arrived in Vale City.
"Okay you two, the ride to Beacon takes off tomorrow at 11:00. Don't be late." The pilot called out.
"Oh..., I guess we find the hotel and sleep then." Alphonse smiled, hopping off the bullhead with his luggage.
"Yep, then it's off to make new friends!" Maizair exclaimed pridefully.
As the brothers made their way toward the hotel, Maizair caught something in the corner of his eye. He saw a girl in a black dress with a red hooded cloak, she appeared to have black hair with red tips and wore headphones that matched her outfit. She appeared to be on her way into a shop, one that appeared to sell Dust.
"Hey Alphonse, did you see her?" Maizair asked, not breaking focus from the girl.
"N-No... I don't think so..." Alphonse shook his head.
"She looked kinda cute." Maizair smiled.
"Oh, okay." Alphonse sighed.
Maizair smiled to himself as he and Alphonse checked into their hotel room and got into bed. While they fell asleep right away, noises of a nearby fight echoed through the streets. These noises didn't bother the brothers, and they continued to slumber through the night in preparation for their first day at Beacon.
PROLOGUE III: PYNQUE DORSEYBeing a dragon faunus was nothing short of amazing to many, as they were particularly rare on Remnant. But somewhere on Remnant rested a colony of such a subspecies of faunus that had the traits of dragons. A small settlement in Vale, hidden near the eastern coastline. No human traveler has found the place before, and they would only be able to find it with one of their villagers to guide them.
In this small village, a boy wearing pink clothes was playing with other kids. They were practicing breathing fire, as was the norm for dragon faunus. Each child took a turn breathing fire, until it came to the boy in pink; whose name was Pynque Dorsey. He took a deep breath, and released it with force. However, nothing happened, no fire or even heat. Pynque tried again, and the result was the exact same. He was then laughed at, made fun of by the children he once called friends.
Since this day, he had no friends. He had little to do with the children, often spending time telling himself jokes and that he was better off trying to live with the happiness this brought him. It wasn't until one day he met a group of faunus nomads and a young girl that traveled with them; a cow faunus named Chizon Valakeet. Pynque avoided her at first, but when she heard one of his jokes she liked him immediately. The two became fast friends and the bullying toward Pynque overall had ceased thanks to Chizon.
Over the next several years, Pynque and Chizon became closer friends and even attended a local academy together. One evening Pynque received a letter from Beacon Academy, it detailed that he was allowed to attend. This gave Pynque a reason to make the biggest grin he had ever made, showing his true excitement. He showed the letter to Chizon the next morning.
"Isn't this great Chizon? I got accepted to Beacon Academy!" Pynque said excitedly.
"I couldn't be... happier for you Pynque." Chizon sighed.
"Whoa, what's up Chi? You don't sound happy. Put a smile on that face!" Pynque cheered.
"Pynque, I have news too. I'm joining the White Fang." Chizon shook her head at Pynque.
"What? Why?" The shock on Pynque's face was apparent.
"Are you blind to our plight? Humans continue to walk all over the faunus! Why do you think you're here? Hidden away from them!" Chizon snapped.
"But, I still don't understand-"
"What is there to understand other than that the humans see us as creatures below them? You really are blind to the troubles of the world." Chizon interrupted, crossing her arms.
"All I know is that I want continue to be friends with you." Pynque stated earnestly.
"No Pynque, we can't continue this friendship. We have our paths, they can't intertwine in the way that would benefit us both." Chizon turned to face her friend.
"Chi... There's a better way. I know we can still be friends." He smiled, reaching his arms out to hug her.
"NO! DON'T MAKE THIS HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE!" Chizon bellowed, turning to run away.
"Chi!" She was gone before he could stop her, and he sighed.
"I know that one day we'll meet again, my best friend..." Pynque smiled, despite the betrayal that just happened.
After that morning, Pynque left for Vale City to attend Beacon Academy. Upon arrival he rented out a hotel room to sleep for the opening day. On his way in, he bumped into a faunus with shaggy black hair; Keaton Greywolfe.
"Hey! Watch where you're going you half wit!" Keaton snapped.
"Sorry my man! I'm just excited for tomorrow." Pynque chuckled.
"Tomorrow? Wait, you're another Beacon student?" Keaton scratched his ear.
"Yep! Well, I'm new. Are you going too?" Pynque examined Keaton.
"If you say so, I met the headmaster. He thought I would be a good fit or whatever." Keaton sighed, crossing his arms.
"Nice! Looks like you got approval from Ozzy! It must be an honor!" Pynque jumped up and down with excitement.
"Look, while I'm sure that you are interested as all hell that I met Ozpin, I was actually on my way to Junior's for a drink." Keaton opened the door to leave.
Pynque had an idea. "How about I come with? I could use a friend."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to be alone while I have time for it." Keaton started walking.
Pynque followed Keaton anyway, leaving his bags at the hotel. "Oh, this will be fun! We're going to be fast friends!"
"Ugh, it's going to be one of those nights isn't it?" Keaton groaned.
As they made their way to Junior's club, Pynque bombarded Keaton with questions, referring to him as "Wolfy". Slowly it began to irritate Keaton, as he tried to answer the questions without losing his temper. After a whole mountain of questions, Keaton finally had enough.
"ARGH! FOR THE LAST TIME, STOP CALLING ME WOLFY! MY NAME IS KEATON GOD DAMMIT!" Keaton yelled.
"Oh! I'm Pynque Dorsey! It's nice to make your acquaintance Mister Keaton." Pynque grinned.
"Pynque, if you are so insistent on coming with me, could you AT LEAST be quiet for five minutes?!" Keaton glared at Pynque.
"Of course friend! I'll be right next to you if you need me!" Pynque nodded.
Keaton sighed, walking into Junior's club. They began to notice that much of everything was damaged. Pynque didn't give it much thought, while Keaton was more curious about it. They walked up to the bar, next to a pair of nearly identical twins. Junior walked up to them, looking as if he's seen better days.
"Can I help you two?" Junior asked.
"Oh, I'd like something sweet please!" Pynque smiled.
"Ugh, just get me something to drown out his voice." Keaton moaned.
"Aren't you two a little young to be here?" Junior stared at them.
"Aren't you a little old to be named Junior?" Keaton sighed.
"What? You sound like Blondie." Junior looked surprised.
"Blondie? Who's that?" Pynque questioned.
Junior shook his head. "Never mind, I'll have your drinks in a minute."
Pynque then turned to the twins next to them. "Wow! You two look really pretty!"
"God dammit Pynque, don't talk to them. It's embarrassing enough just to be seen with you." Keaton shot.
"Your friend is a dork." The one in red said, sounding stuck up.
"Why are you with him?" The one in white added.
"Ladies, look. He's not with me. I don't want to hear anything about it from you two." Keaton sighed.
"What are your names anyway?" Pynque asked.
"I'm Melanie." The one in white said.
"And I'm Miltia." The one in red added.
"Wow! I think your names are pretty!" Pynque grinned.
While Miltia blushed, Melanie gave the boys a bitter look. "Why don't you two animals stop talking."
This was the last straw for Keaton. "Alright, calling him a dork is fine. But insulting us is where I draw the damn line!"
"Whoa! Calm down won't you? I'm still getting this place repaired after the last fight!" Junior shouted.
"Probably a good idea Keaton. They aren't worth our time." Pynque said, looking concerned.
"Hell no! I've been bullied for being a faunus for too long!" Keaton snarled.
"Do you have a problem with it?" Melanie questioned with her usual cocky tone.
"I'll continue to have a problem with it until you either take it back or eat your words!" Keaton shot, drawing Nyterayzr.
"Melanie, I think he's serious." Miltia stated.
"Let's teach them to respect us Miltia." Melanie stood to face Keaton.
Pynque quickly pulled out his weapon; the Dorsey Dicer, a saber sword that was powered by dust crystals. As he powered the Dicer with a red crystal, the Malachite Twins rushed them with incredible precision. While Pynque dodged the first few attacks, Keaton blocked them with Nyterayzr. They couldn't find an opening as the onslaught of attacks rushed at both of them, and it became apparent that Melanie and Miltia were battling with perfectly executed chemistry. Every attack they dealt was fast and difficult to either block or dodge. It wasn't long until they were against the wall with attacks still rushing their way.
"Damn! We need a strategy Pynque!" Keaton growled.
"Perhaps if we shake their hands and walk away, we can end it here." Pynque grinned.
"SERIOUSLY! WE'RE GETTING OUR ASSES BEATEN HERE!" Keaton shouted, blocking one of Melanie's attacks.
"Okay, calm down. We just need to get into synchronization like them." Pynque suggested.
"Okay, any idea how?" Keaton transformed Nyterayzr into its Gun Form.
"I was hoping you would have something." Pynque narrowly evading one of Miltia's attacks.
"Give me a damn dust crystal then!" Keaton reached out his hand.
As soon as Pynque gave Keaton a crystal, he smashed on the ground. It kicked up a smoke screen that lasted long enough for Keaton to grab Pynque and jump to high ground. As soon as the smoke cleared, Keaton opened fire on the twins. He unloaded round after round as Pynque kept close, launching dust blasts from the Dicer's hilt.
"This is a good plan! What next Keaton?" Pynque questioned, clearly having too much fun.
"Just stick close, I'll use my semblance once they close in." Keaton stated as he kept firing.
As they unloaded more rounds, the twins quickly made their way toward them. Keaton stopped firing to transform Nyterayzr into its Blade Form, and motioned for Pynque to grab his left arm. Within a moment the twins lunged up at them, and Keaton activated his semblance, immediately appearing behind them while leaving behind an illusion. Keaton and Pynque used this opening to attack the twins by launching them in separate directions.
"Get the red one! The other one is mine!" Keaton called out, rushing toward Melanie.
"Aye sir!" Pynque grinned, rushing toward Miltia with his Dicer glowing whitish blue.
Pynque began slashing at Miltia, laughing as he unleashed a barrage of attacks that quickly froze Miltia's feet to the floor. Once Miltia was knee deep in ice, Pynque stopped to grin widely.
"Oh, why do you suddenly have stiff knees? I hear that can lead to problems!" Pynque stated jokingly.
"Shut up and let me go!" Miltia yelled, trying to swing at Pynque with her claw blades.
"Sure! Hold still!" Pynque said, launching Miltia toward the bar with a spin kick, knocking her out.
Meanwhile, Keaton and Melanie clashed blades. She kept spinning around and unleashing kicks as Keaton blocked and seemed to warp around her and get her in the small openings she made. He was definitely winning at this point, and it was apparent to both of them. Just as Keaton was about to rush at Melanie with a lethal attack, she waved her arms in front of her face, showing admittance of defeat.
"Alright, stop! You win!" Melanie called out, sounding frightened.
"Anything else you want to say!?" Keaton stopped his blade just in front of Melanie's neck.
"I... I'm sorry I insulted you. Just leave us alone." Melanie sighed.
"Much better. Let us both hope that this doesn't happen again." Keaton said calmly as he sheathed Nyterayzr.
"I'll admit, you two gave us a good fight." Melanie stated as she helped Miltia to her feet.
"I thought that was fun!" Pynque shouted happily.
"Personally, I hope to see you two again. Maybe we'll share some stories next time." Miltia smiled, holding out her hand.
Melanie followed suit and held out her own hand. Keaton and Pynque shook their hands and turned to leave.
"Sure, later." Keaton waved.
"See you two ladies later!" Pynque waved energetically.
As they left, Junior rushed out with his own weapon in hand. "Hey! Where did those kids go?"
Melanie and Miltia looked at each other and giggled, arousing confusion in Junior. "Let's just say that we settled our differences." Melanie replied with a smile.
Outside, Keaton and Pynque were on their way to the hotel. They shared a small laugh at what had just happened.
"We were awesome in there Keaton! I feel like a child after all that fun!" Pynque smiled widely.
"Heh, yeah I guess we were pretty good in there." Keaton showed a hint of happiness.
"You think Beacon will be fun too?" Pynque asked.
"Honestly, if it's as fun as that then we may as well consider ourselves lucky." Keaton shrugged.
"Don't be a killjoy Keaton, we'll definitely have fun at Beacon!" Pynque laughed.
Keaton looked up at the moon before going into the hotel. "Sure, thanks for backing me up there. I guess you're not that bad."
Pynque gave Keaton a pat on the shoulder. "Anything for a new friend! See ya tomorrow Keaton!"
As Pynque disappeared into the hotel, Keaton gave the moon one final glance.
"Friend huh? I guess I won't be totally alone tomorrow."
He then made his way into his room and crawled into the bed. "Let's all hope tomorrow is as fulfilling as he hopes."
