To Become a Hero: Prologue
After reading several RWBY fanfics from some amazing writers, I felt the inspiration to write my own story. For this chapter I feel that it would be a great opportunity to introduce my main original concept character, Max. This story will be told in third-person, but I won't lie when I say that I take a personal connection to Max. And while I will try to hold as close to the series as possible, I may take some liberties in order to expand the story.
Following this chapter, we will jump into the main storyline of RWBY from the first episode, and from that point on you will get to meet the rest of Team MRCY (Mercury)!
As usual, keep in mind that besides my characters I create, RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, who I have great respect for.
It is night time in the city of Vale, the illumination of street lights scattered throughout the city as one lone boy sits on the roof of an apartment building. He has a look of longing in his eyes, and a fire of desire burning in his heart. With short brown hair and blue-green eyes, this teenager looks out into the distance, wondering what he is missing.
"Out there, in the heart of the city lies Signal. While here I am, spending another sleepless night wishing I was there." The boy said.
Getting up from his perch on the roof, this mysterious child walks over to a ladder hanging down the side of the building, and climbs down it. Hitting the ground with a soft thud, he continues walking down the street aimlessly; Building after building the boy passes, losing track of time while deep in his thoughts.
"Even if I were to get into Signal, would I even stand a chance against the other students? I've never even used a weapon before," The boy thinks to himself, "Who am I kidding? Of course I wouldn't survive. Max the hunter, yea right."
Max continues walking down the sidewalk, venturing further into Vale. Max figures he would at least attempt to enjoy his 15th birthday, and so he travelled to the nearest arcade. With his mom working two jobs ever since his father died, there wasn't a lot of extra money to go around, but Max's mom does the best she could just to make him smile every once in a while.
Just before reaching the arcade, Max is brought out of his deep pondering hearing the sounds of a struggle! Running over to the source of the noise, he sees three large men harassing a young woman, perhaps in her 30s. Covering her is a white cloak, while she attempts to hold her ground against these cruel men. With one guy charging her with a small sword, she jumps up in the air over his head, kicking him in the back and proceeds to block an oncoming attack by another brawler. Parrying this man's hits, she goes on the offensive, relying on her skills in martial arts to prevail.
While this continues to go on, Max wonders what to do.
"Oh man, she looks like she can handle them, but I should still go find someone to help," Max thinks to himself.
Up to that point, this mysterious woman in her white cloak had already knocked one of the assailants down, while switching between fists fighting the other two. Suddenly, the man once deemed out of the fight recovers, and attacks her from behind, slicing her across the back! At this blow, she fell to the ground writhing in pain before the thugs prepared to deal the final blow.
At first Max was leaving to get someone to help, but it would be too late. He knew that if she was going to survive he would have to act fast.
"Well, I guess it's time to prove myself wrong," Max determines as he comes out from the side of the building where he stood hidden and attracts the attention of the men.
"Hello gentlemen. I thought it was rude to hit a girl," Max spoke up, grabbing the attention of the thugs.
"Stay out of this kid, we aren't here to mess with children," Said one guy quickly responding while the others smirked in agreement. Yet while seemingly pleased at this response, the three men failed to notice Max quickly running towards them and hitting one straight in the face! Seeing the determination of the kid, they all three converged on Max and began to test the young man's fight. Dodging swings from left and right, Max used his shorter height of 5 and half feet to zip in between the brawlers, while the woman in white began to get back up.
Fueled by pure adrenaline and courage to save this woman whom he didn't know, Max was able to get a hit in here and there, but this did minimal damage due to his lack of strength. As one man swung his sword, Max reached out at the handle, and was able to rip it from the man's hands.
This guy realizing he had been disarmed only grew angrier and charged straight at him. While the sword hung heavy in his arms, Max attempted to block the oncoming assailant, only to be knocked back onto the ground, cutting himself in the process. Seeing that this was not going well, Max yelled to the woman who was now steady on her feet.
"Hey lady, run," Max urged her!
Looking straight at him, she replied, "No, this is my fight and I won't let you get killed over it!"
"I'll be fine, just go," Max responded, "I won't take no for an answer!"
Seeing that she had no chance of surviving the fight, the lady stumbled off back into the street.
"Great, now she is trying to get away," complained the lead thug, "You two get her while I finish dealing with the brat."
Chuckling at this, the two thugs left the leader and went in search of the woman in white. With his full attention now returned to Max, the man was ready to finish this. Raising his sword, the thug was about to swing until a hand reach from behind, turned him around and punched him square in the face knocking him out!
Max stares at his savior, a man holding a cup of coffee with spectacles, grey hair, and a dark green scarf around his neck.
"You okay there? You seemed in a bit of a predicament," this man tells him.
Brushing himself off, Max gets up and responds, "I was, but thanks to you I am safe. Thank you."
"No problem young man, what's your name," he asks taking a sip from his coffee.
"My name is Max, Max Tanum," Max dutifully replies.
"Well Max, my name is Professor Ozpin. It was either very courageous of you to get in this guy's way or crazy, perhaps both." Ozpin looks at Max judgingly, as if sizing him up. "Would you like to join me for a walk? I would hate to see you in another alley fight."
Contemplating this question, Max responds, "Sure, I would appreciate it."
With this, both Ozpin and Max leave the alley together and begin walking to downtown Vale. Meanwhile, Max explains to him why he was in the alley, noting the woman in a white cloak being assaulted. The two converse about Max's personal life too, while Ozpin acts as a silent listener. Finally, after an hour or so of travel, Ozpin stops Max outside of Signal Academy.
"So this is where you wish to go to school," Ozpin inquires.
"I wish, but money is an issue, along with the fact that I'm so far behind that I could never really fit in," Max says despairingly.
Ozpin looks Max in the face for a long time, finally replying, "Well, as the Headmaster of Beacon, I have little power when it comes to things outside my academy. However, you seem to have a good heart and passion deep within you. Unskilled, yes. But I do believe I can help." Max looks at Ozpin with curious eyes.
"In my years of experience as both a Headmaster and hunter, I feel that you have great potential, and it would be a shame to see that go to waste. Max, I'm offering to train you to become what you always wanted to be. While I cannot neglect my current obligations, I will offer my knowledge and spare time to turning you into the best fighter you can be. If things work out, I can even get you into Beacon at the age of 17," Ozpin says, once again sipping from his never endless supply of a coffee mug.
Max at this point was beyond words, this is what he had always dreamed about! Now, he is being given the chance to pursue that dream. Gathering his composure, Max answers, "Yes, it would be an honor to train under you!"
"Good," Ozpin smiling in response, "tomorrow we begin training. Goodnight Max." With that, Ozpin walked off, leaving a young Max in bewilderment and disbelief.
This was the start of a new journey.
Two Years Later/Present Day:
Max sat at in the living room, cleaning his weapon Legionnaire. It was a gift from Ozpin last year for his birthday, and Max had gone to great lengths to care for the steel staff. It was about four feet long, with spikes sticking out of the opposite end of the handle. When not swinging in fast movements, he could use it as a dart gun, firing his own dust powered darts. Since having Legionnaire, Max was able to put together quite an assortment of different darts including paralysis, aura draining, poison, and explosive.
Throughout his time with Ozpin, Max had strengthened both body and mind. By no means was Ozpin easy on him, but this only made him stronger. After all, Max had a lot of catching up to do. But it soon would all pay off. Just as Max had finished polishing Legionnaire, a knock from the door could be heard. Getting up, Max walked over to the door to see a content Ozpin waiting on the other side.
"Hello Professor Ozpin," Max welcomed as he opened the door to the apartment he shared with his mother.
"Thank you for having me here Max, I see you are keeping your weapon in good shape," Ozpin inquired.
"Of course sir, nothing but the best condition," Max replied.
"I take it that your mother is working? Is she at the Dust shop or Vale Hospital," Ozpin asked as he sat on the couch.
Meanwhile, Max prepared the usual cup of coffee for Ozpin, "Tonight she is working at the hospital, and ever since the White Fang have grown violent more and more wounded arrive from the outskirts."
"Indeed," Ozpin responds, "Oh yes, I remember today is your birthday! Turning 17 is quite an exhilarating time if I remember correctly. And to make it even more exciting I got you two special gifts this year." Ozpin proceeded to take out of his jacket a small box along with an envelope and handed them to Max.
Max, bringing over Ozpin's coffee, sits down across from him and accepts the presents. "Thank you so much, I know I have been your apprentice for two years now so I should expect very few surprises. However, you are Professor Ozpin."
"Go ahead and open them," Ozpin insists as he drinks from the black nectar made from the sacred coffee bean.
Max proceeds to tear open the box, revealing several sets of darts for his weapon. Yet he was unfamiliar with the type. "They are sleeper darts," says Ozpin, "I knew you would appreciate it greatly if it meant improving your arsenal."
"Indeed it has, sir," beams Max setting aside the bullets next to Legionnaire. Next Max turned his attention to the envelope, and opened it revealing a simple letter reading:
Dear Max Tanum,
It is with great pleasure as Headmaster and recruiter of Beacon Academy that we have accepted you to attend this prestigious school. While here for your four years of education, we will train you in hundreds of exercises and sparring matches along with teaching you the history and dynamic of the world around you.
If you are still interested in attending Beacon Academy, myself along with the other staff members ask that you arrive at the Vale Air Shuttle Port at 10:00a.m. sharp next Friday. Be aware that this journey will push you beyond limits you knew existed, all with the idea of training you and your fellow classmates into future hunters and huntresses. Once again, we look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely, Professor Ozpin
Looking up in disbelief, Max saw the smiling Ozpin sitting there. "So," Ozpin began, "Are you happy?"
"Happy, Max questioned, "I'm amazed! Ever since we first met you said I might have the chance to attend Beacon, but I was never truly sure if I could reach the level you expected of me."
"Well you have achieved that level, and far beyond that too. In two years you have come a long way and I am sure you will do great things in this world sooner than later," Ozpin responded. "Unfortunately with the new school year starting I have a lot of work to do, so I'm afraid this is where I must take my leave"
Once both men got up, Max lead Ozpin to the door. As he was about to walk out, Max called out. "Professor Ozpin," Max started, "thank you for everything. For the last two years, I owe my life to you. I cannot thank you enough."
Ozpin, still smiling, turned to look at Max and said, "Your welcome Mr. Tanum." With that Ozpin walked onto the sidewalk and went on his way.
Lying down for some time, Max reflected upon his new life about to unfold. He couldn't believe that after so much hard work, so much labor, that he would now be training to become a hunter. Of course, there was his mother to worry about, she would miss him dearly. But then again, he could always visit during break. Not to mention with one less person in the house maybe it could take some stress off with working two jobs.
Later, as the sun begins to set, Max figures he could go for a bit of a "jog," as this has come tradition to do once every week. Tonight would be a special run, "Perhaps I could go to downtown Vale, see what the nightlife is like there," Max pondered.
Getting up, Max reached for his hoodie, compressed Legionnaire until it clipped nicely to his side. Closing the door behind him, Max ran to the roof of the apartment building, stepping outside to feel the cool breeze hitting his face. It was times like this that Max was grateful for what he had.
Instantly he became focused, and dove into a sprint towards the edge of the building. Reaching ledge, Max jumped off and went flying across the gap between the two buildings and landed perfectly. Continuing to run, Max found his rhythm, as he went speeding along the rooftops. He felt energy flow through him, and his aura exploding allowing him to continue his pace for quite some time. After some time of running along the rooftops of Vale, Max finally took a short break to breathe.
Out of nowhere, several explosions boomed from some unknown location. "What in the world is going on," Max thought to himself.
Once again, he began running, this time towards the origin of the explosions. Arriving there, Max noticed a woman wearing a purple cape and a young girl with a red hoodie standing on the rooftop several buildings away. Taking cover behind an air vent, Max observed what seemed to be a fight between those two and whoever was on the large airship. Shortly after dispersing the rubble used by the huntress on the roof, the airship took off.
"Hmm, wonder where they went." Leaving his hiding spot, Max ran from rooftop to rooftop, trying his best to catch up to the airship which seemed like a bright star in the distance. Eventually, the airship pulled down to a warehouse, while Max nearly collapsed from the run while lying down on a nearby roof.
With the airship landed, two people got out and looked around. One was a man with orange hair wearing a white suit. The other was a young woman with black hair in a fiery red dress.
"That was too close Roman," the woman stated, "I shouldn't have to save you from little red riding hood."
"You seem to be forgetting Cinder that it was the huntress that was preventing us from leaving," the man named Roman responded.
Cinder, who was not looking amused started again, "Well it doesn't matter now, get those goons out here and start unloading the dust. I'll be seeing you around." With that, Cinder walked off around the corner and out of sight. Roman, left there frustrated, goes into the warehouse, shortly returning with five mercenaries in black suits and red glasses. "Start unloading the Dust, I'll be back. I need more cigars," Roman orders as he gets in a nearby car and drives off.
"Looks like this would be my time to strike, my first true test." Max climbed down the side of the building, landing near some boxes. Meanwhile, the mercenaries continued unloading tubes and boxes of Dust.
"I think it's time to test these new sleeper darts," Max determined, readying his weapon and inserting one of the new darts Ozpin had given him. Breathing in deeply, Max aimed the end of Legionnaire at one of the thugs and blew. The dart soared with amazing speed, leaving the staff and implanting itself in the intended target. Unfortunately the other mercenaries noticed before Max could get another shot off, and they looked to the position that Max was in, charging right at him with swords raised.
"Alright, let's do this," Max yelled as he prepared Legionnaire and also charged towards his enemies. Upon reaching them, Max blocked an oncoming swing by the first mercenary, using both hands on his weapon to deflect the sword. In return, Max kicked him right in the stomach, then turning to the left of him to meet another one. Parrying each swipe of the enemy's weapon, Max went on the offensive and began swinging Legionnaire in a helicopter rotating motion, and facing it towards the thug. While the thug backed away, another one came from behind Max, but he knew this. Almost instantly, Max twisted his body, moving Legionnaire in sync with him, knocking down the opponent. "Two down, three to go," Max thought to himself.
With two comrades down, the two holding back for some time ran forward, planning on overpowering Max. Using the extended length of Legionnaire, Max kept their swinging swords from hitting their target. Right before one man was once again about to swing, Max ducked and he himself swung Legionnaire at the both of the mercenaries' feet, knocking them to the ground and running towards the other man. Raising the staff above his head, Max brought Legionnaire down upon the unlucky opponent.
Finally, the remaining two mercenaries, having gotten back on their feet, ran once again towards Max. Swinging their swords from both sides, Max could only block one while being hit from his right, thankfully his aura protecting him. Getting back in stance, Max began to weave in between the two men, using his speed to try and avoid having to block two at once. Grunting and yelling, the two mercenaries soon became very frustrated and began to tire. Max took this opportunity to jump back a distance, quickly inserting an explosive dart and aiming at the ground beneath the men. Before either of them could react, Max fired the dart and it exploded right underneath them, severely injuring the thugs while taking them out of the fight for good.
Heavily breathing, Max looked around to see all five of his opponents either asleep or too injured to fight on. Max began walking over to the crates of Dust and inspected them. "That is an awful lot of Dust they gathered. Lord knows what that Roman guy was planning to do with it." Taking out a scroll his mother got him as an early birthday present, Max dialed the Vale Police Department letting them know of Roman and his stolen Dust. Putting away his scroll, Max surveyed the area. "Not too bad for my first real fight. But I really got to work on my tactics," Max critiqued himself.
On that note, Max left the scene of the fight and went to return home. He had a few short days to plan for his new adventure at Beacon Academy.
Authors Note: Thank you for reading the prologue to my To Become a Hero series. It would mean a lot to me if you took the short amount of time to review telling me what you think as this is my first ever fanfic. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out by next weekend, if not definitely during the following week. Goodbye for now!
-M
