Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing in! Alrighty then, it's been a while since my last update. I want to apologize to anyone who still follows me for the obscenely long period of silence. I've managed to nab some vacation time at work, and I'm planning to use it to make as many updates as I can. Starting off, we've got a project right here that's been cooking for a couple years, as well as my first officially credited collab. Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, I present you with a project based on Rooster Teeth's shockingly amazing and popular animated series, RWBY! We hope you'll enjoy it!
Description: Everyone knows about Team RWBY and their close friends, the ones who have risked their lives to help people and take down threats far bigger than anything they should be facing… but what about those who lurk in the background?
NOTE:
-This is a collaborative effort between me, Noctis Gaelum and Alastar the hawk. We claim ownership over nothing except our own original characters.
SMWK
Airships. Gadgets. Cutting-edge weapons. Dust.
These things are commonplace in the world of Remnant. A world where the threat of an attack from outside forces is not only very real, but a constant concern. So much so, in fact, that the forces that prevent massive attacks or the spread of panic, sworn to protect their world and people, are shaped and prepared not only at armies, but also at schools.
Some people start getting prepared for this huge responsibility late in life, while some others choose to do so at a much younger age. There are those who train at one of many combat schools, and there are those who find their own ways. In either case, anyone who chooses this job is to become part of a team, which they may or may not stay on after completing their training.
This is the story of one such team.
Metal clashing. Grunting. Panting.
Somewhere along a vast desert in the kingdom of Vacuo, a battle was unfolding.
On one side, there was a man, clearly at a capable age, waiting for his opponents to come, blade in hand. He was wearing a green jacket on top of a purple shirt, along with green pants, a pair of black-and-purple gloves, and some single-lens goggles atop his head. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a tanned skin tone.
"Come on, boys! Pick up the pace!"
On the other, a much younger man and an equally young Faunus, doing their best to rise from the sand that acted as a bed for them as they tried to catch a second wind.
"Take it easy, Pops! We're not war veterans here!" The Faunus struggled to catch his breath.
He had a high-collared, sleeveless black shirt with reddish-brown trim, a matching pair of fingerless gloves with small protrusions where the knuckles were imprinted, a black choker, some dog tags, black pants with one long leg and one short leg, and black sneakers. He shared the older man's brown hair and tanned skin, but he also had some locks of light blond hair on the sides of his head, a few markings on his face which resembled whiskers, a scar on the left side of his mouth, and he had one yellow eye on view, while his other eye was covered by his bangs.
The man laughed a little.
"You two wanted to go to Beacon so badly?" His tone was rather playful. "Well, show me what you're going to show them. Impress me!"
The younger man was also finding it hard to breathe. "Well, it's not exactly a fair fight, y'know?"
He was clad in a long-sleeved midnight green shirt, black forearm protectors with green fingers, dark navy pants, black boots, and a black belt with multiple pouches, along with a pair of dual-lens goggles, which looked slightly rusted and hung around his neck. He also had brown hair, tanned skin and yellow eyes, but his hair was much shorter and messier.
The Faunus boy nodded. "Yeah, it's just the two of us against you. We'd have a better chance of biting through a rock!"
"Agreed." The man just nodded a couple of times before looking at them with a big smile. "But can you blame a fragile old man for wanting to spend some quality time with his sons before they leave the nest?" He playfully imitated an elderly person as he asked his question.
That got the younger human to laugh along with him.
"You're not that old, Dad. Come on."
The Faunus sighed. "Really, Pops. You only got like three gray hairs."
"Besides, with how the fight's going, I can just see you running circles around us even after you hit seventy-five."
The other boy nodded in agreement before turning to his partner.
"Our chances at victory against big, bad Captain Midnight are slim, bro." His voice didn't even disguise how snarky he was being. "What do you suggest?"
The young human brought a hand to his mouth. "Well, maybe we could-"
"You do realize I'm still within earshot, right, boys?" The older man interrupted him.
The two looked at him for a moment before turning to each other, accordingly feeling silly for forgetting that.
"Uh…" It only took a few seconds' thought for him to come up with a response. "…I've got nothing."
The Faunus replied shortly with one of his favorite phrases.
"Woof."
With him, that could translate to a number of different things, but they usually went hand-in-hand with discomfort.
Captain Midnight sighed before running over to them at top speed and lifting the younger man into the air, followed by throwing him in the Faunus's direction.
"If you want my advice so badly, here's one piece for free: work together." He spoke to them in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice as the two recovered from his attack. "Out in the battlefield, there's no such thing as 'fair'. You have superior numbers. Use them."
After rolling his eyes left and right, the Faunus whispered to his human partner.
"See the opening?"
He checked his surroundings for a second. "I… I think so."
"Follow my lead. Try taking the defensive instead of the offensive. Keep him busy, and I'll use the tall rock to bounce myself back and attack from the rear."
"Alright, got it."
With that said, the two readied their weapons once again.
"Well, Pops, you sure had us between a Grimm and a hard place, but now, we turn the tables! Let's go!"
The young human leapt forward, heading towards his father. Their weapons clashed once more, the older man overpowering him without much difficulty.
"That's more like it, Kale! Show me your spirit!" He smiled at his son. "Too bad you didn't hear me, though. I literally just told you to work-"
It was at that very moment that he realized he was missing something.
"…Where's your brother?"
Kale started chuckling in response. "Made you look."
The Faunus, sprinting in all fours, rapidly approached his bewildered father.
"Made you woof!"
Seeing his son approaching, he reached into his holster and pulled out a gun, which he quickly turned into another blade to halt his son's attack.
"Nice job, Russett. That was a good strategy."
Kale nodded. "Yeah, we actually got close this time."
His brother, on the other hand, cringed at the mention of his name.
"Geez… would it kill you to just call me Set, Pops?" He leapt back away from his father. "That aside, I almost gave you a new haircut!"
Captain Midnight immediately went and ruffled his son's hair.
"If you keep it up, you can become my new hair stylist when you graduate from Beacon." He happily joked around as he took his hand back. "Also, Russett was your grandfather's name. As long as you live here, you better get used to hearing it from me."
He put his weapons away, prompting his sons to do the same with theirs.
"That's enough. I don't want to send you to Beacon beaten half to death." He chuckled briefly. "Your mother would make sure I'm next on the half-to-death list."
A familiar voice responded to that. "You can say that again, mister."
All three of them turned to the source, only to be met by an equally familiar figure. It was a female Faunus, easily given away by her wolf ears, which were the same shade of white as her hair. She was wearing a high-collared, sleeveless blue blouse under a long, loose-fitting white dress, red-and-black gloves, and a pair of white cut-out ankle boots. Her hair was long, she had yellow eyes, and her skin tone was lighter than those of the men before her.
"Oh, hey, Ma!" Set seemed quite pleased to see his mother.
She approached the two younger men. "So, how are my boys doing?"
"We got whooped." He reluctantly answered her. "Again."
In response, she gave him some reassuring pats on the back.
"They still have a long way to go before they can confront the outside world, but they should do alright at Beacon." The older man shrugged and grinned at her. "Who knows? Maybe Ozpin can teach them how to beat me."
She had a good laugh at this as he embraced her. "Ever the comedian, huh?"
"You love it. You know you do." He turned his attention away from her to look at their two boys. "You should be proud, honey. Our sons are becoming true Huntsmen."
Kale chuckled for a moment. "Well, technically, we're not quite there yet, but thanks for the encouragement, Dad."
"Oh, you two will do just fine. I know it." His mother smiled warmly at him.
Set rolled his eyes to the side sadly. "Well, maybe we will once I fix this weapon that your blade broke…"
That statement got both adults' attention. Right away, they noticed that their son's comment was not an exaggeration: his weapon, a long platinum-colored chain with a sharp, pyramid-shaped end, which had been christened as Moon Sherbet, had suffered some damage during that last attack.
"…Woof."
Right at that moment, the female turned to her husband, a glare plastered on her face.
"Axel Midnight… did you just wreck our son's weapon on the same day he and his brother were scheduled to leave for Beacon?"
Her tone immediately made his skin crawl.
"It was an accident, Bianca!" He turned to his son, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Russett. I guess all that training must've worn it down."
Kale gave him a few pats on the back. "It's alright, little brother. I'm pretty sure we have enough time to fix it." He looked at his father. "Right, Dad?"
"Right." Axel nodded. "I think I still have some spare parts inside the house."
Bianca scoffed at him. "You think, or you hope?"
That got him to chuckle; he was already used to his wife's unrelenting snark.
"Actually…" After some thinking, he turned to his other son. "Kale, bring your weapon as well."
He saluted him in response. "Yes, sir."
The four started making their way back to their home.
"…I'm sorry I broke your gift, Ma. I'll be more careful in the future…" Set's spirits had plummeted after seeing the state of his weapon. "I don't get it. Crimson Fang is just fine…" He looked at his mech claws, which, true to his words, seemed intact. "…but Moon Sherbet…"
Bianca patted his head. "That's alright, sweetie. I know your dad will fix it."
"Oh, I'll do more than just fix it." Axel had a little smirk on his face.
Once they were inside, he guided his sons to his workshop where a chest laid on top of a table. When he opened it, there was a black metal plate in the shape of their weapons.
"I got it from a friend who owed me some favors. You can only find it in Atlas. This baby won't break so easily." He chuckled. "He said this metal can also work flawlessly with virtually any Dust."
Bianca smirked at him. "It's not who I think it is, right?"
"No, honey, it wasn't Kai." Axel started working on his son's weapons. "Now your weapons will work just fine with all types of Dust, not just fire. Just… try not go overboard when you buy ammo for them."
"Great!" Kale's face lit up almost instantly. "I was starting to wonder what it'd be like to have them work like that." He raised his arms. "I didn't have a lot of resources when I was building these, y'know."
Axel sighed sadly. "Yeah… ever since the White Fang started antagonizing the Schnee family, materials for smithing and tempering are either really expensive or really hard to find. And that's not even getting into Dust itself."
Eventually, he managed to complete his work on Moon Sherbet and Crimson Fang. He turned to Set and handed them to him.
"Go ahead. Try them out."
As Set equipped his mech claws, Kale took off his weapons and handed them to his father.
"…Alright."
To the Faunus boy's surprise, they fit his hands like a glove; he distinctly remembered them being a touch oversized for him before.
He then lunged himself toward a target dummy, slicing it like a shooting star flying through the night sky.
"Well, Crimson Fang is A-OK. Now…" He hesitantly looked at Moon Sherbet and exhaled heavily.
Both his parents and brother noticed the expression on his face; it was a clear display of both concern and fear.
He grasped his chain stronger than ever before and fired Moon Sherbet. However, before it could fly away, he stopped the chain in its tracks, creating an enormous amount of pressure. He then withdrew and fired it in the span of a single second. It hit the dummy's head dead center, which blew it to mere hay bits.
"Bullseye." The young Faunus looked at his father. "Well, Pops, I gotta say it. You did a fantastic job."
Axel laughed. "Looks like those smithing classes I took really paid off in the end." He then wiped the sweat off of his forehead before he started working on Kale's weapons. "Remember, son: learning something new never killed anybody."
"I could've told you that." Bianca's response got a chuckle out of him once again. "How else would I have built a weapon for my little boy?"
Kale nodded. "I know what you mean, Mom."
After some time, Axel blew some dust off of the two pieces, inspecting them shortly after.
"Hmm… yeah, it's ready." He handed them over to Kale. "Your turn, son."
The young man took his weapons, put them back on his arms, and then he brought out the wrist-mounted blade on his right arm protector.
"Okay then."
In just a few swift moves, he stopped in front of another training dummy in the room, stabbed it in several different places, sliced its head off, and ran the blade through its head.
"Wow…" He turned around to look at his father, who was quite amused at the surprised expression on his face. "That was unreal."
Set was equally amused at the sight of his brother's perfect control of his weapon. "Props, big bro. That was savage!"
Bianca was the only one who laughed, however.
"Aww, you two…" She pulled the two of them close and hugged them. "I'm so proud of you, boys."
After a few minutes, Axel started to pull Bianca away from her children.
"Come on, honey, let them go. Otherwise, you'll never want them to leave."
Eventually, the time came when an airship dropped by to pick up future students and send them to Beacon Academy.
"Well, this is it, boys." Bianca had some trouble getting the words out there.
Axel approached both of his children and laid his hands on their shoulders.
"Just like your mother, I could not be more proud of what you have become. Russett, Kale, I know in my heart that you will become great Huntsmen." He smiled at them. "In time, the world will always depend on a new generation. Your time has come, and both your mother and I just know you'll be two of the greatest Huntsmen to ever represent Vacuo. You both have the makings to do so."
He turned his sights to his older son.
"Kale… always thinking through before acting. Your wit, your natural control of your weapon, which isn't exactly easy to manage, and your calm, collected, and analytical way to manage things are your greatest strengths."
Then he looked at his younger boy.
"Russett… your strength and spirit are admirable, your strategies are sound, and you're more perceptive than anyone I've met before. You're a born leader, even if you don't want to see it yourself."
After saying this, he stepped back.
"I know your old teachers, like your combat instructor Mr. Vert, and your battlefield strategies mentor Lady Rouge, would agree with me. Your mother and I know you won't let us down."
"Thanks, Dad." Kale turned to his mother. "We're going to carry both of your family names proudly for as long as we're at Beacon and beyond. I promise."
Set nodded. "Yeah, those Grimm don't stand a chance against your training, old man. Let them pray they don't cross us!"
After his valor-filled words, his eyes lost their vigor for a moment. He placed his right hand on his left shoulder and looked away, as if trying to hide something.
Axel chuckled at the display before he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
"Aren't you forgetting something, dear?"
When he turned around, he saw Bianca looking right at him.
"What? Oh, right…" He pulled some Lien out of his pocket. "Here you go, boys. Buy yourselves something to eat should you get hungry on your way to Beacon."
Bianca sighed. "The other thing, dear…"
"Other thing… other thing…"
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Oh, right, of course!" He lightly slapped his palm against his forehead. "I almost forgot!"
He took off the green jacket he was wearing and passed it over to Kale.
"Here you go, son… a little something to remember me by."
"Wow…" The young man was quite elated as he took it. "But… isn't this from your old days? Y'know, back during your term of service?"
Axel nodded, with a content smile on his face.
"I… I-I don't know what to say." As he put it on, he was pleased to find it actually fit him decently. "I'll take good care of it. Bet on that."
"I know you will, Kale."
Meanwhile, Bianca approached Set. "As for me, of course I didn't forget my pup." She handed him a dark brown cloak and a necklace that resembled a fang piercing a crescent moon. "Here you go, sweetheart."
"But… these…" He seemed very legitimately surprised.
Bianca, in turn, looked somewhat puzzled. "Is something wrong, dear?"
Set could feel a knot in his throat.
"These are Great Papa Prowl's…" He kept quiet for a moment, grasped his family heirloom, and looked at his mother, dead in the eye. "Thanks. I'll make sure to honor his memory."
After a loving hug, Bianca looked at her youngest son, and smiled. "You know… you look just like your grandfather when he was your age."
Axel placed his hand on his wife's shoulder, letting her know the time had come for her children to board the ship.
She gave Set and Kale one last bear hug, and saw them walk away, waving goodbye as they did. Axel and Bianca waved back, as they saw the young men they raised walk away from their home, and towards a new life that was just about to begin.
Okay, we've made it to the end of the very first chapter. Normally, this would be the spot where I ramble about stuff, but for this particular source material, there's an actual purpose that we can use it for. When it comes to this series, it's an established fact that everyone's name must allude to a color in some way, barring some deliberate exceptions, so we're going to use this spot to explain the intended meaning behind any new characters' names. Here goes the first list:
- Kale Midnight: Kale is a green vegetable. When adding in the last name, it alludes to "midnight green".
- Russett "Set" Prowl: Russet is a dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge. Adding an extra T at the end was a deliberate choice to make it distinct.
- Axel Midnight: Taken by itself, midnight is a shade of purple.
- Bianca Prowl: Bianca is the Italian form of the French word blanche, which means "white".
- Vert: Vert is French for "green".
- Rouge: Rouge is French for "red".
We sincerely hope you've enjoyed this. Review, if you please, and let us know what you think. We welcome any and all feedback, good or bad, so long as you keep it civil.
This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.