Team HNDW and the Fall of Beacon
By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro
Author's Note: As stated in the summary, this was originally created a few years ago for a OC creation challenge for a group I was part of. I never published it here before because honestly, I forgot about it. Anyways, I figure it's worth sharing, and maybe it'll tide some of you over until the next chapter of Sins of the Forefathers. (As of this entry, Ch. 2 had yet to be published.)
"Run!" Hazel cried out, attempting to calm herself while also ushering people towards the exits. "Run! Get to the ships! Go, go, go!"
The Nevermore screeched again, deafening the Colosseum audience. It pecked at the shields, and Hazel spent no more time shepherding people, deciding that now was the time for action. She pulled out her Scroll, summoned her Rocket Locker and changed into her armor in a corner of the docking bay. She slung her backpack on, affixed her Scroll to the back of her shield, and then called her team as she ran towards the evacuation ships.
"Hazel!" Dodger was the first to pick up, as always. His voice was excited, but had an undertone of serenity, the type of which came only with experience. "Where are you? I'm in the dorms, I'm on my way out with my stuff. Nick and Wisteria were on their date at the festival, but they should-"
"We're on!" Wisteria said as her Scroll finally connected. "Nick and I rocketed our stuff out here. You were at the Coliseum, right? Where do you want us to send your stuff, Haze?"
"I already- have it!" Hazel said as she cut through a Beowolf's leg before finishing it off with a stab through its neck. "I'm taking one of the evac ships down to Vale. Where should we meet up?"
"The Residential District," Nicholas responded. "The cops are gonna need help there. The closest emergency shelter to the Residential District is usually the school, but with the Grimm here, too-"
"There are Grimm at the school?" Hazel cut in. "How?"
"Yeah," Dodger confirmed. The sound of rushing wind came from his connection - he was running fast, trying to get to Nicholas and Wisteria. "I saw what happened. The White Fang somehow flew them in on Bullheads. They're- oh shit!"
As Dodger rounded the corner of the main school building, he spotted a White Fang member, about ten feet away, and heading in Dodger's direction. He was different from the others: instead of the gray and black armor, he wore a full black suit, the top only buttoned up in the middle. A red and white symbol peaked across his left shoulder from his back, and his mask didn't cover his whole head. Bright red and brown hair peaked from the top of his head, with two black horns sticking out. He carried what looked to be a sheathed sword in his left hand. Some other White Fang members stood around him, heading in the same direction.
"-oh shit!" Dodger exclaimed as he angled his run away from the man, trying to get past him without fighting.
In a split second, the man was next to Dodger, his hand on the handle of his weapon as he prepared to draw it from its sheath. Immediately, Dodger activated his Semblance, and time began to slow. It did almost nothing - the man moved so fast, that as he drew his blade, it was moving at speeds that the normal human would already consider superhuman.
Dodger was no weakling, and immediately he drew his two maces out, receiving the blow on their shaft. Such was its force, however, that he was blown off his feet, knocked backwards in the direction he had ran towards. Noticing this, he immediately got up and continued running, wasting no time on a fight he knew he could not win.
Though he expected the man to chase him, Dodger allowed himself a contented sigh when he realized that the man had apparently decided to do something else.
"Should we chase him, sir?" a Faunus with a fluffy dog's tail asked his superior.
"Leave him be," Adam replied. "With his Semblance, you'll never catch him. We have more important things to do, anyway. Go! To the Armory. We'll use their own armaments against them, in the name of the White Fang!"
The sound of clanging steel, a grunt and scuffling feet came through the Scrolls as Dodger went through his seconds-long encounter with the White Fang.
"Dodger?" Wisteria asked. "You okay? What happened?"
"I'm fine," he replied. "I'm on my way. Like I said, the White Fang are here too. I don't know what they're after, but I'm not about to follow them. I know where my ability taps out. If you see any White Fang member in a suit, DO NOT fight him. He was still moving fast, even under the effects of my Semblance."
"And as I was saying," Nicholas continued, "when the school is compromised, the next-best evac shelter is the basement of the mall in the Commercial District. Most of the cops and Huntsmen will be in that area, protecting the civilians, so we'll have to do our part and help those in the Residential District reach the Commercial District to begin with."
"Understood," Hazel said. "I'm getting on one of the evac ships right now - hey, can you quickly fly over the Residential District? I'll just jump out, I have to meet with my team so we can help the evacuation. You can't? How close can you get? The Commercial District? Yeah, that's close enough. Thanks. - Sorry, but yeah, I'm on my way. Wisteria, Nick, what's your status?"
"We're out of the festival grounds, on our way to the docks," Wisteria said. "We'll be taking the walkway down, of course. The Airbuses and Airships will mostly be used for evac, so us Huntsmen will have to get around mostly on our own power."
"Confirmed. Keep in touch. And be careful, guys."
"No worries, Haze. Wisteria and Nicholas out."
"Dodger, what about you?"
"I see Nick and Wisteria up ahead. I'll rendezvous with them, and we'll get to the Residential District ASAP."
"Good. We're almost over the Commercial District. I'll be making my way there soon. Hazel out."
"Nick, Griffon at 7!" Wisteria called out.
Immediately, Nicholas jumped to his right, turning in midair to face the creature. It charged at him, raising its forelegs as it got close to him, and slammed them down at him. He caught the attack with his Scutum shield, and thrust his Pilum up into the Griffon's neck before twisting it. Behind the Griffon, Wisteria leaped onto the beast's back and stabbed her Dangpa through its spine, three blades piercing its flesh, before pulling the trigger, launching a volley of shot through its chest. With a cry, the Griffon collapsed, Nicholas retreating backwards to avoid getting caught in the Griffon's weight. He then flipped a latch on his Pilum's handle, and the spear retracted, the metal shaft flattening into a full blade, and the handle compressing into itself, until the spear had become a Spatha. He then flipped the Spatha in his hands and stabbed the Griffon through the head, finishing it off.
Breathing heavily, Nicholas let out a short "Thanks Wist," purposefully using the nickname she hated.
"Don't call me that!" she swung at him playfully, her Dangpa's head overshooting his such that he didn't bother to dodge it.
They had been fighting for about four hours now, and the hordes of Grimm had begun to thin, with naught left but a few Beowolves, Creeps, Griffons, and a few Goliaths that were roaming around the Northernmost section of the District. That area had been cleared of evacuees, and thus the various Huntsmen in the area had opted to leave them be until the immediate crisis had been resolved. Together, Team HNDW and several other Huntsmen teams, both undergrad and professional alike, delegated sectors of the Residential District to each other and scoured through them, helping any stragglers get to the evacuation center.
As the day turned into night, most of the professional Huntsmen had stationed themselves in the Commercial District to provide additional defense to the area, as the Grimm continued to congregate there. The mass terror had served as a beacon for the Grimm to follow, and while putting all the civilians in a safe place was undoubtedly the safest option, it only clarified what direction the Grimm had to go to to find people to feast on. Though the Grimm had rampaged throughout every part of Vale, from Beacon to the Industrial, Agricultural, and Upper-Class Districts, they all converged on the Commercial District.
"Nick, Wisteria," Dodger's voice called out from Nicholas' Scroll. "You read me? Boss wants you to do a final check on your block and regroup. We've cleared our part of the sector."
"Loud and clear, Dodger," Wisteria replied. "We're done here, too. Just finished off a few more Grimm. We're on our way."
"Gotcha. Oh, and be careful. It's dark now, and remember, White Fang members have been spotted in the area. Take extra precaution."
"Don't worry about us, Dodge," Nicholas said. "I just hope Hazel hasn't overexerted herself healing people. That Semblance of hers is gonna be in high demand at the shelter."
"She's fine," Dodger said. "She's only used it once, to heal a Faunus that had a pretty bad leg wound. She used some of her Dust, too, so her Aura levels are still good."
"Well, that's a relief," Wisteria said. "Knowing her, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had tried to use her Semblance to heal every little scratch or bruise on everyone you found."
"Well, we didn't find a lot of people to begin with. Most people were at the Festival, after all. Hang on, I think I hear her coming back out. And a… motor? What the- HAZEL! - ouf-" The sound of shattering glass and an impact came through before Dodger's Scroll cut off, and Nicholas and Wisteria bolted into action. They ran northwest, further from the Commercial District, towards where Dodger and Hazel's patrol of the District had been planned to end.
Hazel opened the door to the last house of her sector with her shield directly in front of her before drawing her baton. Turning back, she called, "Dodger, we're clear here. I'm just gonna check this last house, and then we'll regroup. Call the others and check on them. Oh, and tell them to double check their area, just in case," before entering the house.
"Gotcha boss," Dodger said. He hung his maces from their straps once more, and tapped his scroll, which he had attached to the underside of his left wrist. Upon connecting, he said, "Nick, Wisteria, you read me? Boss wants you to do a final check on your block and regroup. We've cleared our part of the sector…"
Inside the house, Hazel moved quickly but thoroughly through each room, carefully surveying every corner in case someone had chosen to hide from the Grimm. She checked the upstairs first, thankfully noting the absence of people, and had prepared to leave when she picked up a sound from somewhere within the house. Though it was a small enough sound that a human wouldn't have heard it, her Faunus ears did, and she made her way through the ground floor again before heading for the basement. She opened the door and winced as it creaked, her hyperactive senses receiving an overload of noise.
"Jeez," she muttered to herself, shaking her head, "last house with someone in it, and it has to be the house where the door hinges aren't lubricated properly." At this point, her sense of smell kicked in. She smelled a combined stench of blood and sweat, and the natural smells that people gave off. In spite of that, she could not detect how many people were down there, or if those people were even still alive. After a moment's pause, she called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" She took a step down the stairs before pausing, letting her eyes fully adjust to the pitch blackness of the basement. She continued, "My name is Hazel, and I'm a Huntress in training," as she took yet another step. "Is anyone hurt down there? I know first aid."
Another step. She was almost at the bottom now, and could sense a body on the floor. Horrified, she hurried down the last few steps, driven by a fear that her cautiousness had made her too late to save someone.
Her senses saved her. As her foot touched down on the landing, she smelled the stench of blood next to the stair's end, and heard the whistle in the air as the person's arm flew forwards in an attack. Immediately, Hazel stepped back up the stairs and raised her shield up, assuming her modified stance for combat on an incline. Though she had her left side in front, guarded by her shield, her weight was on her right leg, in case she needed to quickly back off or lift her front leg to dodge an attack. As it was, she did need to, as another swing was aimed at her leg, this time with a weapon. She backed up, and saw the toothed blade of a chainsaw come up the stairs, followed by a fast moving, very tall and well built man in a White Fang mask.
Hazel turned and ran up the stairs, thinking that it would be easier to subdue the man with Dodger's help. As she reached the landing, she felt a hand grab her hair and pull backwards, attempting to drag her back down the stairs. Hazel jumped, bringing both legs up to her chest, and rocketed them backwards, performing a reverse dropkick to the man's chest. Though she lamented the strands of hair she lost as the man's momentum tore them from her head, she had more important things to focus on, especially as the man had barely been incapacitated and was coming back up the stairs, seemingly even angrier than before. As she ran out of the house, Hazel heard the revving of the man's chainsaw, and pumped her legs even harder to escape.
She got to the living room and was about to turn towards the door when the man tackled her through the living room window, crashing both of them onto the ground. Quickly, the man rolled off and kicked Hazel in the ribs, sending her flying into Dodger. They both collapsed, and Dodger rolled Hazel off while drawing his maces out. The White Fang Lieutenant ran up to Dodger and drove his chainsaw down, throttling the teeth into a frenzy. Dodger, aware that he didn't have enough Aura to use his Semblance excessively, rose into a genuflecting position and blocked the chainsaw at the base of the bar with his left hand mace, swinging his right mace into the Lieutenant's knee. The Lieutenant growled with pain and jumped backwards before running his chainsaw into the ground, spitting up gravel at Dodger as he ran towards Hazel, who was just getting up.
She noticed the Lieutenant coming, and quickly flipped over onto her feet, pulling the trigger on her shield. The bullet fired out of the barrel like an excited teenager speeding down the highway on their first drive, and had its momentum completely arrested as the Lieutenant simply raised his chainsaw and caught the bullet on the flat of the bar. He continued his charge, lowering his shoulder into a tackle, and slammed his side into Hazel's shield before swinging his chainsaw around from his left. His movement knocked Hazel's shield aside, and only her Shotel kept her safe from a hit as she fell backwards, rolling up into her stance.
Her left leg was in front, and both her legs were bent slightly, muscles coiled with anticipation. She kept her shield close, her elbow bracing its position and her index finger off the trigger of the handle. Her Shotel was raised behind her head, with the inside curve facing out, so that she had more of the blade to work with.
"Please!" Hazel pleaded as Dodger maneuvered himself to the left of the Lieutenant, just out of his line of sight. "Please surrender. You're not going to get out of this, and I assure you, it's a lot easier for you if you don't fight back. I really don't want to hurt you."
The Lieutenant laughed then, cold and dark, with a tone that set Hazel on edge. "I won't get out of this? You're a traitor to your kind, Huntress dog -"
Bemused, Hazel replied "I'm a species of boar, actually-"
"That doesn't matter! No one crosses the White Fang! It's you that won't get out of this, girl!" The Lieutenant prepared to charge, but heard Dodger coming at him from his left. He pivoted, swinging his chainsaw horizontally to cut him off. Dodger leaped in the air, over the chainsaw, his maces raised for a downwards slam.
The Lieutenant let go of his chainsaw's front handle and grabbed Dodger's ankle, smashing him into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. As Dodger coughed, trying to regain his breath, the Lieutenant stomped onto his chest, and then delivered a stomp to his head, his heel smacking against Dodger's temple, knocking him unconscious.
The Lieutenant throttled the chainsaw and prepared to thrust it downwards at Dodger, only to be knocked aside as Hazel launched herself at him, dropping his chainsaw as her shield smacked into his torso. As they sailed briefly through the air, Hazel pulled the trigger on her shield, firing 3 shots into the Lieutenant, each crashing into his Aura. As they landed on their feet, Hazel slashed at his legs, but he braced himself and tanked the hit before shoving Hazel's shield aside with his right hand. He then thrust his left hand out and grabbed Hazel's right horn, pulling her into a bending position so that he could knee her solar plexus. He then pulled her upright and attempted to punch her in the face, but at the last moment Hazel twisted and caught the punch with her armored horn, causing the Lieutenant to instinctively jerk his hand back in pain. Hazel took advantage of his dropped defenses and kneed him three times in the crotch in quick succession before dropping her shield and grabbing his left wrist. She spun herself under his arm, twisting his wrist behind his back. She then kicked the back of the Lieutenant's knees, forcing him down as she wrapped her left arm around his throat.
She held firm, attempting to knock him unconscious as quickly as she could so that she could check on Dodger, but he reached behind with his right hand and grabbed Hazel's hair, flipping her over himself and slamming her on the ground, tearing out more strands.
Angered that Hazel had obtained the upper-hand, even for a moment, he stomped on her face twice before running for his chainsaw. Upon getting it, he ran back and straddled Hazel, sitting on her torso so she could not move. He then revved the teeth, thrusting it down at Hazel's face. She regained enough consciousness to know what was happening, and quickly put her arm up to block the attack.
Though the pain made her want to scream as her Aura levels drained rapidly, she focused and maintained enough mental awareness to grab her baton, substituting it for her arm in the block. The Lieutenant, undeterred, pushed down harder, until Hazel flipped the switch on her baton, shocking the Lieutenant with 40 million volts of electricity.
The Lieutenant reeled back for a moment, but his Aura held out and he roared, pushing down even harder until the teeth of his chainsaw were scraping against Hazel's face. Thinking quickly, she used her left hand and tore off the Lieutenant's mask before spraying him with her can of pepper spray just as her Aura depleted completely. The result was immediate and doubly effective against the Lieutenant's enhanced Faunus senses, and he dropped the chainsaw, clutching his face in pain as he fell off of Hazel. Hazel used the opportunity to get up and knee him in the face, depleting his Aura completely and knocking him onto his knees. She reached out, intending to knock him completely unconscious, but the Lieutenant shot forward, ramming his shoulder into her solar plexus before forcing her down and straddling her again, wrapping his hands around her throat.
"Die!" he roared, tears and snot dripping from his inflamed eyes and nostrils, "Die! You, the other Faunus traitors, and all the humans! The White Fang will cleanse Remnant o- kk!"
With her fading vision, Hazel watched as, to her horror, a spear's head burst through the Lieutenant's throat, ending his life. In his last moment of consciousness, he pitched himself forward, attempting to take Hazel with him, but she twisted her head and deflected the spear with her horns, resulting in the spear point impaling itself in the ground beside her head. As she fainted, succumbing to her injuries and tiredness, she was mildly aware of a peculiar sensation, like a warm rain upon her head. It was not until much later that she realized that that had been the Lieutenant's blood, falling upon her from his open throat wound.
"-zel, can you- me? Ha- -ke up!"
Hazel heard a voice calling to her- Wisteria's, probably, given the voice's pitch. She was tired, oh so tired, but she had to respond. What kind of leader would keep their friends waiting?
" 'm fnn, 'm okk," she managed to respond, still sluggish from her ordeal. She shook her head slowly and blinked several times, finally opening her eyes to Wisteria's worried expression. A ceiling stood over the both of them - apparently, she had been moved inside of a house while unconscious. Though, judging from the hardwood beneath her, she hadn't been moved onto a bed, for whatever reason. Hazel could hear both Nicholas and Dodger discussing something in another room, but she could not focus enough to understand what they were arguing about.
"Knew 't was you, Wist," she continued to mumble.
Wisteria sighed, allowing the use of her hated nickname. "At least you're conscious. When we noticed your Aura had depleted, we thought you might have died. Here, have some water," she said as she slowly poured water from a flask into Hazel's mouth.
In between gulps, Hazel replied " 'llmos did."
"Yeah, you did, didn't you?" After a moment, Wisteria wiped a tear from her eyes. "Dodger and Nicholas are trying to contact the shelter, but nothing's been working. We think it's because of what happened to the school."
"Wha happen?"
"We don't know. Last we heard, there was some sort of Dragon Grimm, and it attacked the school. Then there was a flash of light, and now… well, we don't know. But shortly after it attacked the school, all communications went down, so we think it interfered with the CCT."
Hazel, forcing herself to try and recover quickly, sat up on her elbows. She almost fell back, but Wisteria held her up.
"That's bad," she grunted out, finally able to talk. "Very bad. If the CCT is damaged, no one on Remnant is gonna be able to contact anyone, period. Our Scrolls are basically glorified watches and cameras right now."
"Yeah," Wisteria said. "We need to get to the shelter ASAP. How are you feeling? We moved you inside, but with the city's defenses down, we can't afford to stay here for more than a night, especially without communications."
"I should be fine in a few minutes," Hazel replied, rolling over into a kneeling position. She leaned against the wall and said, "You know me, I always recover."
A memory flashed through her head, the fight with the White Fang member. And the moments before it.
"Wisteria," she asked, "in that last house I went into, in the basement, there was a body. Do you know-?"
"If there was anyone in the house you and that White Fang member trashed, they're long dead. We couldn't afford to check, since we had to fix you up."
"We can check now," Hazel affirmed, standing up as she leaned on the wall.
Nicholas' voice cut through the room."Not tonight, we can't. It's past 10, and you need to eat."
Hazel turned around, towards the entrance to the room. Nicholas stood there, arms crossed with an angry expression on his face. Behind him, Dodger stood with his face down, red with shame.
"You made dinner?" Hazel asked, pushing herself off the wall - and onto Wisteria, who supported her as she struggled to stay standing.
"Just some stew, made of things we found in the kitchen. There's bread too." he turned and went back towards the kitchen, briefly placing a reassuring hand on Dodger's shoulder.
As Wisteria helped Hazel out of the room, Hazel asked Dodger "How far are we from that last house?"
"Just across the street," he answered.
Hazel turned her head to glance at Wisteria. "Can you to go and check that basement while I'm eating dinner? I know it's probably too late, but…"
"We will," Wisteria assured her. "They deserve better than to rot in the basement of their own house, at least."
"Thank you. Be careful."
Wisteria helped Hazel into a seat at the dinner table, and then turned to leave. As she did so, Hazel called out to her.
"Wisteria?"
Wisteria turned back. "Yeah?
"Be careful, okay?"
She chuckled. "Hazel, that's the second time you've said that in the past minute."
Hazel smiled. "I know, it's just…"
"Yeah, it's okay. We can handle it." Wisteria grabbed her spear and joined Dodger outside, and together they headed towards the house across the road.
Satisfied with her friend's answer, Hazel turned and rested her head on her palms, leaning her elbows on the table. Still tired, she closed her eyes briefly as she waited for her food. She reflected on the fight, and prepared herself for the inevitable discussion she'd have with Nicholas.
"Hazel?"
Thus alerted to the presence of food, Hazel opened her eyes before bursting into a fit of giggling at Nicholas' appearance. Over his full set of armor, he wore a bright pink cooking apron, and rainbow colored oven mitts adorned his hands as he held a pot brimming with steaming stew.
He blushed slightly. "Aw, shut up, this was what they had. Do you want to eat or not?" he threatened, turning to take the stew away.
"No, I'm sorry, it's just- snkk," Hazel chuckled, not yet over the sight of her embarrassed friend. Wiping a tear from her eye, she continued, "It looks good on you."
"Ha, ha, ha," Nicholas replied forcefully, placing the pot of stew on the table. Lifting the lid off the pot, he proclaimed, "Guten mahlzeit!"
Only about a quarter of the pot was filled with stew. However, Hazel noted lines of sauce that indicated that the pot had prior been filled to the brim.
Looking up at Nicholas, she said, "You didn't have to abstain from meat just for my sake."
"It's fine," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "As much as possible, I didn't want to waste these people's food. They'll be coming back to their homes within a week or so, and it would be wrong for whoever lives here to come back to an empty pantry."
"But it's fine if they come back to a broken door?"
"Eh, we'll fix it before we go. Oh, and here's some bread," he added, tossing her the end-piece of a baguette. "Eat up! I have to wash the dishes," he turned back towards the kitchen.
"Nick?"
"What's the problem?" he asked, turning around.
"What am I supposed to eat with? Or drink?" she indicated a distinct lack of utensils and beverages before her.
"They keep some juice boxes in that cabinet to your left. Gimme a sec with the spoon," he answered, heading into the kitchen.
Hazel opened the cabinet and grabbed a small, kid-size carton of apple juice and stuck the straw through the plastic covering, giving it a sip before Nicholas came back with a spoon.
"Here," he said, "now eat up. Since you spent the last four hours or whatever sleeping, you're on first watch tonight."
"Thanks," and with that, Hazel dug in. She savored the expertly blended mix of vegetables, the superb stock, and the texture of the soup and bread. Looking up at the kitchen, she called to Nicholas, "This is delicious!"
"Tell that to Dodger," he called back, "he's the one who did the real work. I just stirred it a bit and carried it out to you."
"I'll do that," Hazel said as she returned to her meal. After a few bites, she stopped, picking up a sound. After listening to it for a few moments, she continued eating, but not before wiping a tear from her eye.
In the distance, outside the house, the sound of shoveling dirt continued as Wisteria and Dodger buried a corpse.
Hazel sat in the living room, staring at the sleeping forms of her three friends. They had split the couch cushions amongst themselves, laying their backs on them rather than the floor. Dodger had allocated some blankets and pillows, and they all slept soundly, their current arrangements being much more comfortable than the 'bare necessities camping' style of sleeping conditions they were used to suffering on away missions.
With her back against the wall, Hazel had a clear view of the front door, as well as some of the living room windows. Her shield lay beside her, her Shotel in its sheath at her waist. Thanks to her time spent resting, her Aura had restored itself completely, and she breathed easily, expecting her time spent watching the group to pass by uneventfully.
She flicked on her Scroll to check the time. Twelve-fifty-five in the morning. Another five minutes, and she could rest.
She turned off her scroll and thought about dinner. To her surprise, Nicholas hadn't talked to her about the White Fang member. As a matter of fact, she was surprised that she had yet to admonish Nicholas for killing him.
She gazed up at the ceiling. Why hadn't she told him off? There was something wrong about it- yes, the timing, that was it. She had just woken up, and then she had to be informed of the situation, and then the meal and then- and then.
Frustrated, she sighed and placed her head in her hands. She had no real valid excuse. She hadn't told him off because a part of her was glad that Nicholas had killed the White Fang member. Deep within her, some survival instinct or other was willing to allow the death of another living being for the sake of her own continued existence.
It disgusted her, that some part of herself thought - no, dared to judge what a life was worth. She was supposed to be better than that, she thought. She was supposed to be a Huntress, an Ambassador, someone who traveled the world for the sake of peace.
What would father think of me, she thought. And then, her consciousness trailing as the night wore on, she wondered what her mother was thinking right now? She must be worried sick, what with the CCT down, and the last word from the tournament being a death and then some terrorist propaganda followed by a Grimm invasion.
She checked her scroll. One-oh-five. Five minutes past when she was supposed to wake up Nicholas, but she figured she'd let him sleep a few minutes more-
A step. No, several steps. A squad of Huntsmen? No, the breaths were ragged and primal, the growls harsh and hungry. Grimm.
Hazel quietly rushed over to her companions and shook them awake, making sure to let them know to stay silent.
"How many?" Wisteria whispered.
"I can't tell for sure," Hazel replied, focusing her hearing. "At least twenty… A few Beowolves and Creeps. And- the stomping of a Goliath."
Acting quickly, they grabbed their weapons and assumed defensive positions that they had worked out during dinner. Nicholas and Wisteria stood in front of the front door, defended by Nicholas' Scutum, their polearms ready to stab at enemies from behind the shield. Hazel and Dodger stood on either side of the living room window, prepared to ambush any Grimm that might choose to enter the house through the window.
Mentally, they attempted to calm themselves. Though they were confident in their abilities to defeat the Grimm, they would prefer to avoid a fight, to conserve their energy and ammunition.
Tense seconds passed as the Grimm walked around outside. They held their positions as Hazel heard the Grimm approach the house, sniffing the lawn, coming closer and closer.
Then they stopped. For a moment they thought they were safe, until Hazel heard the Goliath paw at the dirt, heard it trumpet softly in preparation for something.
"Get out of the house!" Hazel roared desperately, holding her shield up as she charged through the window, shattering the glass and rolling onto her feet as she hit the ground. Dodger was right behind her, smashing through the other end of the horizontal window. Nicholas and Wisteria managed to burst through the front door to the outside as the Goliath charged, slamming through the house and bringing it down.
"Get close!" Nicholas commanded as he activated his Semblance. Hazel and Wisteria complied, forming a spearheaded with Wisteria at the front, and they charged into the horde of Grimm.
Wisteria slashed through the Grimm, horizontal attacks taking down some Creeps. Behind her, Hazel and Nicholas slashed and stabbed respectively, each taking out more Grimm.
Dodger went off on his own, leaping into a tight group of Beowolves and activating his Semblance. As the Beowolves attempted to swarm him, they found themselves slowed within the effects of his power, and he dispatched them with practiced ease.
Eventually, as the battle wore down, the Goliath removed itself from the rubble of the house. It roared, waving its trunk wildly as it charged once more at the team, aiming specifically for the makeshift phalanx that Hazel and Nicholas had constructed. They separated to avoid being trampled beneath the Goliath's mighty feet, Wisteria dodging in the same direction as Nicholas.
"Wisteria! Catch!" Hazel threw a raw crystal of Lightning Dust towards Wisteria, who caught it easily. Understanding her leader's intentions, Wisteria crushed the crystal in her hands, absorbing the latent energy within the Dust as she activated her Semblance.
She grew larger, until she was almost as tall as the ceilings of the suburban houses around them. Her equipment grew too, matching her in size.
As the Goliath came round again, it charged at her, the biggest object in its sight. She set her stance, dug her feet into the ground, and with Nicholas next to her, granting her strength, she thrust her Dangpa out at the Goliath, piercing it with all three of the polearm's blades. The Goliath, set upon its death charge, kept pushing, intending to skewer Wisteria with its horns. As her footing began to slip, however, Wisteria simply pulled the trigger on her spear twice, sending extra-large Grimm-shot through the Goliath.
The battle concluded, Wisteria reverted to her original size as the team regrouped. They sat down together, on the lawn of the now destroyed house.
After a few moments of silent rest, Nicholas spoke up. "Why can't you fight like that against people?" he said, staring at his feet.
Dodger and Wisteria braced themselves for the coming argument, laying back on the grass as they prepared to rest through it. There were a few more moments of tense silence before Hazel responded. "You know why."
"I guess we do."
"... Is that all you have to say?"
Nicholas chose to not reply immediately, carefully selecting his words. "No. It's not." He stood up, and pointed an accusing finger at Hazel. "Your life is more important than that of a White Fang member. Of any White Fang member."
"Who are you to decide the value of a life?"
"Who are you to decide that all lives have equal value?" He countered. "Value is inherently subjective. It's an opinion. Do you think that the White Fang member I killed placed much value in your life?"
"He did," Hazel said.
Nicholas scoffed. "What makes you say that?"
"If my life didn't matter to him, he wouldn't have been so emotionally charged in his attempt to take it."
"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that you should have held back as you did. The moment your both of your Auras were down, you should have killed him."
"We both know that that's never going to happen."
"Why do you insist on hoping to reform people who are beyond redemption? You were fully aware that the White Fang guy you were fighting had killed someone, and your first thought was to arrest him and bring him to a shelter full of civilians?"
"No one is born evil," Hazel said. "No one. Yeah, nature has some part of the say in how people turn out, but a person's experiences truly define them. He could have been a good person - he could have been one of us, a Huntsman."
"I'm not going to deny a theoretical possibility. But I am going to insist that you face the reality that he was going to kill you, and you shouldn't have held back just because your morals forbid you from murder."
"For me to not hold back would have resulted in me committing murder."
"That's what you think. He was strong, Hazel. That he got the upper hand even after his Aura depleted is proof of that. You could have gone all out like you do with Grimm and you probably would have knocked him out a lot easier. Then you could have tied him up, or whatever it is you had planned to do."
Hazel shook her head and drew her knees in. "I couldn't take that chance, Nick. I'm not going to chance killing someone by accident. I can't. I won't."
"Then quit," Nicholas replied.
Hazel's eyes shot up. "What?" she asked, incredulous.
"You heard me," Nicholas said. "Drop out of the Academy. Go home and take over your mother's business, and do your whole peacekeeping thing there."
"Working under my mother and my life goals are incompatible."
"Your life goals are incompatible with the reality of being a Huntsman. Do you know how often Huntsmen kill criminals? It's less than you'd think, but more than you would hope. Ours is a job that, at its core, goes beyond nationality, creed, or socio-economic or political ideology. Huntsmen are sworn to protect the civilians of all the Kingdoms. To protect those who can't protect themselves, against those who would do them harm. And sometimes, that means making hard choices."
"So you'd kill again, if it came to it?"
"Without a doubt. It's true that a person's experience shape what they are. But when it comes to protecting people, that doesn't matter. It becomes a matter of one person who is intent on harming others against one person who is intent on protecting others."
"No," Hazel replied. "It becomes one person who is confused about the world and their place in it, against someone who is intent on protecting others."
"We're both thinking of imaginary contextual scenarios here, so to dismiss mine as bullshit while assuming yours as the exact reality is incredibly fallacious of you."
"I know," she replied. At this point, she began to cry lightly, tears streaming down her tired face.
Nicholas was taken aback at this. In all their time spent arguing, never had she buckled like this, fallen to tears as she was now. "...This isn't like you," he finally said.
"I know," she sniffled. "I'm crying because there's a part of me that's happy the White Fang member died. Some part of me is happy that someone died so that I could live, and it's disgusting. People's deaths aren't something that should be celebrated. Even the death of a criminal, even the death of a murderer. He could have changed."
Nicholas squatted down in front of her. "Maybe he could have. Maybe he wouldn't have. It doesn't matter now. You're alive and that's more important," he said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
She knocked aside his hand. "My life is NOT inherently more valuable than those of other people!" she yelled. "Everyone deserves a chance to change! Everyone deserves a chance to live!"
"We can't afford to wait for people to change!" Nicholas roared. " 'We' as a team, and 'we' as society in general! How many innocent people will die before you can successfully play therapist? There are lines that, once crossed, cannot be gone over again. Murder, attempted mass slaughter, and everything else the White Fang have caused today are unforgivable crimes, and regardless of whatever painful or traumatic experiences led them to be commit those crimes, I will do whatever it takes to protect those who suffer because of their actions. Even if it means killing people."
Hazel shook her head sadly. "We really are never going to agree on this, are we?"
Nicholas stood up, and held his hand out to her. "Probably not. But we don't have to. You're my friend, Hazel, and I love you- not as much as I love Wisteria of course," he added quickly as Wisteria coughed loudly, "but I, and the rest of the team, do care about you deeply. Maybe you don't think we're more important than criminals-"
"That's not-"
"But we think you're worth more than that. I'm pretty sure I'm not saying this the way I intended to, but the main thing is this: feel free to keep being yourself, Hazel. I… I don't think you're wrong. Not completely. But I think there's a limit to the allowances people should make for criminals. The people who caused the incident yesterday deserve to die."
"I disagree."
Nicholas dropped the hand he was holding out. "What."
"I think they should be talked to. I think something in their life drove them to this. I think that something is a problem that can be solved. I think- I think the whole world should get together, and talk to each other. If that could happen, we'd all be able to solve all our problems."
"Do you actually think that's possible?"
"No. That's why I'm going to be an ambassador. Rather than bringing the whole world to a talk, I'm going to bring the conversation to everyone, all over Remnant."
"You're crazy, you know that? And too headstrong for your own good."
"I am a boar Faunus," she joked.
"Holy shi- are you ever gonna let that go?"
"No," she laughed. "But… thanks for not thinking I'm completely wrong."
"Whatever," he scoffed. "I try to meet you halfway and you think my viewpoint is inoperable."
"You're wrong," Hazel said firmly. "I don't think your viewpoint is inoperable. That's the problem. Taking human life should never be the go-to solution to problems. It shouldn't even be considered as a solution to any problem. Even when the problem is the loss of human life."
Nicholas shook his head and turned away. "Whatever. We'll see how far you get as a Huntress, Hazel. Come on, with this house destroyed we've got no choice but to start making our way to the shelter now."
Wisteria stood up and nudged Dodger with the butt of her spear, who promptly took out his earbuds. "Are they done arguing?" he yawned.
Hazel laughed softly as she stood up. "Yes, we're done. And we're going to the shelter now. We can't afford to stay out here."
"...could we not just stay in another house?"
"We've intruded upon these people's in absentia hospitality enough as it is, Dodge. But before we go, can you gimme a sec?"
Nicholas turned back and called, "Make it quick" as he looked down the road towards their destination.
"Thanks."
Hazel quickly headed across the street, towards the house where earlier she had battled in an attempt to save two lives- hers, and her attackers.
In the lawn, spaced away from each other quite a bit, two graves had been dug. On top of one, a large rock had been placed as a headstone, with the name 'Hong Ming' scratched into the stone- Wisteria's handiwork, no doubt. On the other, a chainsaw had been driven blade first into the ground, and inscribed on it in marker was simply 'White Fang Member'.
Hazel knelt down between the two graves and cried. As she wept, not caring if her teammates heard her in the darkness, she muttered to herself "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I could not save you. I could not save either of you. I'm sorry."
After some time, Hazel walked back to her teammates, a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Her teammates made no remark of what had transpired on that lawn, if they even heard it.
Together, they walked off into the darkness, using only their familiarity of the city of Vale as their guide, fully prepared to deal with anything that could come their way.
(Original Story Commentary from when I first wrote it years ago)
More than anything else, I wanted this short story to be an examination of Hazel's character, though I don't really accomplish that until the end, especially the dinner scene onwards. Oh well, I did what I had to to make sure the story was well written. I would have liked to have made the description of the meal a bit more in depth, but I'm not well versed in the art of cooking, so I wouldn't know what to do.
If I really wanted to bust my ass, I would have designed a basic house (as in, made amateur architectural drawings of a house) and used that to base scenes off of more accurately (as in, does Hazel go up or down to get to the dining room/kitchen? Where exactly is the living room, aside from near the front door? Where are windows placed? etc.) but I was really tired after already writing all the other more important shit, and still having to finish another important thing.
I used the White Fang Lieutenant as the "final boss" of sorts because he's a genuinely dangerous character (he would have absolutely killed Weiss if his idiocy hadn't saved her - instead of throwing her as he did, he could have just knocked her out and chainsawed her torso until her Aura ran out) who is, as far as we have seen, unflinching in his keeping to his ideals. He is a high ranking member of the White Fang, and is morally willing to accept murder.
He's a bit stronger than his singular scene in Volume 2 because he spent all of Volume 3 training for the attack on Vale. He's also a much more pragmatic, brutal fighter, because more than characters performing flashy movements during fights (i.e. every single unnecessary flip or spin in RWBY - I blame this on the fact that most of the RWBY production team likely does not have much martial arts experience, and pretty much only has anime/films to go off of), I prefer characters to be realistic in their skills, at least in terms of technique.
Hazel could have more easily defeated the White Fang lieutenant, but her moral ideology prevented her from using the fullest extent of her strength.
Speaking of ideology, I'd like to say that I neither agree nor disagree with Hazel and Nicholas' moral viewpoints. That is, I don't think either one of them is inherently wrong or right. I think Hazel is correct in that people act as they do because of their life experiences, and that they are capable of change. I also think that Nicholas is correct in that some actions are morally unforgivable, and that killing a few people is an acceptable solution to preventing mass death. Their ideologies are on separate ends of a spectrum.
Dodger Gorman's weapons are dual flanged maces, and his Semblance allows him to slow down time within a 2 meter radius of himself. Naturally, this affects the movement of things affected by the slowed time. Dodger (and anything he has direct physical contact with, i.e. his maces/clothes) is the only thing immune to his Semblance's effect. A fast fighter, he uses his Semblance and natural speed in tandem to avoid getting hit while also crippling enemies with precise strikes.
Wisteria Choi's weapon is a Dangpa, a Korean trident-spear. It also borrows design elements from Bloodborne, in that it's gun part effectively makes it a trident sub-type of the Bloodborne Rifle Spear. Her Semblance, as inspired by her last name's meaning (Choi translates to "high", "lofty", or "towering") allows her to increase the physical mass/size of anything she has direct physical contact with, including herself. It maxes out (currently) at 1.5 times its original size. She herself grows to be 8 feet tall (Her normal height is 5'4"). When she increases her own size, moving costs her more energy (calories). Her transformation requires a lot of Aura to activate, and she must use Dust as an alternative energy source in order to not run out of Aura by transforming excessively. Tends to fight alongside her boyfriend Nicholas, forming a sort of two-person phalanx, with Nicholas shielding and stabbing with his Pilum, and Wisteria behind also stabbing (and occasionally shooting) with her longer Dangpa.
Nicholas Ellison's weapons are a Scutum (Roman shield) and a transforming Pilum/Spatha (spear/straight sword, respectively). His Semblance grants a slight strength buff (approx. 1.25 their base strength) to people within a 5 meter radius to him. As you get closer to him while it's active, the effect becomes stronger - it maxes at an approx. 1.75 strength boost if you are right next to him. The strength boosts do not affect himself, however. Literally a Semblance that relies on teamwork with others. Drains Aura rapidly if used for extended periods. Unfortunately, enhances the strength of human opponents as well, so he has to be careful with its use.
The encounter between Dodger and Adam lasts approximately 10 seconds, while also counting the time it took for Dodger to run diagonally away from Adam both before and after the use of his Semblance.
The fight between Nicholas, Wisteria, and the Griffon Grimm lasts approximately 20 seconds.
The fight between Hazel and the White Fang Lieutenant lasts several minutes, including dialogue.
The fight between Team HNDW and the Grimm (11 Beowolves, one of which is an Alpha, 17 Creeps, and a Goliath) lasts about 5 minutes. In terms of wordplay, I've cut it down because the important part is what happens after.