AN: I'm sorry this took as long as it did, I've had to deal with family stuff lately and haven't been able to work as often as I'd like.
I don't want to keep you waiting so I'll get right to the chapter. Any details about the new story will be at the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OCs. Rwby belongs to Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.
Grimm Trailer
Schnee company quarry, ten miles from Atlas
On the ledge of a canyon stood a lone figure. He had jet-black hair except for two patches of white on his wolf-like ears on his head. He wore a black trench coat with roughed up edges along the bottom opened to reveal a dark grey shirt tucked into black cargo pants and combat boots on his feet. He had a leather strap wrapping around his torso from his right shoulder to left hip, which held a greatsword on his back and a shoulder pad on his right arm.
He was currently looking through a pair of binoculars at the Schnee company quarry at the end of the canyon. It was a simple outpost, chain-link fence, manufacturing building, guard's quarters, worker quarters, and the Administrator's office. This place was just another mine using Faunus labor for less than minimum wage.
A second man, a head shorter to the first, walked up to the ledge. He wore a pair of jeans and a jean jacket over a red shirt. He had brown, curly hair with two boar ears atop his head and hazel colored eyes that held a sense of arrogance to them. Clipped to his belt was a morning star that he had a hand resting on, eager for a fight.
"Everyone's in position, Verdax." He said as the first figure hands him the binoculars, revealing his onyx eyes.
"Look at the quarry an tell me what you see." Verdax tells him.
The figure takes the binoculars and looks to the compound. "Guards patrolling and workers working." He said as he turned to Verdax. "What's the problem?"
Verdax growled. "There are too few guards, even for a place like this. Not to mention the scent of depression and fear is a bit higher than usual. I'm surprised you didn't notice."
The figure shrugged as he turned back to the compound. "Your Grimm Sense is stronger than mine."
"You wanna call this off?" He asked, watching the compound.
Verdax was silent. "No." He said. "I'm not going to explain to Shiro and Adam why we backed out based on a feeling. Tell the men to be on guard at all times. We attack in an hour."
0-0-0-0
Two guards stood at the gate. They wore standard issue Atlas military armor, one with orange highlights and one with maroon highlights.
"Hey." Orange spoke up.
"What?" Maroon asked.
"Do you ever wonder, why we're here?"
Before Maroon could answer, two people broke from the tree line and walked up the dirt road to the gate, stopping in front of the soldiers. The first was a wolf Faunus, while the second was a boar Faunus.
"Stop right there!" Maroon called out, raising his gun.
The boar Grimm stepped forwards. "Sorry, my friend and I are a little lost. Could you give us directions back to Atlas?" He asked gesturing to his friend, who had his arms crossed and looking to the side.
Orange spoke up. "Why are you kids here, and what's with the weapons?"
Boar scratched the back of his neck with a nervous smile. "Well, we were going on a cross-country hike and didn't want to be Grimm chow, so we brought our weapons."
The two soldiers looked at each other before Maroon sighed and put away his gun.
"Alright you two, we'll take you inside and give you directions to Atlas." Maroon said.
As Maroon stepped forwards Boar suddenly disappeared in an orange flash and reappeared behind the soldier. He swung his morning star, causing the metal spike ball to collide with Maroon's head, knocking it off and into Orange's surprised arms as the body collapsed.
"What the fuc-!" Orange shouted before being stabbed through the chest by Wolf's greatsword.
0-0-0
Verdax removed his sword from the corpse, causing it to fall forwards onto the ground, the other soldier's severed head rolling away.
His greatsword looked like two swords, one longer than the other, split down the middle by a band of dark steel with red highlights that also formed the hilt and the handle was wrapped in black leather.
Sheathing the blade, Verdax looks to his partner. "Really Aaron? A cross-country hike?"
Aaron shrugged. "I was on the spot. Sue me."
Verdax walked up to the gate, drawing on his Aura and surrounding himself in black energy. Gripping it with both hands, he ripped it off its hinges, throwing the door to one side. He the put a finger to his earpiece as his Aura died down.
"Operation Mineshaft is a go. All units move to your objectives. Keep nonessential chatter to a minimum and stay alert." He barked into the mike.
Verdax turned to Aaron. "Go clear out the quarry, I'll deal with the Administrator. We'll rendezvous at manufacturing. Don't Grimmify unless absolutely necessary."
Aaron nodded before sprinting towards the quarry while Verdax made his way to Administration.
0-0-0-0
Verdax broke down the door to building, startling the soldiers inside. He stabbed one through the chest before whirling around and bisecting another at the waist. A third fumbled for his gun, but Verdax cut off his leg at the knee and grabbed the gun while using the man as a shield. He quickly mowed down the other soldiers in the room before stabbing the greatsword into the man's back.
Suddenly Verdax felt a jolt of pain as he was shot in the shoulder. He looked to see one of the soldiers lying on the ground, having survived the gunfire. Planting his sword in the ground, Verdax picks up the man by his neck as black Aura leaks off the wound, closing it up and healing it without a trace. The man's eyes widened in fear.
Without a word Verdax's right arm became surrounded in a black Aura as the man glowed a dim white before it trailed into Verdax's arm. The man's mouth was opened in a wordless scream as his Aura was drained from him. When Verdax released his grip, the man fell to the ground, dead.
Retrieving his sword, Verdax makes his way to a nearby elevator. He pushes the button for the Administration office and the elevator begins moving. When it comes to a stop, he smells nervousness outside. He sighs, knowing that means there's an ambush to deal with. He quickly unsheathes his greatsword before twisting the handle, causing the sword to split into two smaller, one-handed swords, the blade in his right hand half a foot longer than the other.
Before the doors opened all the way, Verdax charged forwards, breaking the door and surprising the soldiers on the other side. He stabbed the front two in the neck, and then pulled them in front of him to act as a shield from the other six soldier's gunfire. Dropping the corpses, he ran and stabbed another soldier through the chest with the left sword while he slashed with the right one as he pressed a button on its hilt, releasing the blade on a chain extension allowing it to decapitate another soldier.
He reeled the blade back in as he charged the left sword with Aura, slashing it and creating a crescent wave that bisected three more soldiers. The last one shakily held up his sidearm, but before he could shoot, Verdax shot both blades into a wall behind him on either side of a door. He reeled himself in, using the momentum to kick the soldier through the door before landing on his sternum and shattering it with a loud crack, killing him instantly.
Before he could stand, Verdax heard clicking behind him. After a quick glance, he saw that two soldiers stood with their guns aimed at his head. A chuckle brought his attention to the front of the room. Sitting at the desk was a man in his early fifties with steel grey hair and hazel eyes. He was drinking from a flask while his other hand rested on a revolver.
"I must applaud you for making it here boy." The man said in a gruff voice. "The sheer number of soldiers would have at least slowed down any other person."
Verdax stood slowly. "I'm not like anyone else." He replied.
"That much is obvious." The man commented as one of the soldiers took Verdax's swords. "However, your organization is nothing if not predictable."
Verdax raised an eyebrow. "The White Fang are suckers for anything that uses Faunus labor." The man continued. "Using that info combined with the recent string of assaults by your group of freaks, it was only a matter of time until you came here."
He was interrupted by the sound of engines from outside followed by gunfire. "Right where we want you." He finished.
Verdax stared at the man. "So, the lack of guards, the scent of unease, and general feeling of abandonment. It was a trap from the start." He said.
The man smirked as he stood and walked in front of Verdax, gun level to his heart. "The one thing I didn't expect, was that someone as young as you would be in charge."
"I may lack age," Verdax said calmly. "But I certainly have-"
He vanished in a flurry of black petals and reappeared behind the soldiers. Grabbing them by the shoulders and drained their Auras before grabbing his swords as their corpses fell.
"Experience." He finished as he reformed his weapon into greatsword form.
The man fired a few rounds at Verdax out of fear, but they were easily deflected by his greatsword. He walked forwards, ripping the gun from the man's grip as he pushed him back onto the table.
"Any last words?" Verdax asked, holding the gun under the man's chin.
The man was silent, his eyes full of fear, before taking a breath. "You're only dooming yourself and all your kind." He said.
Verdax hesitated. "Explain." He growled.
The man had the nerve to laugh. "You freaks pretend you're on some 'righteous crusade' for the betterment of the Faunus, but when you look at the actions your group has taken, you see nothing more than homicidal terrorists."
Verdax pressed the gun further into the man's neck. "You try to earn equality through fear," He continued. "But you're also making yourself a threat to humanity in the process."
He reached forwards and grabbed Verdax by the collar and bright him closer until they were eye to eye. "So what happens when humanity decides to drop its own problems and decides you're too big a threat to ignore!?" He shouted. "How many of your friends!? The children you're fighting for!? How many of them would die in that war!?"
Verdax stood there, staring into the eyes of this man, before pulling the trigger. The corpse released his coat as it fell back, collapsing on the floor. He threw away the gun and shifted his sword to the right hand as he stared at the body before him. An explosion from outside snapped him to reality.
"Aaron, what's happening?" He shouted into the earpiece.
"Atlas military!" Aaron responded. "The bastards came out of nowhere! We've lost the majority of our forces and are surrounded in the courtyard!"
Verdax twisted the handle of his sword again, this time it folded back, forming a crescent shape. The blades were outside the crescent and a cable attached the two ends of it, transforming it into a bow.
"I'm on my way." He said.
0-0-0
Outside was a war zone. Atlas soldiers had flooded the place with their robots, killing any White Fang soldiers they encountered. The ground was littered with the corpses of Atlas military, Faunus and broken machinery. Aaron and the remaining White Fang members stood back to back in a circle, fighting off the approaching army, but it was a losing battle.
"I guess this counts." Aaron said as he raised his hand to his face.
As he swept his hand down, he was surrounded in a dark orange Aura that pushed back the advancing soldiers. On his face was a white, bone-like mask with an orange line crossing from the left temple to the right cheek. There was a pig like nose in the middle of the mask and two tusk-like protrusions along the jawline. His iris turned a burning orange while the sclera turned black.
He roared, his voice distorted by his mask, as he brought down his morning star on top a crowd of soldiers. The following explosion obliterated those in its field and sent anyone else on its borders flying. Before Aaron could prepare another strike, he had to doge a hail of gunfire from above. He looked to see a soldier manning a mounted minigun on a bullhead as it flew over.
Before the gunner could shoot again, a streak of black energy in the shape of an arrow flew through the air and struck the fuel line of the airship, engulfing it in flames. As the ship fell to the ground Aaron traced the arrow's path, spotting Verdax standing atop manufacturing, bow in his left hand.
Swiftly, Verdax turned, drawing the string of his bow back. As he did so, his Aura flowed from his left hand into the bow, where it reformed into an arrow on the drawstring. He released the arrow into a crowd, causing an explosion of black energy as it impacted. He then released a volley of arrows, the following explosions reducing the number of Atlas soldiers to a handful.
Verdax leapt to the ground, turning his weapon into greatsword form and cutting a soldier in half as he landed. The remaining soldiers retreated while Verdax, Aaron, and the handful of White Fang fell back to manufacturing.
"I leave you alone for ten minutes." Verdax growled as Aaron dispersed his mask.
"Spare me the lecture this time alright?" Aaron demanded.
Verdax ignored him, hiding beside a widow while looking out, trying to spot the enemy.
Aaron took his place on the other side of the same window. "What do we do now?" He questioned.
"Can you reach anyone outside the canyon?" Verdax suggested only for Aaron to shake his head.
"They're jamming comms." He informed. "We're on our own."
"Damn it." Verdax said. "We'll just have to fight our way out."
"Yeah," Aaron replied sarcastically. "How well do you think that's going to work?"
"You got a better idea?" Verdax growled.
Suddenly a voice rang out through the ruined outpost.
"Attention White Fang!" It said. "I wish to parley with your leader. Come out so we may discuss terms of surrender."
Verdax and Aaron share a look. "Problem solved." Aaron said as he moved to the door.
"Wait!" Verdax commanded, grabbing his arm. "This is obviously a trap."
"Then let's both go." Aaron said, annoyed, earning a raised eyebrow from Verdax. "They can't kill both of us." He then opened the door and walked out.
"Oum damn it." Verdax muttered as he followed Aaron.
Standing amid the ruins from the previous battle, was a young man, no older than twenty-five. He had sandy blonde hair combed back and wore a white tuxedo with a blue tie, giving him a sophisticated look. Both hands were resting on a cane in front of him, about waist height. Verdax noticed a trigger towards the top, indicating it was also a weapon. He raised an eyebrow as Verdax and Aaron approached.
"I wasn't expecting children." The man commented.
"No one ever does." Aaron replied with a smirk.
The man seemed to accept this as he took a flask from his coat. He took a drink before offering it to the two Faunus, who declined.
"My name is Winston Churchill." He informed as he put away the drink. "I thank you both for meeting me under these... Unique circumstances."
Aaron began to speak, but Verdax beat him to it. "Cut the crap. You Atlas types are as prideful as you are arrogant. Why'd you suddenly surrender?"
Winston blinked before suddenly smirking. "I believe there has been a mistake." He said calmly as he took out a small metal box. "I'm here, for your surrender."
With that he flicked open the box and pressed the red button under the lid. Before either Faunus could react, the manufacturing building the came out of exploded. The two staggered forwards from the force of the blast and turned to look behind them in horror. They stared at the flames and rising smoke for what felt like an eternity before Aaron snapped.
"BASTARD!" He shouted as he charged towards Winston, forming his mask.
Without warning, gunfire sounded from the rooftops as snipers opened up on Aaron. Most missed but one managed to take out his right knee, causing him to collapse at Winston's feet. Winston then grabbed his chin and forced him to meet his gaze while planting the gun into his neck.
At this point Verdax recovered and readied his greatsword. "Let him go!" He demanded.
Winston growled. "You Faunus are a plight on Remnant. One I intend to purge, one by one."
Verdax ran forwards, concerned for his comrade. Time slowed as he began to disappear in a burst of petals as Winston pulled the trigger.
Verdax never made it.
Aaron fell back, black blood gushing from his neck like a fountain as his mask shattered. Enraged, Verdax charged his fist with Aura, surrounding it in smokey black energy before slamming it into Winston's chest, breaking the ribs it hit and throwing him across the compound. In a single movement, he charged his blade with Aura; giving it the same glow as his fist, and spun around, taking out the buildings the snipers were positioned on with a massive circular energy wave.
"Aaron!" Verdax shouted, running to his fallen comrade as the snipers cried out from being crushed under the rubble.
The boar Faunus began coughing up blood as he kneeled at his side.
"I... tried to... warp..." Aaron grunted through the pain.
"Just hold on!" Verdax said. "I'll get us out of here."
Aaron grabbed his wrist. "Verdax listen… I think that asshole can… negate semblances..."
"That doesn't matter now!" Verdax shouted. "I need to get you help-"
Aaron coughed up a large amount of blood. "Verdax, we both know I won't make it…" He said grimly. "While I still have some Aura left… I want you to do it."
"But Aaron-"
"I don't care what happens!" Aaron roared, putting his hand in Verdax's. "Just go… kick his ass for me."
Verdax just stared at the face of his dying friend, and then closed his eyes as he started draining his Aura. He could hear Aaron grunting as he refused to cry out in pain. This continued for a few moments before all became silent. When he opened his eyes, his comrade had a peaceful look on his face, as if knowing Verdax would finish the job.
"I'm sorry Aaron." Verdax said, a single tear falling as his friend succumbed to blood and Aura loss.
Winston managed to stagger through the hole in the wall, his suit torn and clutching his side. "That was a hell of a punch kid." He commented as he walked towards the scene. "But I'll tell you-"
He was interrupted as Verdax's Aura exploded in power. Verdax looked up, and Winston froze in his tracks. He stood, greatsword in his left hand, surrounded in a black torrent of energy and stared at Winston through his mask.
The mask was made of the same material as Aaron's but it was more human like. It had two glowing red lines trailing from the forehead, through the eye sockets, and down to the chin. The mouth was a set of jagged teeth that stretched across the mask. His sclera was black while his eyes turned blood red.
"No," Verdax calmly said in his distorted voice. "I will tell you that you've made the biggest mistake of your short life."
With that he charged forwards fast enough to that he seemingly teleported. He grabbed Winston by the face before slamming him down into the ground with enough force to make an impact crater.
"You made me watch my friend die." He hissed.
Winston's eyes went wide with fear as Verdax leapt back and started charging a ball of Aura in his hand. Winston only stared at Verdax before his fear suddenly tripled.
"What?! Why can't I cancel your semblance?!" He demanded.
Verdax growled. "I don't need a semblance to kill a weakling like you."
He then fired the black energy at Winston who jumped to one side. The following explosion created another crater and launched Winston face first against a wall. Not giving him an opportunity, a black pulse surrounded Verdax before he disappeared in a black flash and reappeared behind Winston.
"This is for Aaron!" He shouted as Winston looked back in time to see Verdax run the sword through his back up to the hilt, piercing the heart.
Verdax steps back, taking the sword with him and allowing the body to fall to the ground. He stands there, staring at the corpse for what felt like eternity. He then reaches a hand to the mask and allows it to disperse. He walks over to Aaron's body and kneels by it, head hung low. Staring at the corpse, he remembers the administrator's words.
'How many of your friends would die in that war!?'
"Too many." Verdax answered.
Rising, Verdax walked away from the corpse before turning and disintegrating it in a blast of Aura. Satisfied, he vanished in another flash of black energy, one thought on his mind:
'Is there another way?'
AN: Done!
First thing to address: Ruby won the poll, so the pairing will be Verdax x Ruby.
Second: Verdax's weapon. To simplify it, picture a daedric greatsword from Skyrim that separates into two daedric swords, one longer than the other, and also turns into a bow.
Third: His new semblance was demonstrated towards the end of the chapter, if you look close you can see it.
Lastly, I'm having a bit of writer's block, so for a while I'll be working on the rewrite for Alien Watch. I'm also thinking of starting to write my stories in first person, let me know if that's preferable.
Let me know what you think of the story. Is it better? Worse? I appreciate feedback, no flames please.