Well folks, it's almost Midnight and I busted my tail to pitch in my own contribution to #MontyOumProject
Rooster Teeth owns RWBY, and no matter how I feel about Volume 4..they're giving it their all
Parallels
Remnant, it is a world that once teetered upon the brink of oblivion due to the scourge brought on by the Grimm: Creatures manifested from darkness and drawn instinctively to the more negative aspects of emotions such as greed, anger, or fear. Mankind would spend its early days on the defensive against this otherworldly threat, and when all home seemed lost for those who roamed those lands..the planet itself would reveal its own ace in the hole.
Dust. This strange element would be the key to humanity's continued survival as any weapons imbued with it appeared to do harm to the Grimm, in time people would begin to branch out throughout the land and establish the Four Kingdoms of Remnant: Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo. And although for a time there was solace and safety to be found within the sanctuary of their kingdom's walls, the threat of the Grimm was never too far from the minds of the citizens and thus came the advent of the Academies. A place where the children of these four kingdoms would train to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, able-bodied and sharp-minded individuals whose task was to protect the world from the creatures of Grimm. As a leader of one such Academy, it was said that a man known only Ozpin had an uncanny ability to see the hidden potential in those students who passed through his halls and molding his pupils in such a way that they could maximize their efforts toward becoming the absolute elite of their occupation.
Those in power envied the students who graduated from Ozpin's Beacon Academy, their exceptional abilities pushing the other headmaster's to do their best to replicate the man's results, and with the exception of Atlas and the alleged rumors of Dust Infusion experiments these efforts would end in failure and the graduation of sometimes above-average Huntsmen.
But as the saying goes the brightest of lights often cast the largest of shadows, indeed the light of hope that Beacon's elite cast was more then bright enough to blind those in power to the shadowy machinations of its leader.
Or just how cruelly well-timed it turned out to be.
It was the bi-centennial of the four kingdom's Unification Accords and anyone who had even the smallest modicum of clout to their name was invited as an honored guest, and when the top brass of the kingdoms weren't busy going over the finer points of bureaucracy they would be entertained by the spectacle of Remnant's best prospective Huntsman and Huntresses fight in a week-long tournament for the pride of their nation. In the end the finals would come down to a third-year student from Atlas Academy by the name of Amadeus Chalk, a mountain of a man who used his overwhelming size and brute strength to bull his team past the 4 on 4 and Doubles rounds before crushing those unlucky few he met on the main stage. His opponent was a plucky ferret Faunus by the name of Rose Kazumi, whose fancy footwork and proficiency with the Tonfa had propelled the underdog team RNBW into contention before literally carrying her unconscious teammate and friend Wisteria Hart through to the main stage. There were times where defeat seemed certain for the little Faunus-That-Could, but Rose refused to let her fighting spirit be broken and persevered with support from her friends in the stands and a little help from her duplication Semblance she too would find herself standing atop the floating platform that was to be their battleground.
"How the heck did a little runt like you manage to make it into the finals, isn't this thing supposed to be a battle for the elite of the Academy students?" The hulking student would turn to Ozpin with a raised eyebrow of curiosity, the spectacled man had been eerily silent for the majority of their battles and it was annoying him to no end. "Seriously teach, get my real opponent out here! This runt's small enough to be my kid sister's little doll!" Amadeus would cap off his insult with a booming laugh that echoed throughout the arena and brought a rousing chorus of boos from most of the audience in attendance, including some of his fellow classmates from Atlas. Ozpin however would show no similar sign of either the mirth that her opponent was feeling or the discontent towards her opponent that the crowd was giving off, causing the normally hyperactive and giddy Huntress to gulp down her nervousness as she spared a glance over to the man whose school had bred the fiercest of her opponents. The glasses had hidden whatever stories his eyes could tell to her, but she noted the creeping feeling of the hairs on her tail standing on end and did her best not to jump in fright when the buzzer sounded to begin their battle.
"You should've stayed home you little weasel!" Chalk would roar as he charged toward the much smaller Faunus girl, his massive fist leaving a small crater where Rose once stood as he looked around in confusion. "Slippery little rat aren't ya, you can't hide from me girly!" The Mohawk-haired student would take slow, deliberate steps in order to properly search for his opponent, not expecting the lighting in the arena to be smothered by shadows as he looked up slowly.
"Who says we're hiding you big goon?!" Rose- or rather about two dozen "Rose's" would swarm all over their larger opponent, peppering him with furious tonfa strikes in a manner not unlike Kirby Mass Attack even as Chalk did his best to try and toss her many forms aside. "You may have me beat in size and strength, but no matter how big they are they always go tumbling down to the ground in the face of sheer numbers!" The many ferrets would go to work on bringing the big man down to one knee, the crowd feverishly cheering on her efforts as she redoubled her efforts to the fight at hand with adrenaline pushing her forward.
That was until her tonfa were met with the sound of hard oak hitting something much harder, then a horrifying splintering sound as her weapons shattered to pieces against a slab of diamond. Before she could fully register what was happening in front of her eyes, a familiar voice would further serve to rattle the young woman's confidence even further.
"What'sa matter squirt, I thought you were gonna bring me down with sheer numbers?" Amadeus Chalk would grin through his diamond form teeth before leveling the smaller Faunus with a brutal forearm, sending her flying back to the edge of the floating platform while grimacing in agony. "You should've taken the swan dive kid, with my Semblance activated I can hit harder, resist any attack your puny little hands throw at me-" He would stop his bragging midway and deliberately stomp on her tail, reveling in her screams of anguish as well as the sounds of muscle and bone being obliterated under his weight. "Oh, I'm sorry..did you need that?" The crowd would roar in anger and disgust as Rose looked up at the hulking man-diamond through tear-stained eyes, if her friends were anywhere nearby she could no longer hear them as she felt the weight of his foot finally being lifted off of her followed by the shuddering of the platform as it wobbled underneath her.
"The platform…it's my only shot…" The smaller Huntress would struggle to stand as Chalk's shadow loomed large overhead, her chocolate-colored Aura shimmering as more copies began to manifest around her. The much taller-Huntsman looking at her with a puzzled expression before realizing that the platform was once again beginning to sag under their combined body weight, and trying to swat aside her various duplicates even as it lurched forward under his movement and sent him tumbling forward while the duplicates hurled the already weakened ferret Faunus forward to the safer end even as Amadeus screamed in horror at his rapidly descending height. "Don't. Fret. Barrier nets will keep you from-" Her mumblings would be cut off by the sound of a sickening crash from below, followed by the screams of frightened audience members as Rose scrambled to her feet and looked over to see the massive Atlas student lying in a crater on the arena floor instead of being safely suspended by the laser barrier nets that should keep a competitor from suffering injury in the event of a ring out. "Wh-what happened to the barriers, why didn't they keep him from crashing into the ground?" She could feel a hand upon her shoulder and look up to see Ozpin standing beside her, a smug smile decorating his face as students and other onlookers would try their damndest to retrieve the more-than-likely deceased Huntsman-in-training.
"I had my associate deactivate the barriers while announcements for the final match were being made, it was a simple matter for an heiress to the Schnee fortune to get access to technology created by their own company after all." The silver-haired man would state this matter-of-factly, further unnerving the frightened Faunus girl even as she tried to pull away from him only for the headmaster to tighten his grip further. "Not only that, but said associate also happens to be one of the best Dust users in all of Remnant, making it a cinch to coat the air vents of this arena with freezing Dust..I imagine you're feeling quite light-headed right now Miss Kazumi, that's due to the vents being frozen over and being unable to distribute fresh air." Ozpin would pull his hand away just as the bewildered Huntress began to collapse to her knees, the breathing apparatus that Weiss had the SDC eggheads cook up for them worked wonders as it transfigured wind Dust into breathable oxygen for him and the rest of Team RWBY to use. The best part about it was how concealable it had been to sneak in, why to most onlookers it simply appeared that had chosen to wear a spiffy new pair of glasses.
"Why..are you doing..this?" Rose would struggle to stay conscious as she reached for the man's cane, her eyes struggling to find an answer to her query even as he kicked her off the platform without so much as batting an eyelash at her plight. "Aren't we all fighting against a common enemy in the Grimm?" The freefalling Faunus would try her best to let her final thoughts be happy ones, her teammates appearing to her with friendly smiles as they waited for her in a lush, grassy field.
"C'mon Rosie, keep that furry tail moving! We can't start this picnic without you ya know?" Wisteria's voice would spur her to start running forward in an attempt to catch up with the men of the group, the wise-cracking yet musically gifted Baron Cobalt would often do his best to entertain them all with his latest attempt at a stand up routine but his real gifts lay with the flute that doubled as his weapon, its beautiful notes being the trick to calm her troubled mind.
Further ahead was their autumn-haired leader Nigel Silver, he had the dashing good looks that belonged to the lead of an A-list romance movie but lacked the substandard pickup lines of the film, as well as the pompous ego of the actor delivering them. "I got'cha Kazumi." He would smile as he jogged back to scoop her up in his reassuring arms, causing the shorter girl to blush furiously as the others chuckled amongst themselves as they were no doubt talking about how cute she looked in his arms. "Let 'em laugh, I happen to enjoy being the one to carry you everywhere. You're like a Little Princess, which would make me your dashing Knight I suppose." The rest of their team would only laugh harder at his words but in that moment Rose Kazumi was content with her life: Spending time with those she loved, enjoying their company in the quiet hours when they weren't too busy training to become the heroes that would no doubt bring an end to the horrors brought about by the creatures of Grimm
Ozpin would close his eyes in silent contemplation as the Faunus girl's body hit the floor with an audible splat, he had no doubts that Yang was finishing up with the security forces outside of the Arena where Blake and the rest of the White Fang could land unopposed and begin spreading their message of revolution. He supposed Ruby had the easiest of tasks what with her speed Semblance enabling her to take out the kingdom's dignitaries before their security forces could even blink, leaving the Headmaster himself to take the secret elevator to the lowest levels of the Academy.
"I do believe that the plan is actually ahead of schedule for once, thank goodness that final match was mercifully short..an actual fight would've wasted precious seconds off of our time table." Ozpin couldn't help but smile as he stared down at his scroll, making sure that the Academy's shields were lowered so the White Fang Bullheads could be let in without issue. "For far too long I tried to play the silent observer, hoping that Grimm-blighted witch would finally reveal herself after all these years. I had hoped that by preaching vigilance against the Grimm that one of these weak-minded kingdoms would catch wind of her, so that I may finally get my hands on the missing piece of the Fall Maiden's power." The spectacled man would frown as he recalled Qrow reporting his failure to protect one of their most valuable assets, the Fall Maiden's full might was essential to their endgame as the Order would combine the might of the Four Maidens with the relic hidden below Beacon to summon forth the God of Creation. With his help they would create a world free of the Grimm, a world that would be so fresh and unmarred by the influence of the weak-willed Kingdoms that they could finally build the utopia they had tried so foolishly build through peace and diplomacy. "Once we finally track down the thief who made off with the Maiden's Power, we can finally leave Vale and-" His words would be interrupted as the elevator lurched to a sudden stop followed by total darkness as the power was seemingly cut.
"We've got company Master Ozpin, seems like some of her underlings managed to slip past General Ironwood's security screenings." Weiss Schnee's voice could be heard, along with the sounds of gunfire in the background. "Oh great, seems like that splinter group of the White Fang is working with them to boot!"
The silver-haired man would sigh indignantly at this sudden turn of misfortune, after all they still had yet to liberate the remainder of Amber's power into a suitable candidate and now with the sudden appearance of hostile forces, this would serve to further upset the careful balance of their scheme. "Miss Schnee, take control of whatever Atlysian forces you need to trample those turncoats underfoot while we wait for Blake and her forces to land. Yang, once you're done with the security forces outside back up Miss Schnee until the White Fang makes landfall!" Ozpin would furrow his brow, taking stock of the pieces on his mental chessboard and feeling a slight smile cross his lips. "Ruby, I'll need you to meet me on the lowest levels of the Academy. I do believe that this impromptu attack isn't as haphazard as the enemy would like us to believe."
Ruby Rose would sigh in annoyance as she finished killing off the last of the Kingdom's dignitaries, a rather portly dog Faunus who insisted that he would make her wealthier then a Schnee should she allow him to live. "Damn, I really should've taken the offer..just to see the look on Ice Queen's face when she found out my bank account has more zeroes in it then her own." The horrified look on an imaginary Weiss's face would fill her with temporary glee before it was interrupted by her scroll, no doubt Ozpin asking for verification on whether she had received his orders. "Keep your pants on Ozpin, we both know that witch is behind all of this..after all, I've been waiting years fir this chance to finally get some payback for what she did to Uncle Qrow..and to dad." Tears would begin to well up in the reaper's silver eyes, after all Ozpin had been to take herself and Yang into Beacon after the Grimm-blight's forces had laid waste to the island of Patch. She had already been in the midst of suffering as they had learned of Qrow being killed while away on a mission, but when the enemy had decided to strike their home and kill her father in front of her eyes. The innocent girl known as Ruby Rose would cease to exist outside of her sister and Weiss being the only ones to know her true name, to the outside world she would become infamous as Redrum, the Crimson Death. So aptly named due to her bloody red cloak being the only thing witnesses ever saw of her, the blood coloring was actually due to the splatter of her victims as she eliminated them.
"Today's the day I finally get my hands on you…" Flashes of a memories would play out before her as she recalled a flash of raven-colored hair and a red dress, along with shards of black glass piercing her father's heart. "I hope you've counted the days since then you bitch, because this'll be your last one!"
As you can no doubt tell, alignments are flipped oppositely here: With Ozpin and his Order being the Masterminds while Team RWBY play enforcers, leaving the normally villainous folks to pick up the mantle in humanity's darkest hours.
That's right folks, Salem and co. aren't just our last hope..they're gonna be the ones teaching the new Huntsmen and Huntresses the skills needed to fight back against Overlord Ozpin, yes..this means OC's, and no..it won't be any of the ones you've seen so far in my other fics.
I swear to God I WILL CLOSE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE EVENTUALLY!
Rest in Power, Monty Oum