Chapter 1: Change! The First Rider Appears!
Legends. Stories that have been retold through time. Our race has grown fond of telling these stories to the children of our generation, though we do not know what we had to endure before the Grimm appeared.
10,000 years ago, a battle was raging, a battle for the soul of the entire world, between a lone human, and monsters that were created by God to be the perfect fighting machines. The battle lasted for hundreds of years, but human was able to succeed with the help of an unexpected ally; one of the very opponents he needed to defeat. The human and his unlikely ally fought through the remaining enemies, and claimed our place on the Earth, with the ally letting the human win the endless battle.
10,000 years later, we have flourished as a species, with massive advancements in fighting and our technology. We have become a force to be reckoned with, even with the creatures of the Grimm at our door.
However, the hands of fate rarely remain idle. The countdown to the next battle for the world began when humanity won in the gruesome battle long ago. And now, the count has reached zero. A new generation of heroes must stand and fight to protect our world, and failure is not an option in this fight.
/
An explorer stepped into a large cave, far too large to be created by human hands. He walked into the cave and saw that it became warmer, despite the chilling air that blew by outside the mouth of the cave. He continued, and he was amazed at what he saw.
A hole in the ceiling was using the shattered moon as a spotlight, shining on a rectangular pillar that twisted in the middle, almost like a helix. A stone podium sat in front of this apparent monument, facing the explorer. He walked up to it, and examined the surface. It was nothing special, but a dusty card rested on the surface, depicting a human with a large red heart in front of it, the heart surrounded by chains. A red heart symbol was clear in the top left corner, along with a red number 2 underneath it, reversed on the other side of the card. Underneath the picture on the card, black ornate letters spelled out 'Spirit Human.'
"This is amazing," the explorer said, his awe clear in his voice, "These things have been amazingly preserved! The guys back at the university are going to love this!" he reached for the podium and gently picked up the card. While he admired his find, the cavern began to shake. He grabbed onto the podium for support, and looked at the monument. A malicious green aura had started to leak from it, and more cards had risen from more podiums that were placed in the large room.
That was unwise, human, a voice echoed in the explorers head, and he clutched his head in pain, The Battle Fight has come and gone. You will be the first to die in this new war between your race and the Undead. The voice retracted itself from his mind, and the explorer let out a breath, thinking he was safe. He was wrong.
A pair of red eyes glared from the darkness behind him, and a white serrated scythe blade with a red tip penetrated his chest, killing him instantly. The owner of said red eyes laughed evilly, pushing the dead human off his blade and walking away. He stood at the mouth of the cavern and watched as the glowing cards were flung by an unseen force across the vast landscape. "Prepare, brother…" the figure said, stepping into the light, revealing himself to be a stark white with red decorating portions of the armor, "For this time, I will win the Battle Fight. The humans shall truly know what it is to suffer, as I have suffered these past millennia." He walked backwards into the shadows his red eyes disappearing into the shadow as four other figures arose, the same malicious green aura curling from them.
/
The forest was peaceful. Quaint, one might say. However, this was short-lived as a streak of light penetrated the darkness and crashed in a large clearing, a massive crater forming in its wake. Many of the forest animals came to look out of curiosity, along with a small pack of Beowolves that happened to be close by. A small cub separated from the pack and peaked over the edge of the crater. A single card sat at the center of the crater, the same card that the explorer had picked up from the pedestal.
The cub leaned over the side more, and a blast of energy erupted from the card, making the animals panic and run away in fear. The Grimm ran with them, not willing to risk fighting whatever this was. The cub, however, was more curious than afraid, and stayed, watching what was happening.
A large ball of energy gathered above the card, slowly taking a human shape. It began as the basic shape, but it soon grew hair, as well as clothes and distinct facial features. The humanoid figure slowly descended to the floor of the crater, and he fell into a kneeling position, his form slightly hunched over. The Beowolf cub climbed into the crater, carefully making its way down to the now complete figure. It cautiously sniffed the figure, then decided that it was no threat and climbed onto his knees to sniff at its face.
The figures face twitched as the cub began sniffing at his face. His eyes slowly opened, and he moved his head slightly and looked down at the cub that was now in his lap. "Hey there," he said, "Smell anything interesting?" The cub reacting quickly, backpedaling away from the figure, and bore its teeth at the figure. He laughed in response, "Easy there, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you."
The figure rummaged around in his left jacket pocket and produced a small bit of cooked meat, "Here, this is for you." He held the hand out with the meat to the small Beowolf. The cub walked carefully up to his hand and took the meat, carrying it back to where he had been before. The guy laugh and stood up completely. He had slightly long black hair that covered his ears, and pale skin. His eyes were the color of storm clouds, and his clothes were rather simple, being a simple black jacket, black pants and a white shirt. He took a few shaky steps, and ended up stumbling next to the Beowolf cub, who looked up from the remains of its snack with interest.
"I'm not very good on my feet, am I?" the guy asked. The Beowolf gave no answer, instead cocked its head at him, curiously. He took a few more tentative steps, then proceeded to start walking up the side of the crater. "Now, where am I?" he muttered aloud, reaching the top of the crater. He heard a small yip, and he turned to see the Beowolf cub trying to climb after him. He walked back down a bit and picked up the small cub, carrying him to the top of the crater. He set him down, but the small wolf did not run off. Instead, it remained at his side, looking up at him.
"Sorry, little guy," he said, "That meat was all I had and I don't remember where to find more. Don't remember much of anything actually…" he trailed off as he tried to focus on one memory, any memory that was intact.
Fight.
He clutched his head in pain as grotesque images assaulted his vision. He saw a humanoid figure, but that was where the similarities ended. The figure had a head that looked like a conch, with armor that looked similar to a coral reef. The right arm had a large blade-like coral protrusion that looked extremely deadly. The image was completed with a deadly green aura radiating from the creature, making it seem like death itself.
Fight!
Somewhere in his mind, the image matched a word, and it escaped his mouth. "Shell Undead…"
Fight Coal!
The vision was over as soon as it had begun, and Coal's vision returned to normal, and he heard the Beowolf cub growling at something in the shadows. He instinctively went for his inner jacket pocket while a silver belt with a silver container of sorts and a buckle with a red heart divided down the middle appeared around his waist. His instincts disappeared when he saw the belt.
"What the hell?" he said aloud, "Where did this come from?" He could not admire the belt further as something broke the tree line. It was the creature he had seen in that vision, the thing he had called the Shell Undead. The thing raised its right arm at him and charged at him, a guttural war cry erupting from its throat. His instincts took over again, and he rolled to the left, the creature stumbling into the crater, grabbing an object in his jacket pocket at the same time.
'What is this?' he thought, 'How do I know what to do? And why did I know to grab something inside my jacket?' he looked at what he had grabbed. It was a card, with a red heart symbol in the top left and bottom right corners, a red "A" over each of the hearts. The main bulk of the card was made up of a praying mantis that seemed to be contained inside a heart. Underneath the picture, the word "Change" was in ornately styled letters.
"I don't know what this is supposed to do," he said, standing up, the monster looking up at him, waiting for an attack, "But, I guess I'll find out." He held the card in his right hand, and did as his instincts told him to do. "Henshin!" he took the card and slid it between the two sides of the heart on his buckle.
CHANGE!
Black static formed over him, and after a few seconds, it disappeared. In the Coals' place, an armored figure stood instead. He was clad in a black bodysuit with ornate golden trimmings along the sides. His helmet was black as well, with a large red heart as a visor, with a pair of silver antennae-like feelers coming from the top of the heart. His forearms were covered in silver gauntlets, with a silver plate on the back of his gloves. His lower legs and feet were clad in the same way. He reached behind his back, and produced a bladed bow, with a pair of spikes at the top and bottom of the grip to provide for punching power.
"What the hell?!" the youth yelled, looking over himself. He lifted his free hand in front of his face, staring into the black glove of the suit for a moment. 'That's weird. This feels… familiar…' His train of thought was interrupted as the Shell Undead jumped at him, raising its right arm to attack. Coal rolled out of the way, and raised the bow in his right hand, pointing the business end at the monster. He recoiled as an arrow made of energy flew from the bow, hitting the Undead in its chest, making it stumble backwards a few steps.
"Jeez!" the surprised boy shouted, "What the hell is this thing?!" He looked at the side, and noticed that something was written on the spike above the guard. "Chalice… Arrow…" he muttered, turning the weapon in his hands. The Undead, having recovered from the attack, charged at Coal, who was still examining the Chalice Arrow. The monster brought its right arm down in an arc, slamming it into Coal's chest, knocking the boy to his back. The monster reared its arm back for another attack, and Coal raised the Chalice Arrow, just as the attack came down, connecting with the bladed bow, and stopping inches from the armored boys' helmet.
"Dammit!" he grunted, "Gotta shake it…off!" The Undead doubled its strength, pushing down on the bow with more force, forcing it closer and closer to the boys' helmet. A loud growl reached both the figures ears, and the Undead had only seconds to turn its head to see a mass of black fur and a white bone mask launch itself at his face. The Grimm cub clawed at the Undeads' eyes, making it screech in pain. It jumped off of the monster and landed in front of Coal, crouching in a protective manner, the Undead still shrieking in pain and covering its wounded eyes.
"Thanks little guy," Coal grunted, getting back to its feet. The tiny Grimm looked up at him and gave him a tiny yip, its tongue lolling out the side of its mouth. Coal stroked the Grimm's head and it growled softly, putting its head into the gentle hand. The Undead screeched at them, breaking up the touching moment the two were having. Coal stood up, getting into a combat position, the cub growling at the Undead, the latter not being afraid.
Coal charged at the Undead, and it swung its right arm at him. The armored boy ducked under the blow and slashed the Undead across the stomach as he went by, hitting him with an arrow when he stopped behind it. The Undead staggered forward, light green blood dripping from its stomach. The young cub jumped on the monsters head, and used it as a springboard, propelling it towards Coal. It landed in front of him, and turned to face the threat, growling at the monster. The Undead turned towards the duo, holding its stomach with its free hand.
"It's over, monster," Coal said, readying for a final blow. He charged at the monster, slashing it across the chest, the cut going from its left hip to its right shoulder. Neon green blood sprayed from the wound, and the monster hit the ground, defeated. A small snapping sound was heard, and Coal looked to the source of the noise. A belt that it had been wearing around its waist had opened, showing a heart symbol in the center of the now open belt, as well as a pair of fives on the top and bottom of the number.
On instinct, he reached towards the left side of his belt and pulled out a card that was similar to the card he had used to transform, but this one was blank, and the picture was of a pair of chains in an "X" formation. He held the card over the monster Undead and dropped it, and the monster was absorbed in a green light, and was sucked into the card, which went flying back to its owner. Coal looked at it in amazement and curiousness. The originally blank card now had a pair of hearts in the upper left and bottom right under a five, the chains replaced with a seashell with a drill coming from the bottom. A caption now under the picture read "Drill". The cub looked up at the card in his hand and cocked its head at the card his new friend was holding in his hand.
"Well done, Coal," a deep and mocking voice sounded in the clearing, "You managed to defeat a Category 5. What an achievement." Coal whipped his head around, trying to locate the voice.
"Who are you?!" he shouted, "How do you know my name?!" A dark chuckle sounded from the darkness, angering Coal.
"My name is Quartz, brother," he said, 'brother' sounding more mocking than an actual title, "One of the two Leaders of the Undead. You are a bad thorn in my side that I intend to get rid of!" a blast of white energy with red on the edges struck Coal in the chest, sending him flying backwards, dispelling the armor. He hit a tree, sliding to the ground in his normal attire. The cub yipped and ran to its friend, who staggered to his feet, using the tree for support. The small wolf reached his new friends feet and turned around growling at the shadows.
"Your little companion has more courage than you do, brother," the voice chuckled. A figure stepped from the shadow in front of Coal. The figure was mostly white, with lots of red details. His upper head, eyes and nose was covered by a bright red visor, his mouth and jaw silver in color, with a pointed chin. Two antennae/ponytail appendages sprouted from where his temples would be, going down to his mid back after curving over his head.
His chest was covered in ornate white armor, with a pinkish gemstone in the center of his chest. His pectoral area was exposed to show a red armored bodysuit. His right shoulder pad reached halfway down his arm, stopping mid-bicep. A trio of spikes were on the surface of the armor, going in a line down the shoulder. The outer area of the bicep was red, the interior being white, and red vein-like trails went down to his red hand. His wrist sported a spiked bracelet, with more spikes sprouting from the outside of his forearm.
His left arm was significantly more terrifying, with the three spikes on his right shoulder replaced with a single larger one, reaching to his ear area. A spike protruded from his elbow area, facing away from his body. His left forearm had a blade coming from the outside of his arm, the main portion of the weapon covering his hand, which was red like his right.
His legs were very diverse, his right leg the more normal, with red and white swirling around the upper leg, the knee guarded by a small silver skull. The lower leg was mostly white, with red that ran along the outside and inside of the leg, the ankle covered in a silver bracelet that had a singular spike that faced away from his leg. His feet were covered in a pair of boots that were mostly white in color, with a red toe area and a red spike coming from the toe area. The left leg was much more chaotic, with a multitude of spikes flaring backwards and a half of an ornate leg armor that seemed like an eye was the knee guard. His left foot was covered in the same fashion as his right.
A large scythe was held in his right hand, the blade being mostly white with a red tip, along with halberd-like blade at the rear of the scythe blade, colored the same as his scythe. The pole of the scythe was white in color, with a pair of red grips guarded by a silver outcrop nearly directly underneath the blade of the scythe. The bottom of the pole had a half-circular blade with red on both points.
The thing that caught Coal's attention the most was the belt that was on the figures waist. It was nearly the same as his own, with the red heart being replaced by a stark white. The figure sneered at him, and lifted the scythe.
"Even with Chalice's power, you cannot stop me, brother," he mocked, white energy tinted red gathering around the scythe blade, "You don't deserve to have won the Battle Fight!" he swung the scythe at Coal, a wave of white/red energy cutting through the air at him. Coal acted without thinking, grabbing the cub and diving to the right, the tree he had been leaning against cut cleanly in two.
"You keep calling me brother," Coal said, getting to his feet shakily, staring at Quartz, "Why?" Quartz paused, as if confused. His shoulders began to shake, and a moment later he erupted in laughter. A cruel laugh that made Coal hate him even more. Quartz stopped laughing, his shoulders still shaking.
"Seriously?! You don't remember me?!" he sneered, holding his head in his free hand, "What has happened to you brother?! It's like you're a child!" He gave one final laugh, and his tone turned cruel again, "You're not worth killing yet. Once you remember who you are, you'll wish you had never donned the Chalice armor in the first place!" He walked backwards, fading into the shadows.
"Chalice…?" Coal muttered, looking at the belt around his waist, "Is that what that armor was called?" He stood shakily to his feet, the cub looking up at him with a curious expression. "Well, I guess we better get out of here, huh little guy?" Coal asked his new companion. The cub yipped in excitement and started wagging its small tail.
"Young man," a voice echoed from the shadows of the trees, different from Quartz's voice, "Please, wait for a moment." A figure stepped from the shadows, and Coal felt much less malice coming from him than he had Quartz. He had grayish hair, with a pair of brown eyes that seemed to analyze him. He was wearing a dark green jacket over a green vest, a green scarf with a silver cross pinned in the front. His legs were covered in a pair of green pants, with a pair of black dress shoes. A silver cane rested in his left hand, the point of the cane resting on the ground. The cub growled at the new figure, but Coal rubbed his head lightly, calming the small Grimm.
"Who are you?" Coal asked. The newcomer smiled, raising his hand to show the card that Coal had just received. Coal gasped, and searched his pockets. He hadn't even realized he had dropped it.
"My name is Professor Ozpin," the figure replied, "The headmaster of a combat school that trains the next generation of protectors of this world. Earlier tonight, fifty two of these cards fell from the sky, and two were attracted to this area. When I come to investigate, I find you facing off against a monster that has never been seen before. Then a monster attacks you, calling you brother. I'd like to know why."
"So would I," Coal muttered, looking towards the ground. Ozpin noticed this and walked towards the boy, handing him the card.
"If I am correct, then you are not the only one with this power," Ozpin said.
/
"There are surely others fighting even now."
In a city, a figure with silver armor over an indigo bodysuit was facing off against a lizard-like figure. The figure slashed across its chest, rushing in and stabbing it quickly. The belt snapped open, like it had with Coal. He threw a card at the figure, the figure being absorbed into the card. He turned away, a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark. A spade was evident on his chest armor, and he looked upward as the sound of wings reached his ears.
/
"If there are, how are you sure they are like me? I don't even know who I am."
On the top of a mountain, a green-eyed figure was shooting at a bat-like humanoid, and he brought it to the ground. He ran at it, shooting wildly, stopping his bullet barrage as he landed a haymaker on the bat, knocking it to the floor, unconscious. The belt snapped open and the green eyed figure threw a card at the figure. The bat monster was absorbed into the card and it flew back to the gunslingers' red-gloved hand. He brought the arm back, revealing a diamond on his chest armor. He let out a celebratory whoop and pumped his fist into the air. A small black orb with red eyes and a white head bounced around him excitedly.
/
"Even so, you have more experience than them, and they will need your guidance. Whether you realize it now, or not."
A purple eyed figure fought against a humanoid mole, landing a savage scissor kick to its head. The monster fell to the ground, and the purple eyed figure stabbed his club-bladed spear into the ground, throwing a blank card at the monster, the humanoid being sucked into the card. It flew back to its sender as a large black form coiled around the purple eyed warrior. The warrior patted its head and it hissed affectionately.
/
"How do you know I have so much experience?" Coal question, beginning to get annoyed at the guy, "I don't remember anything! I only remembered my name before that Quartz guy started attacking me!" Ozpin stood there patiently, waiting for the boy to finish his tantrum. Coal finally stopped for breath, and Ozpin spoke.
"I know you have so much experience because you were able to defeat the monster," he stated calmly, "You also didn't give up, and kept fighting despite being afraid." Coal opened his mouth to protest, but he stopped, seeing as Ozpin hadn't been wrong. He only was afraid was because he had felt like he had seen the monster before. "So, young man, I offer you a choice;" Coal looked at the older man, who was handing him a folder, "The first option is to walk away now, and find your own way to defeat these monsters and that man, Quartz. The passport will get you wherever you need to go. The second," he paused as Coal opened the folder, looking at the contents. First was a small booklet that had the word "Passport" etched into the surface. The second seemed like some kind of application, with the words "Beacon Academy" at the top, "You could attend Beacon Academy, where we could not only polish your skills to make you a master fighter, but we could also provide help. What do you say?"
Coal weighed his options carefully. On one hand, he could go it alone, like Ozpin had said, fighting these monsters by himself and his new friend, who he had yet to think of a name for. On the other, he could get training from possibly some of the top fighters at this academy and be able to take the fight to his 'brother'. He closed the folder and made his decision. "I'll go to Beacon, Professor Ozpin," he stated, "On the condition that Fang can come too."
"Fang?" Ozpin blinked in confusion.
"This little guy," Coal said, gesturing to the Beowolf cub at his feet, "He helped me and I treated him kindly. Plus he hasn't left my side this entire time, and even if I tried I think he'd just come find me again." Fang yipped, putting his front paws on his new friends' leg, and Coal smiled, rubbing the small wolfs head, the wolf leaning into the kind hand.
"I… guess I can allow it…" Ozpin said. He had never seen a Grimm be so kind to a human before. This was new to him.
/
Quartz stood in front of the stone pedestal that the Spirit Human had rested on. His eyes behind his visor were filled with anger, as he raised his scythe to destroy the stone slab. He delivered a diagonal cut to the stone monument, the upper half of the now ruined pedestal sliding to the floor. He turned to leave, but something in the stone rubble caught his eye. He reached into the rumble and picked up the object. He brushed the dust off on the surface and gave an evil smile at what he saw. It was a second Spirit Human, with the heart in the center of the human being an evil black in color. He took the card and ran it through his belt.
Spirit!
White static flickered around him, turning his Undead form into a form that looked nearly the same as Coal. Quartz's human form had stark white hair with pinkish red tips. His skin was pale, almost white. He had a white jacket with red detailing in the fabric, a black shirt with a white heart on the right of his chest. His legs were covered in white pants that turned to red and became tattered at the bottom. He opened his eyes, revealing a pair of blood red irises.
"My, my," a playful voice said from the shadows, "Don't you look nice, Quartz?" Quartz turned to see a figure in a black shirt, with a red leather jacket and pants, as well as wild blond hair and amber eyes.
"King," Quartz said, his voice betraying the slightest hint of annoyance, "Where are the others of the Royal Class?"
"The Club traitors have already left, no doubt to warn the humans of our existence," King smirked, "The Diamonds are searching for a new place for our little club. The Hearts have disappeared, even the master cannot find them. And us Spades…" two others came from the shadows, the both of them male in body figure, "Are at your command, Master Quartz." Quartz scowled, turning from the three. He trusted King and his lackeys about as much as he trusted his brother, which didn't really amount to anything. However…
"I want you three to find out what happened to the Aces," he ordered, not turning to face them, "I already know what happened to Mantis, but the other three were the strongest among us. I want to know why they were not unsealed." He turned to the three Undead in their human guise, staring at King specifically. "Do it discreetly, King. We do not want to attract unwanted attention to ourselves, understood?" The three Undead nodded and disappeared into the shadows, and Quartz turned towards the massive totem in the center of the cavern.
"Soon," he said, holding up a card that resembled a Proper Blank, only with thorns decorating the sides, "I will have the absolute power…"
/
And there we have it; the chapter 1 rewrite of Blade's Reckoning! I honestly feel like this is much better than the original, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reasons for rewriting:
1: I felt that the character didn't really "click" with the RWBY universe so I changed that, making the OC of the RWBY universe, but also of the Battle Fight.
2. The story didn't follow any specific storyline, so I reworked it so that it would follow the story after episode 1.
3. The first version had those of the RWBY universe becoming Riders, and I felt that that really wouldn't work. So, I made every Rider an OC and made them their own team.
I also had a little idea to partner each Rider with a tamed Grimm. We already have seen Fang, but there are still three others that you don't yet know about! See if you can guess based on the Riders! Well, except for a certain purple-eyed Rider… But who cares! If you can guess the other two Grimm partners, I'll give you a special shout-out at the beginning of next chapter.