Hey, denizens of the Interwebs! JCtheWriterr here, with a quick author's note. Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to read my humble upload, it really means the world to me! :D
Next, this is the first time I have ever written a story of such a length, and the first time publishing a story on FanFiction, or anywhere, actually, for that matter, so keep that awesome constructive feedback flowing, it will help me so much in the future! Also don't forget to show the story, (if not me :c) some love if you enjoy what you've read!
I do not own any part of RWBY, or any part of Monty Oum, the creator and rightful owner, for that matter. That would just be plain creepy. Think of the amount of space in my freezer I would need to clear out for that... *shudder*
... A man needs his ice cream, okay? Don't judge! *Cue awkward silence*
... Anyway, enough ranting from me. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the story with a mug of your beverage of choice, and... whatever you do to get yourself relaxed, really. Till the next author's note, I'll see you folks around!
RWBY- Mutation
Chapter 1: - The Signs
"Uuunnnggghhh…"
Ruby Rose groaned as she was jarred awake by the shrill sound of her alarm clock going off. She squirmed in the warm covers and attempted in vain to wrap a pillow around her head to drown out the noise.
Suddenly, the distinct, loud crack of a shotgun went off to her left, and the skull-rattling sound of the alarm clock came to an abrupt end.
Ruby smirked to herself, knowing perfectly well who the culprit was, and silently thanked her for putting an end to her torment.
"YANG! That's our 5th alarm clock this MONTH! You have GOT to STOP DOING THAT!" an angry voice yelled from the bathroom. A white haired girl in a nightgown stomped out of the bathroom and stalked to the foot of the blonde brawler's bed. "WE ARE NOT MAKING THE TRIP TO TOWN TO GET US A REPLACEMENT AS A TEAM ANYMORE! YOU BREAK IT, YOU FIX IT!"
"…Chillax, Princess, I'll get the replacement this time… Now just let me sleep in peace…" Yang Xiao Long moaned, rolling to her side, away from Weiss.
"How do you even have Ember Celica anyway? All of our weapons are supposed to be locked up in the armoury before curfew!" asked Weiss Schnee, in an accusing tone.
"I was cleaning her last night… Happy?" Yang replied grumpily, her voice muffled by her pillow.
"Weiss, just let her be… It's a weekend, after all." Blake Belladonna sighed, briefly looking up from the book she was reading.
"Fine," the heiress grumbled, "but only because it's a weekend."
By the time Team RWBY finally dragged itself out of bed, it was already close to noon, and they made their way to the cafeteria for brunch. They piled food onto their plates, and walked over to join Team JNPR, who waved them over enthusiastically.
"Hey, guys, get a load of this!" said Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR, waving his scroll, on which he was reading the morning news.
"Seems like the authorities are finding an increasing number of what appears to be 'sick' creatures of Grimm." He explained as Team RWBY gathered around to peer at his scroll.
"That's strange," said Blake, furrowing her brow. "The creatures of Grimm almost NEVER get sick, there are not many known viruses that affect them…"
"As far as I can remember, there have been no reports of such a situation ever happening before…" Pyrrha Nikos remarked, rubbing her chin worriedly.
"Who cares?! If it's causing Grimm to suffer, then it's a good thing in my book!" Nora Valkyrie cut in cheerfully with her mouth full of pancakes, spraying the table in front of her with crumbs.
"Nora… It's not very nice to talk with your mouth full…" Lie Ren groaned, face palming.
"Sorrryyy Reeennn…" Nora chanted, finally swallowing.
"This can't be too much of a coincidence, can it?" Ruby asked worriedly. "Do you still remember the report a few months back about the Vale military researching a new biological weapon for use against Grimm? Could it be possible that they are testing it on Grimm in the wild?"
"Nonsense! Even if they did have such a weapon, they wouldn't test it out on the wild Grimm population! The government would never approve of such a thing! What if the weapon has deadly side effects for humans? They would be risking the lives of anyone who enters the Grimms' habitat, including us!" Weiss scoffed. Ruby nodded, hoping with all of her heart that Weiss was right.
Just then, Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch strode calmly into the cafeteria, and came to a stop in the centre of the room, causing the chatter in the cafeteria to die down as everyone turned to look at them curiously.
Following closely behind them were four teenagers, a boy of average height with messy, raven black hair with alternating gold and silver highlights in a blue hooded cape of a similar style to Ruby's, except it was fastened with a single golden cross instead of two silver ones, a tall, lean boy in a brown, knee-length leather duster and a cowboy hat with shoulder-length blonde hair pulled back into a small ponytail, a towering, bulky boy with chocolate brown hair in paladin's armour with large shoulder pauldrons and a dark grey travelling cloak, and a girl who appeared to be the twin sister of the paladin, albeit a few heads shorter, and with visible streaks of silver in her hair. She was dressed in a simple grey combat skirt with brown leather armour covering vital areas. They lined up in an orderly row beside Professor Ozpin.
"Students, I would like you to meet the newest members to our Beacon family, Team Cyclone, or CYCN. They have just been transferred from Guardian Academy in Atlas, and will be joining you in classes from next week. I hope they will be welcomed into our faculty with open arms by our student community, make many new friends, and on the whole enjoy their studies with us. Let's give them a warm Beacon welcome, shall we?"
The cafeteria broke into warm applause, and the team politely bowed in acknowledgement, before turning to exit the cafeteria.
The boy in the blue cape looked around at the cafeteria one more time, and unconsciously made eye contact with Ruby, noticing how her outfit was similar in some ways to his.
Ruby, who had been subconsciously watching the boy from a distance in a dreamy manner, blushed furiously and quickly looked down at her plate. A small smile appeared on the boy's face, and he blushed slightly too as he began to stride out of the cafeteria.
"What's the matter, Ruby?" Yang asked mischievously, winking at her younger sister. "Something catch your eye?"
"It's… It's nothing…" Ruby blushed an even deeper shade of red, and began attacking her pancakes with renewed determination.
"Hey, I don't blame you!" Yang said ruffling Ruby's hair. "I myself wouldn't mind having a slice of Mr Cowboy over there…" She purred, gazing wistfully at the boy in question as he exited the cafeteria.
"Yang… I said, it's NOTHING…" Ruby growled, shoving her elder sister away.
"Riiggghht…" Yang said sarcastically. "And you hate anything that has sugar in it. Especially cookies."
Ruby continued to eat her pancakes in stony silence, pointedly ignoring her.
"Aww, C'mon Rubes, don't be shy, spill the beans!" Yang chuckled, flicking a baked bean at the side of her head. That was the last straw.
"Yang. Xiao. Long." Ruby hissed dangerously. "I believe," she unveiled a pair of scissors from her pocket. "It's time for you to have a haircut…"
Yang's lilac eyes widened in horror. "You… You wouldn't!" Ruby let the scissors do the talking. Snip, snip, snip…
Yang got up from her seat and sprinted out of the cafeteria in fear, Ruby in close pursuit, waving the scissors menacingly in the air, with the remaining people at the table bursting into uncontrollable laughter, clutching their sides.
"D'you think Ruby's really gonna do it?" Blake asked Weiss, trying unsuccessfully to wipe her tears of mirth.
"She's just playing with Yang," Weiss replied, smirking slightly. "If she was being serious, she would have activated her speed semblance by now, and Yang would've had to change the 'Long' in her name to 'Short'…"
Blake blinked, and stared at Weiss in a mixture of disbelief and amusement. "Did you just—"
"Yes, Blake, yes I did." Weiss's smirk grew wider. "Don't expect any more puns from me in a long time. I fear Yang is finally beginning to rub off on me…"
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the forest of Forever Fall, a teenaged girl named Sara Summers knelt down at the foot of one of the many trees with brilliant red-orange leaves and carved into the relatively thick bark with her machete, before holding an empty glass jar to the cut.
Soon, a slightly thick, red, syrupy liquid started flowing forth from the cut, and slowly filled up the jar to its brim. Sara, unable to resist the temptation, dipped her finger into the jar and brought it to her mouth, allowing herself to savour the luscious, sugary flavour.
Ahh, red sap. Not only does it taste like liquid heaven, it also has many medicinal properties that are used in home remedies as an antiseptic for cuts and bruises, a quick cure for a sore throat, and even a treatment for minor aches and pains. A food that is as good for you as it tastes, what's to hate? Sara wondered to herself, smiling as she sealed the jar.
Suddenly, she was startled from her thoughts by the sound of snapping twigs and heavy footfalls on the dry, leafy forest floor. She quickly grabbed her sling bag and held it close to her, holding out her machete in a defensive stance.
Crap… I didn't know that creatures of Grimm even came this far out of the forest! She thought to herself as she scanned her surroundings warily.
Before she could react, a large black mass tackled her from her left and sent her sprawling on her back, grunting in pain as she hit the ground. She opened her eyes to find herself face to face with a massive Beowolf.
The beast let out a feral roar and raised its paw to swipe at Sara's neck. Sara reflexively raised her left hand to block the attack and the Beowolf's claws cut deeply into her forearm.
Yelling out in agony, she desperately thrust her right hand, which held her machete, at the Beowolf, and by an incredible stroke of luck, managed to stab it in the throat. The Beowolf stumbled away from Sara, blood spraying from the wound in its neck. It attempted to howl, but all that came from its throat was a wet gurgling sound as it keeled over, dead.
Sara limped over to make sure the beast was down for good, and her eyes widened in surprise. Sure, it was as dead as the fallen leaves around it, but the Beowolf was unlike any Beowolf she had ever seen before.
The Beowolf's extra-large size was actually caused by various, diseased-looking swellings across most of its body, and its signature glowing red eyes had taken on a greenish tinge.
Whatever happened to this Grimm, I don't like it… I'd better get back home and treat my injuries… Sara thought to herself, wincing in pain as she saw the deep lacerations running the length of her forearm, from which blood freely flowed. She quickly gathered her belongings and, with what little strength she had left, struggled her way back to her home on the outskirts of Vale.
Two days later…
"Oh, dear…" Weiss said as she saw the headlines of the morning news, getting the attention of the other members of Teams RWBY and JNPR who were seated with her in the cafeteria.
"Death toll from mystery Grimm-transmitted infection grows to 10?" Ruby read out loud as she peered over Weiss's shoulder, "What's that about?"
"A 16-year-old girl, Sara Summers, is the latest in a series of rapid, unexplained deaths from severe infection of wounds sustained from Grimm encounters over this past weekend." Weiss began to read the article out loud.
"Interestingly, all victims were attacked by what seemed to be infected Grimm at different times on Saturday. All victims also treated their wounds or sought professional medical attention within hours of getting injured. The similarities do not end there. By Saturday night, all victims started experiencing flu-like symptoms like a high fever, sneezing, severe cough, and joint and muscle pain, due to their wounds becoming infected. Their conditions continued to deteriorate on Sunday morning, and the six earliest deaths were recorded by Sunday night. The next three deaths occurred on Monday morning, and Ms Summers was pronounced dead by Monday afternoon. Interviews carried out with family members of the deceased have revealed that the victims mostly were injured through slash or bite wounds from the claws or teeth of the infected Grimm, which means that the infection was likely spread by physical contact or blood-to-blood contact. Autopsies carried out by Evermore Hospital's Forensics Department on the earlier victims have shown that the wounds and the skin surrounding them had turned black, but oddly not due to gangrene. The true cause continues to elude researchers. As many as 50 other cases of this new, mystery infection have been admitted or transferred to Evermore Hospital's Infectious Diseases Department as of press time. The Vytal Health Ministry has advised the populace to stay indoors as much as possible and avoid any encounters with Creatures of Grimm. It has also stated that in the scenario that you are faced with one, DO NOT ENGAGE. Attempt your best to evade, and avoid ANY physical contact," Weiss finished, setting her scroll down on the cafeteria table and looking up at the rest of her friends.
"Well. That escalated quickly…" Jaune mumbled, swallowing a bite of his shepherd's pie with a worried frown on his face.
"Seems like this is no longer a laughing matter…" Ren mused, while attempting to fend off Nora's feverish attempts to steal the food off his plate with little success.
"Three days. That's all it took. And now 10 people are dead, maybe even more. If this doesn't cause mass hysteria soon, I don't know what will." Said Pyrrha, looking up from her own scroll, on which she had been reading the same story.
Several seconds of heavy silence followed as the two teams contemplated this new, very real threat. "Well, it appears we have a very GRIMM situation on our hands…" Yang suddenly snorted. 7 hands face palmed in perfect synchrony, but some among the group still smiled despite themselves.
"…DUST DAMMIT, SIS! REALLY? All the millions of topic to make a pun about, and this is the one you choose?!" Ruby glared at Yang in disbelief.
"Yikes, Rubes, just trying to improve the mood here…" Yang replied sheepishly, raising her hands in mock surrender.
"As much as I'd hate to admit it, Yang's right. The last thing we need in this situation is to be thinking negatively, the situation is bad enough as it is." said Blake, with a small smile gracing her features. "I think it's time we made our way to Professor Oobleck's class, we all know very well he isn't too fond of tardiness…"
The others nodded affirmatively, and proceeded to make their way out of the cafeteria.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, until the next update, I will see you around!:)