Chapter 1: Meeting with a Legend
…
This story is a tie-in with NickShepard's "Knights of Remnant" series. If you are new to this series, read "Rise of a Star Knight" first.
…
After the defeat of Cinder Fall and the White Fang during the Battle of the Five Armies and the Liberation of Beacon, several legends were born. Legends like Jaune Arc the Star Knight, Ruby Rose the Silver-Eyed Huntress and others were highly respected throughout most of Remnant, and that respect was rightfully deserved. But Salem's grip didn't just extend to the Kingdoms of Vale, Mistral and Atlas alone. Her armies of darkness would have brought utter destruction to Vacuo if a handful of fighters hadn't stood in her way. This story also deserves telling, and so it begins a few short weeks before Team RWBY set out on their mission.
…
The sun slowly rose over the horizon as morning came to the continent of Anima. As the light of a new day crept through the trees of a lush forest, the sound of people talking could be heard through the silence of the early morning. The source of the voices was a group of Huntsmen, who were currently taking cover behind a grove of elm trees. Two members of the group were Faunus, while the third was a human. The human had platinum blond hair and piercing deep blue eyes, wore a black trench coat and gloves, and had a pair of katana swords strapped to his belt. The Faunus standing across from him, however, looked drastically different from each other. One was a man with shaggy brown hair and stubble, a wolf's tail coming from his body, and with a large sniper rifle in his hands. The other was a largely built young man with thick muscles, a crocodile tail coming from his body, and holding a giant sword in his hands.
"What's taking her so long?" the wolf Faunus, Kevin Lobo, asked, "Candice should've led it here by now."
"You need to be more patient, Kevin," the human, Jacob Cobalt, replied, "Candice said she'd have to draw its attention first, and with its attention span, she's probably succeeded by now."
"I get that, but that thing's the size of a house," Kevin argued, "It's pretty hard to miss something that big." The crocodile Faunus, Oliver Leatherback, decided to speak up and share his opinion.
"Will you stop whining like a dog?" he said, obviously annoyed by the argument, "I can sense that it's already on its way here." Kevin looked over at him and rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a dog. I'm a wolf," Kevin retorted as he pointed to the wolf tail growing from his body, "And of course you would side with Jacob, seeing as how he saved your hide back in Vacuo." Jacob then decided that their argument had gone on too long.
"Alright, you two shut it!" Jacob ordered, "Oliver sided with me because he's more level-headed than you are right now, Kevin. Plus, his crocodile traits show in more than just his tail. He can probably feel the Grimm's footsteps, and given its size, I'm surprised you can't hear them." Just as Kevin was about to retort, the three felt the ground beginning to vibrate. As the rumbling got louder, Jacob looked into the trees and said two short but ominous words.
"It's here."
As in on cue, a black blur passed through the trees in front of them. The group knew it was their teammate Candice, having been familiarized with her movements. However, what she was running from got their attention. Following close behind her was a creature of immense size, crashing right through the trees like they were matchsticks. Once the creature came into view, the team scattered. The beast was a walking mass of stone, with a giant boulder forming the central body and smaller rocks forming the limbs. The most notable features, however, were a series of red lines running all over the torso and connecting to a white masklike face. As the giant turned its attention to Oliver, Candice leapt from the trees and landed beside Jacob. Candice Noir was a slender, athletic Faunus girl with short black hair, lavender eyes, a pair of bat's ears on the top of her head, and a small scar near her upper lip. Her attire consisted of a black jumpsuit, gloves and boots in addition to a grey vest.
"Well, I lured it away from the village," Candice reported, "Now what?" Jacob drew his katana swords, named Hi and Yoru, in response.
"First, we need to get it off Oliver," Jacob replied, "Then we analyze its fighting style and try to exploit any possible weakness." With that, Jacob charged toward the golem as fast as his feet could carry him, Candice not far behind with her pistols drawn, which she named Night's Kiss. The creature heard their charge and turned to face them, swinging one of its arms at them like an avalanche. Jacob leapt over the oncoming limb and ran the length of it, jumping onto the head and sending a downward slash toward the mask. However, his attack was intercepted by a rock deflecting the blade. The creature shuddered and shook before managing to throw Jacob off. Candice, meanwhile, seized a chance to shoot at the beast, landing several bullets in its mask. As the monster roared in pain, Oliver helped Jacob get back on his feet.
"You alright?" the crocodile Faunus asked.
"I'm fine, and I think I figured out a weakness," Jacob responded, "Shoot its limbs out!" With a grin, Oliver pointed Earth Shaker, his sword, forward as the weapon began to change form. The blade opened up to reveal various mechanical parts that shifted and moved before the weapon changed from a sword to a rocket launcher. Aiming the weapon at the beast's right arm, Oliver took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The rocket connected with the shoulder and blasted the arm clean off. Just as Oliver prepared to fire another rocket, however, a strange red symbol appeared where the arm used to be. Next thing everyone knew, a long black arm burst through the symbol and dove into one of the broken trees next to it.
"There's something you don't see every day," Kevin said as he took aim from his sniper perch, which was in the upper branches of a tree. The golem swung its arboreal limb down toward the group, only for Oliver to step forward. Raising his left arm upward, the gauntlet on his arm began glowing red. Just before the tree arm struck Oliver, it made contact with Iron Fortress, a large Dust shield, instead. This gave Kevin the opening he was waiting for. The wolf Faunus inhaled through his nose before he pulled the trigger. On the ground, Oliver continued to push back against the golem's tree arm, but even with his own strength he was finding the task difficult. Suddenly the tree exploded halfway up the arm, splinters and chips flying everywhere. Oliver looked in the direction the shot came from and saw Kevin standing on a tree branch, with smoke billowing from the barrel of Alpha Shot, his sniper rifle. All the while, Jacob watched the golem and analyzed its every move.
"Looks like Kevin just bought us at least a minute," Candice said, "If you have a plan, then now's as good a time as any to lay it out."
"It looks like the Grimm doesn't care about its body, or it would be making more of an effort to fight back," Jacob replied, "It's had its right arm blasted off twice now, and yet it acts like nothing happened at all. Obviously, the body means nothing to it as it can keep adding parts to repair itself."
"It did have some kind of reaction when I shot it in the face, though," Candice added. Suddenly a light bulb went off in Jacob's head.
"That's it!" he said, "I remember when I attacked it earlier that it actually raised its arm to move my sword away from its face. The face is the weak spot!"
"So how do we get to the face?" Kevin called from his perch.
"It's obvious," Jacob answered, "We have to cut off the limbs first. After that, we can kill it effortlessly. Oliver! Get behind it and cut the legs off!" Oliver heard his leader's order and deactivated his shield. Moving behind the golem with surprising speed for someone his size, the crocodile Faunus turned his launcher back into a sword and swung sideways, taking the golem's left leg off below the knee. Unable to keep its balance, the golem fell forward and tried to keep itself supported on its remaining arm, only for Kevin to shoot that one off as well. The golem fell forward and rolled onto its back, giving Jacob and Candice the opening they needed. Jacob leapt into the air right above the head with his swords held above him in a stabbing position, while the bat Faunus turned her handguns into a pair of large daggers. The two came down towards the golem and stabbed the beast directly in the face, causing it to cry out in pain before going still. Afterwards, black smoke began to dissipate all across the golem, causing it to fall apart into separate pieces. Kevin leapt down from the trees and joined his team as they put up their weapons and caught their breath.
"Well, that was a fun way to start the day," Kevin quipped before Jacob clapped him on the shoulder.
"Come on, guys," he said, "Let's get going." With that, the group left the clearing and headed back to the village to collect their pay.
…
The village of Suisen was a calming place, holding an aura of serenity within its walls and its people. Team JCKL had always known that it was a village they could visit without needing to maintain discretion. As the four Hunters walked through the village, they took time to look around them and watch the villagers go about their daily lives. It always amused Jacob that these innocent people would hardly ever know just how dangerous the world outside their village really was. Finally the group arrived at their destination, the town square, where the chieftain of the village was waiting for them. Team JCKL stopped in front of him and bowed respectfully.
"Mission accomplished," Jacob reported as he and the others stood back up, "Your village won't be attacked anymore." He and the chieftain shook hands.
"I cannot thank you and your friends enough, young man," the chieftain said, "That Geist had been plaguing our village for weeks. People were beginning to wonder if we would have to relocate."
"No need for that," Kevin said, "We were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd help out."
"Besides, even if we weren't around, I'm sure another team of Huntsmen could've done it," Candice chimed in. The chieftain smiled warmly at them.
"Maybe so, but nonetheless, the four of you have performed admirably by our people," he said, "I just wish we could pay you more."
"Don't worry about that," Jacob said, "Our current arrangement is already enough." With that, the team bowed to the chieftain again before heading off to collect their pay: food, water, medicine and Dust for their journey on the road, as well as a small sum of lien. As his teammates went off to gather their earned supplies, Jacob's scroll began to go off. Walking over to a nearby park bench and sitting down, Jacob took the scroll out of his pocket and opened it. Recognizing the number on the screen, he pressed the receiver button.
"Alright Mole, talk to me," he said, "What have you got for us?" Mole had been Team JCKL's informant for several years now, always keeping them updated with any new missions or potential clients for the freelancing Huntsmen. Normally he and Jacob would joke around for a minute or two before getting down to business, but today Mole's voice sounded almost urgent.
"Listen, buddy," Mole said rather frantically, "There's someone here who figured out who I am and asked me to pass on a message." Jacob suddenly felt his heart stop when he heard Mole's words.
"You're not in danger or anything, are you?" the Huntsman asked.
"Actually, I'm fine," Mole replied, "But the person who discovered me is actually looking for you and the others."
"What did this person look like, and why are they looking for us?" Jacob asked.
"She's wearing greenish-blue armor and had an air of superiority around her," Mole explained, "I think she's one of those Sky Knights or something. I heard that those guys are the best of the best in the Kingdoms' militaries, so to have one of their top ranking soldiers looking for you is both interesting and a little bit unnerving. You guys didn't kill anyone or something, right?" Jacob raised an eyebrow at Mole's question.
"What? No," he replied in a shocked tone, "What was the message she gave you?"
"Well, it's not really a message, per se, but a set of coordinates," Mole replied, "I asked where they led to, but she only said that they were classified. Look, all I'm saying is that whatever the reason she's looking for you, it's damn good. I'll send the coordinates to your scroll." With that, Jacob's scroll vibrated again, indicating that the coordinates were sent.
"Thanks, man," he said, "I'll go get the team and tell them we're leaving."
"And I'll move to a new location with a new signal," Mole said, "So if you see a number that you don't recognize, it's probably me." With that, Jacob hung up the scroll and went off the get his team. As he walked, Jacob felt his insides doing turns and flips. If Mole was right, and he usually was, he and his team had an interesting mission ahead of them.
…
After Jacob sent a message to his team to meet him at the inn where they were currently residing, everyone met their leader in their room and set their bags down. Seeing the seriousness on his face, CKL knew that Jacob had something of the utmost importance to tell them. After everyone got settled, Jacob spoke.
"I just got a message from Mole," he began, "Someone gave him a set of coordinates to pass on to us. The only thing he knew about them was that it was given to him by a high-ranking Sky Knight." Kevin snorted in response.
"Why would a Sky Knight be looking for us when they could do whatever it is themselves?" the wolf Faunus asked.
"We won't know that until we get to the destination of these coordinates," Jacob replied, "Sky Knights are some of the best of the best in the Kingdoms' militaries, so for them to be looking for us to help them is an opportunity we can't afford to miss."
"I agree," Candice said, "Whatever's going on, it's got to be big."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Oliver asked, "Let's see where those coordinates lead to." With that, Jacob took out his scroll and typed the destination of the coordinates into the map. After a moment of loading, the scroll revealed the coordinates' location on the map.
"These coordinates lead to the village of Evergreen, on the eastern coast of Sanus," Jacob said as he and the others looked at the scroll.
"I've heard of Evergreen," Kevin noticed, "It's mostly a fishing town, but they do also take passengers in between Sanus and Anima." With that, the four collected their belongings, checked out of the inn, and went on their way to the next ship leaving Anima.
…
Oliver put his hands on the side railing of the ship as he and his team looked out at the ocean. Their ship had left the harbor three days ago, and things had been all quiet on the western front. To most people, everything seemed safe and peaceful. To Team JCKL, however, the air seemed a little too calm for their liking. To these experienced Hunters, calm and quiet usually meant that something bad was going to happen. Candice walked over and joined him, leaning against the rail and inhaling the salty scent of the ocean.
"I hate riding on ships," Oliver said as he looked at his teammate, "It feels like we've been floating out here for ages." Candice looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"You're a crocodile," she replied, "Why don't you swim the rest of the way to Sanus?"
"You're a bat," Oliver retorted, "Why don't you fly the rest of the way there?" Candice couldn't help but leave a ghost of a smile at that.
"Touché," the bat Faunus replied. The two friends shared a laugh as Jacob and Kevin walked over to them.
"What's going on?" Jacob asked as he leaned against the railing. Candice shrugged as she looked at him.
"Not much, just joking," she replied. Kevin raised an eyebrow at her statement.
"Really?" the wolf Faunus snipped, "I thought you had no sense of humor." Candice then lashed her foot out and kicked him in the side.
"Just because I'm in control of my emotions doesn't mean I can't feel them," she said, "You of all people should know that." Just then, the horn on the ship sounded, indicating that they were approaching land.
"About damn time," Oliver said, "I thought this trip would never end. Why couldn't we just fly from Shione?"
"Because we're supposed to maintain discretion," Jacob replied, "And an airport is too tight on security, especially for Huntsmen. That's why we travel by ship between the kingdoms."
…
Several hours later, the ship made port and allowed the passengers to disembark. As Team JCKL stepped off the ship, Jacob felt his scroll vibrate once again. When he looked at it, he saw a message on it reading:
Meet me at the edge of town. You'll know me when you see me.
~Anonymous
"Looks like our contact is ready to meet us," Jacob said as he began walking in the direction of the coordinates. All around them, the people of Evergreen, human and Faunus alike were going about their daily duties and hardly paying them any mind, indicating that they were used to having Huntsmen around. This gave JCKL some relief as they moved through the town, as the last time they visited a city like this, they received dirty looks every five feet. Eventually the team reached the outskirts of town, where they saw an armored buggy and a woman in cyan armor standing by a condemned building. Remembering Mole saying something about their client wearing bluish-green armor, Jacob approached the woman.
"I'm guessing you're the Sky Knight?" Jacob asked. The woman stood up straight and nodded.
"And you're the team of Huntsmen I was told to meet," the woman replied in a curt-sounding tone, "General Carolina Arc. That's all you need to know about me." Jacob raised an eyebrow at Carolina's attitude.
"What's with the hostilities?" Jacob inquired, "We're not here to pick a fight." Carolina stepped forward.
"I don't trust freelancers," she replied, "Huntsmen with no allegiance to a Kingdom are nothing more than guns for hire."
"At least we can go to places that militaries are too scared to go to," Jacob retorted, "Did you ever hear about that White Fang uprising near Spruce village a few years ago that was quelled seemingly overnight? That was my team. Did you know about that large Grimm incursion near the village of Shale not too long ago? We stopped it. Just a few days ago we stopped a Geist from destroying a village in Anima. Each time, we weren't hired to stop them. We were just in the neighborhood and the townsfolk rewarded us for our efforts. So what was that about 'guns for hire?'" Carolina only narrowed her eyes in response.
"Just because you happened to be at the right place at the right time doesn't make you saints," she said, "Besides, who's to say that you didn't orchestrate those events to gain a little extra reward?" This made Oliver clench his fists tightly, but Kevin placed his foot on the crocodile Faunus's tail to keep him from going any further. Jacob narrowed his eyes at Carolina.
"Our informant, who I'm sure you're familiar with by now, has eyes everywhere and ears everywhere else," Jacob retorted, "So what is it you want?"
"I'm here to deliver a message, so let's get to it. My brother Jaune wants to speak with you. He'll meet you in Sequoia village at their local inn. I think it's called the 'Prancing Pony' or something. Anyway, my part in this transaction is complete. If you have any questions, save them for when you meet my brother." With that, Carolina turned on her heel, walked back to the buggy and drove off. After she was out of sight, Candice raised an eyebrow.
"What jumped up her ass and died?" she asked.
"Let it go, guys," Jacob said, "Military types are always like that. Anyway, let's get going. I think there's a train station not too far from here." With that, the four Huntsmen went back into town and headed for the train station, where they bought tickets for the next train to Redwood, the nearest village to Sequoia.
…
After the team boarded the train and took their seats, Kevin looked over at Jacob.
"What do you think we can expect when we meet this 'Jaune Arc?'" the wolf Faunus asked. Jacob shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I've only heard rumors about the guy," he replied, "People say that he defeated the Fall Maiden after growing wings and destroying her fortress near Beacon during the Battle of the Five Armies. I've even heard how he personally led a mission to take back Beacon with only a handful of Huntsmen behind him. Until we meet him, I think a good half of those stories are exaggerated by haunted soldiers." Suddenly the car shook, indicating that the train was now leaving the station. Jacob rested his head against his seat and closed his eyes.
"Get comfortable, guys," Jacob said, "It's a two-day trip from here to Redwood." Kevin followed his lead and leaned back, his hands resting behind his head.
…
The train ride, for the most part, was nothing short of quiet and boring. The drink services were nice, but Candice found herself clenching her teeth. Living on the road for so long made her used to wide open spaces, so sitting in a small cabin on a train car was making her feel rather uneasy. Night had fallen some time ago, and most of her team was sound asleep. The only one aside from herself that was still awake was Oliver, and he was starting to nod off a bit, too. Candice found it difficult to fall asleep, though it was mostly due to her bat traits making her slightly nocturnal. Deciding that she had enough silence, Candice opened her mouth and prepared to speak, but a series of thuds on the roof outside cut her off. Oliver, however, was jolted awake.
"Somebody's on the roof," he said. Candice looked up and narrowed her eyes.
"And it sounds like he's not alone," she replied, "I'm going to check it out. I'll be right back." With that, Candice stood up, stretched her back, and silently strode out of the cabin. As soon as the door closed, Jacob stirred.
"What was that?" he asked groggily.
"Nothing," Oliver fibbed, "Go back to sleep."
…
Candice stealthily went through the door leading to the coupling of the train cars and quickly climbed to the roof. Her bat ears gave her superior hearing to humans and most other Faunus, her black outfit let her blend into the shadows, and her natural night vision allowed her to make better use of the moonlight than human eyes. When she got to the roof, she saw several figures running in the direction of the engine. That's when it hit her: this was a heist. Not wanting to waste another second, Candice took off as fast as she could after the mysterious assailants. To most people, running across the top of a moving train seemed insane, maybe even suicidal; but to Candice, it was as easy as opening a door. When she was younger, she was taken in and trained by a band of mercenaries, and one such training she received was agility training. Using her old training, Candice caught up to her targets with minimal effort, reaching them at the first car behind the engine.
"I don't know who you are, but I do know that if you want to ride the train, then you'll have to take a seat like everyone else," Candice taunted as her enemies turned to face her. With her natural night vision, she saw that they were all Faunus of varying types and that they were wearing basic armor consisting of chest plates and shin guards, but what Candice was more concerned about was the symbol on their chest plates: the White Fang symbol. This led her to one conclusion.
Damn it, another band of White Fang sympathizers, Candice groaned internally. After the Battle of the Five Armies, or the Battle of Beacon to the rest of the world, the White Fang had fallen apart after their commander, a bull Faunus named Adam Taurus, was defeated and arrested. Splinter cells still existed, but they were few and far between. However, there were still some Faunus who still believed in the White Fang's cause of bringing vengeance and destruction upon the human race, and they were willing to do anything to continue their "good work." The leader, a leopard Faunus with a long spotted tail, stepped up to Candice and narrowed his eyes.
"You're a Faunus," he said, his tone dripping with venom, "Why are you defending the humans?"
""Why are you trying to attack a train full of innocent people?" Candice retorted as she raised an eyebrow.
"Innocent?" the leader scoffed, "Humans are far from innocent. They see themselves as superior to our kind, they use us as a source of cheap labor, and they constantly ostracize and humiliate us just because we look different from them! They deserve the justice the White Fang had planned for them!" Candice tried not to laugh.
"You know the White Fang were all a bunch of hypocrites, right?" she asked, "They claimed to be the righteous saviors of the Faunus, but I've witnessed their cruelty firsthand. They killed children in front of their families, raped innocent human women because they could, and even executed Faunus who refused to join their cause. There was nothing good about them." The leader of the sympathizers growled in rage and disgust.
"If you care for these humans so much, then you can guide them to the afterlife, traitor," he spat before giving a hand signal. Two of his cohorts, a large man with a bear's ears and a woman with a kangaroo's tail, ran forward and tried to attack Candice. The bear Faunus tried to punch her, only for Candice catch his arm and use his momentum to swing onto his back and use her feet to push him forward. While the man tried to regain his balance, the kangaroo Faunus stepped up and tried to throw a roundhouse kick to Candice's head, only for the bat Faunus to duck under it. Candice retaliated by throwing a sweeping kick to her opponent's legs, only for her to jump over it and score a kick to her head. The blow stunned Candice for a moment, but it still gave another of the attackers, a girl with a boa constrictor's tail, an opportunity to lash her appendage forward and catch Candice in a stranglehold. As Candice tried to pry the tail away from her neck so she could breathe, the bear Faunus approached her while cracking his knuckles. He prepared to throw a punch toward Candice's gut, but both he and the boa Faunus underestimated their opponent. Relying on her instincts to escape her opponent's iron grip, Candice opened her mouth and bit down on the tail as hard as she could. The boa constrictor Faunus screamed in pain as she unwound the tail from Candice's neck. Taking the opportunity to attack, Candice charged toward the bear Faunus and attacked him with a rapid flurry of punches and kicks to his face and torso. To Candice, everything seemed to move slower than normal as she struck her opponent over and over; but to everyone else, Candice was moving so fast that they could barely track her movements. Raising her foot, Candice scored a devastating kick her opponent's gut, sending him stumbling back and falling off the side of the train car. With one opponent down, Candice glared at her remaining enemies.
"Not everyone on this train is human, either," Candice said, "In fact, half the passengers are Faunus. Are you going to try and kill them, too?"
"These Faunus are fraternizing with the enemy and are traitors to their own kind," the leader said as he drew a large sword from his back, "And for that, they will be severely punished." Candice rolled her eyes as she drew her handguns from their holsters.
"It's official: you're insane, and you need to be put down for everyone's safety," she said as she glared at her opponents. The kangaroo Faunus took a shotgun from its holster on her back and opened fire, only for Candice to leap above the shot and return fire with her pistols. The kangaroo Faunus's Aura protected her from any real damage, but Candice had scored headshots with every bullet. The shots had dazed her enough to where Candice landed in front of her and smacked her across the face with the barrel of one of her pistols before kicking her in the chest and knocking her off the train.
Two down, two to go, she thought as she prepared herself for another round of combat. The boa Faunus dashed forward and tried to punch Candice in the face, only for the bat Faunus to dodge the attack effortlessly. The boa Faunus continued to attack Candice with all of her limbs, including her tail, only for Candice to block and evade every strike. When her opponent tried to knock her off the side of the train car with a tail swipe, Candice jumped over the attack like it was a jump rope, and opened fire with her guns. One shot landed in her opponent's back while the other hit directly between the shoulders. Unable to stand due to her spinal cord being cut into three pieces, the boa Faunus fell to her knees and slumped over the edge, leaving Candice all alone with the leopard Faunus. The leader of the sympathizers attacked with a downward slash from his sword, only for Candice to sidestep and turn her pistols into daggers. The leopard Faunus tried a sideways slash, but Candice caught the blade in between her daggers and leapt onto the edge on the sword. Her opponent too stunned to move, Candice took the chance to run up the blade and kick her opponent across the face, sending him reeling back. Upon regaining his balance, the leader spat out a gob of blood and charged at Candice with his sword in a position aimed to cut her head off. The bat Faunus ducked under the blade and slashed at her enemy's thigh. His Aura stopped the blade from cutting through his flesh, but the force of the hit still sent the leopard Faunus down on one knee. The leader swept the sword sideways to try and hit Candice's legs, only for the nimble girl to springboard off his head and land behind him. The leader got up and glared at Candice, his breath hissing and his mouth practically foaming. Candice, meanwhile, only stood where she was with a stern glare on her face.
"You're going to pay for everything you did to me!" he snarled. Candice only rolled her eyes in response once again.
"You really should give up while you still can," she said bluntly, "You know that you can't hope to beat me. I can also sense that you're afraid of me."
"What do you mean I'm afraid?!" the leader shouted, though he knew Candice was right.
"Because my senses are going haywire," she explained, "The sound of your heavy breathing, the smell of your sweat, and the sight of your hands trembling even as they hold your weapon. You know that you're hopelessly outmatched and you won't last the night." That was the final straw, as the leader charged forward in a rage, but that was exactly what Candice wanted. After dodging his downward slash, Candice went on the attack with a flurry of slashes and cuts with her daggers. She was moving so fast that her opponent had little time to move his weapon, let alone fight back. Eventually Candice knocked the sword from the leader's hands and kicked him into the air. Once he landed on the roof of the car, Candice jumped up and slammed her feet onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him and diminishing his Aura at the same time. Keeping her enemy pinned with one foot, Candice turned one of her daggers back into pistol form and took aim at the leader.
"You should've fled when you had the chance," Candice coldly stated as she placed her finger on the trigger, "I hope you and your comrades can think about your actions." With that, Candice squeezed the trigger of her pistol and unloaded two bullets into the leader's throat in addition to another one in the head for good measure. As Candice put her weapons away, she heard a voice from behind her.
"What the hell just happened?" Looking behind her, the bat Faunus saw one of the security guards from the train approaching her. Deciding to not beat around the bush, Candice turned and looked the guard in the eye.
"I just saved the lives of over 200 people tonight," she explained, "Your train was about to be attacked by a group of radicals who supported the White Fang. They were planning to kill everyone on board. I made sure that they paid for their mistake. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I need to return to my seat." With that, the bat Faunus ran back to her own car as the guard began sending a report to his fellow officers.
…
Candice slunk back into her cabin as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake the others. She would never want to admit it, but her skirmish had left her feeling more tired than she expected. Shifting to a more comfortable position in her seat, Candice closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep for the remainder of the night.
…
The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon when most of JCKL awoke from their rest. Jacob cracked his neck and yawned, Kevin rubbed his eyes and Oliver stood up and stretched his back. Candice, however, was still sound asleep. This was nothing new for her teammates, who were used to seeing her sleep in after staying up extra late on guard duty. After receiving their breakfast from a passing trolley, and saving one for Candice when she woke up, Jacob looked out the window and stared out into the distance. His mind was burning with questions, but the one he couldn't stop thinking about was whether or not they could trust this Jaune Arc when they met him. For all he knew, it could be a trap and they could be framed for something they didn't do. It wouldn't be the first time. One time when JCKL stopped a pack of Grimm from attacking an Atlesian settlement on the northern coast of Anima, some of the people in the village tried to make it seem like they led the Grimm there on purpose, though fortunately they were shut down rather quickly.
And that's why we hate doing jobs for Atlas, he thought, Those complacent fat cats can't tell the difference between Huntsmen and mercenaries. A couple hours later, Candice stirred and awoke. When she was done eating her breakfast, Jacob looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I heard some people talking about some sort of fight that occurred on the roof of the train last night," he said, "You didn't do anything crazy, right?" Candice yawned and shook her head.
"Just stopped some radicals from attacking the train last night," she replied with an almost casual tone, "A bunch of White Fang sympathizers."
"Damn, you think those people would've taken the hint by now that the White Fang is never coming back," Kevin said as he brushed some hair out of his face.
"I wouldn't say 'never coming back,'" Oliver said, "I mean yeah, their Vale cell was destroyed, but the cells in the other kingdoms are still active. They could strike again at any time." With that, the four Hunters sat in silence as the train continued its journey.
…
After what felt like an eternity, the train finally arrived at its destination: Redwood Station. Quickly taking the first chance they had to get off the train, JCKL collected their belongings and stepped off before the other passengers. Once they left the station, Jacob took his map of Remnant out of his backpack.
"Sequoia is at least 20 miles from Redwood," he said as he stowed the map, "If we start walking now, we'll be able to get there by this evening."
"Then let's get going," Candice said. With that, the freelancers began their long trek to Sequoia. After many hours of walking, and dispatching a pack of Beowolves along the way, the team finally arrived at Sequoia. It was a quaint-looking town, with stone buildings and cobbled streets. Team JCKL wandered the town in search of their destination, before Candice decided to ask one of the locals for directions to the inn. Upon receiving the information, the freelancers came across a large building with a sign reading "The Prancing Pony" hanging over the front door.
"This is the place," Jacob said, "Come on." With that, the four Hunters walked through the door and into the inn. Upon entry, the group found themselves in front of a pub, which was surprisingly not as crowded as they expected. Amidst the rabble at the bar, they saw a lone person sitting at a table in the far corner. A black hood coming from his coat obstructed most of his face, but they could tell he was looking right at them by the way his head was turned. They also saw armored gauntlets on his hands and a sword strapped to his belt. Jacob signaled for his team to follow him, and they took seats around the table, though Oliver had to borrow his from another table.
"Jaune Arc, I presume?" Jacob asked. The man had a ghost of a grin come across his face.
"How can you be sure of that?" he replied. Jacob chuckled in response.
"Really? For a guy who's trying to pass himself off as a vagrant, those gauntlets and that sword look like they'd cost a fortune," he explained, "Plus, why would we go to all the trouble of coming all the way out here to meet with a Star Knight, only to find an imposter instead?" The man raised his eyebrow and chuckled.
"Alright, you got me," Jaune said, "Seems that you're smarter than your reputation suggests. You're a hard group to reach."
"Well, when you're always living on the road, you don't have the luxury of easy access," Kevin said.
"Fair enough," Jaune replied before he cleared his throat, "I also heard that the train heading to Redwood was attacked last night. You four wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"
"A bunch of White Fang sympathizers were trying to attack the train we were riding in some pointless pursuit of vengeance for the White Fang," Candice explained, "I personally stopped them."
"Well, then it seems like you have quite the resume," Jaune quipped as he adjusted his seat, "Now, for the reason you're here. Have any of you ever heard of an old fortress named Fornost?"
"Can't say that we have," Jacob said as he shrugged.
"It's a ruined fortress southwest of here," Jaune explained, "Recently, there have been reports of Grimm gathering there en masse. I'm going to be escorting a VIP through there, but I need your help clearing the Grimm out. Also, if possible, maybe you can find the reason why they're gathering there in the first place." Candice raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds way too easy," the bat Faunus said, "What's the catch?"
"Last time Grimm were massing at a ruined fortress, the Battle of Beacon happened," Jaune replied, "I don't know what you'll find in there, so keep your guard up."
"Why are you asking us to do this when you could send your Sky Knights to do it instead?" Oliver asked, knowing that his question was too obvious.
"Because we're spread thin enough as it is," Jaune answered, "We've been receiving reports of a possible invasion on the coast, and the Grimm aren't making things any easier for us. I was lucky to get my sister to send my invitation to you." Jacob remembered meeting his sister at Evergreen.
"Yeah, she seemed to have some kind of beef with us when we met her," Jacob said. Jaune rubbed the back of his neck as he looked over in the direction of the bar.
"Sorry to hear that," he replied, "My sister hasn't exactly had the best experience with freelancers. She lost her close friend and partner to a rogue Huntsman who was leading an attack on a village near Vale. When he wounded him, he made sure Carol was there to watch her partner die." Kevin snorted lightly at this.
"Well she's going to need to learn how to let go because in the world's current state, grudges are only going to get us killed," the wolf Faunus snipped, causing Oliver to swat him upside the head in response. Jacob sent a glare to Kevin to shut him up further, and that's when Jaune saw a gleam of curiosity coming from Candice's eyes.
"If you have any questions, you won't have a better opportunity than here and now," Jaune said, "So go ahead and ask away."
"Did you really grow wings in the Battle of Beacon?" Kevin asked, sounding surprisingly excited for a change.
"In a way," Jaune replied, "Technically they're a hard-light construct made from my own Aura that take the shape of wings."
"We heard rumors that you fought the Fall Maiden during the battle," Candice stated, "Is it true that you beat her?"
"Yeah, but she didn't make it easy," Jaune said, remembering Cinder constantly barraging him with fire and glass during their battle.
"You beat Cinder?" Jacob asked, "Then it looks like you finished what I started." Jaune raised an eyebrow.
"How so?" he asked. Jacob grinned at his question.
"It happened just a few months after the Fall of Beacon," Jacob explained, "My team and I were stuck in Forever Fall near Vale, and the Grimm were coming in droves. We didn't care much about collecting a paycheck from anyone as much as we did about getting out of there alive. On our way, we came across a White Fang encampment. Kevin took recon with his sniper rifle, and we learned that those guys were guarding a construction crew. We didn't know what they were building at the time, but we knew it was something big. Suddenly one of them spotted us and all hell broke loose. The White Fang guards tried to kill us, but when it became clear that we were too much for them, the sniveling cowards called in their boss."
"You guys were in Forever Fall?" Jaune inquired, remembering the forest where Cinder made her fortress, "So you saw that Spire being built?"
"We didn't just see it getting built," Kevin quipped, "We tore it down. Did you know that Cinder wanted the place to be a castle? But after our little skirmish, she instead decided to make it a tower."
"Cinder swooped in and attacked us," Jacob continued, "The battle was fierce, but when I figured out her weakness, we were able to force her in a corner. That's when she got desperate and summoned more of her 'pets.'" Jaune felt a tingle run down his spine when he remembered how Cinder always had a horde of Grimm at her beck and call.
"So she could control Grimm back then too, huh?" Jaune said, "Then it seems that there are more people with those control bands than I thought. Did you know that she even gave some to the White Fang?" Oliver nodded his head in response.
"How else would they have been able to restrain the Grimm long enough to prepare for their attack on Vale?" the crocodile Faunus said, "We heard about the invasion on the news." Jaune turned back to Jacob.
"So what did you do when Cinder went 'full fury' on you guys?" he asked.
"Let's just say that things started 'cooling off' near the end," Kevin answered, causing Jaune to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"What he means is that just when Cinder was about to kill us, the Winter Maiden came in and saved us," Jacob clarified. Jaune raised both his eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh, so you guys met Elsa," he said, "That's good." Candice widened her eyes at this.
"You know her?" she asked. Jaune smiled and nodded.
"I did spend the 'better' half of two years training to be the man you see in front of you, and in that time I did a lot of travelling," he explained, "Elsa helped me learn how to defend myself against elemental attacks. Kind of ironic, though, because my opponent's element was the complete opposite of Cinder's." Jaune could still remember trying to defend himself against both Elsa's Winter Maiden powers and hypothermia at the same time during their training.
"Then it seems that we both benefited from training with her," Jacob said, "After seeing her lay complete waste to Cinder, it inspired me to take after the Maidens. I told my team to lay low in Menagerie while Elsa taught me how to wield Dust. After four months of rigorous training, I was able to fight her to a standstill with just elemental attacks alone." As proof, Jacob held up his left arm and used his Aura to activate a stripe of Lightning Dust running up the sleeve of the coat. Jaune raised both his eyebrows at this display.
"Very impressive," he complimented, "A friend of mine would be very impressed with your ingenuity." Jacob grinned at this.
"Your friend wouldn't happen to be that Schnee girl, would it?" he asked. Jaune nodded in response.
"The Heiress, yes," he replied before looking to the others, "So what can the rest of you do?" Candice's ears perked up as she sat up straight.
"Jacob's semblance raises his physique to near superhuman levels," the bat Faunus explained, "It makes him stronger, faster, tougher and more sensory than a normal Huntsman." She then gestured to herself.
"My own semblance lets me create sound waves to either find my way around, deafen my enemies, or blast through walls."
"That's funny," Jaune said with interest, "Jacob's semblance reminds me of a friend of mine who takes a brawler approach to fighting, but yours is a new one to me." He then looked at Oliver and Kevin.
"How about you guys?" he asked.
"My semblance allows me to take the adrenaline produced by my emotions and turn it into physical power," Oliver answered, "I can get stronger with the more adrenaline produced, but there's a nasty drawback. If my body produces more adrenaline than I can handle, I end up losing control of myself and going into a frenzy." He then looked away in shame, remembering his past mistakes. Jaune nodded in understanding.
"That brawler I mentioned? She has a similar problem with her semblance. She can get stronger with every hit or if she gets angry enough, but she also has a very short temper. She tended to think with her fists instead of her brain, and this caused her to get disqualified from the Vytal Tournament and lose her arm in the Fall of Beacon." Kevin spoke up next.
"My semblance lets me literally blow things away," he said, "and before you say anything, no, it isn't channeled through a weapon." Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"So then, how do you do it?" he asked. Kevin grinned and took a deep inhale, which told his teammates to take cover beneath the table. On the exhale, Kevin blew out a powerful blast of air that not only knocked both Jaune and his chair over, but also created a shockwave that knocked over several other patrons. All those who were blown over began looking around in concern for the source of the wind as Jaune stood up and dusted himself off.
"Sorry about that," he said as everyone turned their attention to him, "Next round's on me for your trouble." After picking up his chair, Jaune sat back down at the table, which surprisingly was still standing.
"Okay, you guys are definitely a force to be reckoned with," Jaune said, "Qrow was right to recommend you for this job." Jacob widened his eyes at this revelation.
"The old 'Crow Reaper' was the one who told you about us, huh?" Jacob asked in surprise, "We only know the guy by name and reputation, but he somehow knows who we are to call us on a job. That seems a little weird."
"Yeah, the old man always has been a bit weird when it comes to handling his job, but he wouldn't be doing it well otherwise," Jaune said before looking around the bar. Having been in situations like this before, Jacob could tell that he was looking for someone. Having not seen his other client, Jaune turned to the team.
"Sorry guys, but as enjoyable as this was, I need to get some shuteye," the Star Knight said. But before leaving, he stood up and held out his right hand to Jacob.
"Before I leave, I need to know if I really do have the right people for the job." Jacob stood up and shook his hand.
"We'll do it," he said, "Though we haven't exactly covered the subject of payment. As I'm sure you know, Huntsmen don't work for free." Jaune couldn't help but smile in understanding.
"As a former Huntsman myself, I'm very familiar with that," he said as he took out his scroll, "How does 10,000 lien and two crates of military-grade Dust sound? And if the information you gather is valuable, I'll even throw in another two crates." Team JCKL couldn't help but widen their eyes at Jaune's offered price.
"Wait, 10,000?! Just like that?!" Kevin asked, practically shouting the words, "You're not going to haggle the price or anything?" Jaune looked to Kevin with a serious expression on his face.
"With the fate of Vale in line, I will do anything to ensure its safety and the protection of its people," he said, "I'm sure if Menagerie were facing similar dangers, you'd do the same."
"Actually, I was born in Oakwood," Kevin said, "But I get your point." Jacob looked down at Jaune's scroll and saw that it was still waiting for his fingerprint in order to finalize the transfer. Without any hesitation, Jacob brought up his finger and placed in on the scroll.
"We're in," he said after removing his finger, "When do we start?" Jaune smirked as he put his scroll away.
"You just did," he said before taking a lien card from his pocket and placing it on the table, "Here, a round of whatever you want, on me. Have a nice evening." With that, Jaune put his hood up and left the bar without another word. After enjoying their drinks, Team JCKL checked into a room for the evening, preparing themselves for anything their mission had in store for them.
…
And the first chapter of my new story is completed! As I said before, this story is a tie in with NickShepard's story "Rise of a Star Knight," so read that story first if you are new to this series. Our partner Nightengale4698 is also writing a story of his own called "Broken Fang," which serves as a prequel to the story. And since our stories are mainly based on both RWBY and Middle-Earth, my story takes inspiration from the Lord of the Rings video game "War in the North," which is a good game in my opinion. Team JCKL are my OC's, and this story was a good opportunity for me to finally use them in something. Here's the cast that I will be including every time a new character is introduced:
Jacob: Brad Swaile (Light Yagami)
Candice: Carrie Keranen (Satsuki Kiryuin)
Kevin: Dante Basco (Prince Zuko)
Oliver: Khary Peyton (Cyborg)
Jaune: Miles Luna (Felix)
Anyway, I've dragged this on long enough. As always, read, enjoy and review!