Grimmlock
By: thrillerartist
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN RWBY! RWBY belongs to RoosterTeeth!
Chapter 1: Field Study
There are some stories in the lives of hunters and huntresses that will never be heard. But if you are here, that means you have heard of what happened in the forest of Sternlite...
That was one of the hardest things that has ever happened in my life. It was the hardest choice I have ever had to make: to let live, or die.
For all its tragedy, it is a story I think I am the best one to tell.
15 Years ago...
Franklin Stein had left Atlas a many years after he'd graduated from Atlas Academy. He was the third in his class, specializing in both in sword skills and hand-to-hand combat. Trained to kill, but also gifted in the use of field medicine, he wanted to use his talents to save people from the Grimm. A few years after his graduation, he'd returned to his alma mater to teach hunting tactics and Grimm studies. Atlas Academy, his old school, was also the place where he re-connected with his teenage-sweetheart. Alice Locke, a huntress who was just as talented in archery as she was beautiful; he honestly did not know what she saw in him. He, who spent most of his days nosing through textbooks in the library or training at the gym, had caught the eye of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
She was stubborn, headstrong, and clever enough to be able to think on her feat, even when under duress. She was a master of archery, able to hit any tarket within her range. Her olive complexion and lethe figure, her beautiful blue eyes and luscious brown hair rivaled Franklin's appearance in every way. He, who had developed muscles from years of fighting were obscured by how tall he was, almost six-and-a-half feet. His wire-like maroon hair stuck out at all angles, no matter how hard he tried to tame it. His face was (potentially) handsome, but was still being obscured by the awkwardness of adolescence. When in battle, he thought things through all the way, and his teachers admired that he could do so during a fight. Though he was a skilled fighter, he enjoyed the science of Grimm just as much, and spent many hours into the night studying scientific journals.
He was her opposite in every way, and yet...yet she still fell for him, and he for her.
Love is odd.
They had started their relationship the year before their graduation. Once they had become full hunters, they had agreed to part, albeit heart-wrenching and tearful.
Then, when he had started his teaching position, she had come into his life again. They had picked up their relationship where they had left off, it seemed, and were married a few months after. Alice Stein, he thought, had a beautiful ring to it.
Teaching had been their shared passion, but occasionally, they would go into the wild and perform biological or observational studies on the Grimm in the area. Together, he and his wife were able to study the behaviors of Grimm, and taught their findings to the hunters and huntresses that came after them anticipate a Grimm's attack.
A few months after they had married, Alice told her husband that there would be a new addition to their small family. Franklin was overjoyed! Alice was pregnant with their first child! Nine months later, Franklin and Alice's daughter was born.
They named her Victoria.
Though it was against Franklin's wishes, Alice accompanied him on an observational study of a pack of Boarbatusks in a nearby village a few weeks after their daughter was born. These Grimm were said to be as old as the elders of the village, and were not aggressive towards the humans living nearby. There would be no immediate danger.
Or at least, that is what they thought.
But something had gone wrong. A villager who fancied himself a trained hunter after only killing a few low-level Grimm, attacked the hoard of Boarbasusks like a barbarian. Alice and Franklin jumped in after they saw what the oaf was doing. The herd was powerful, and they were easily overwhelmed. Franklin's semblance, incredible strength, was used to cut down the Boarbatusks as they came. Alice, her semblance being the ability to teleport, grabbed the man, and brought him to the branches of a tree. Ordering him to stay on the branch and off the ground, she quickly teleported back to the fight to aid her husband.
Only, when she saw him, did things go wrong. The Alpha Boarbatusk was pawing the ground with its hoof, and at the angle it was standing, Alice deduced that it was targeting her husband!
Alice teleported directly in its path as it charged, notching an arrow to its heart. She pulled back the bowstring, and let loose the arrow, watching as it lodged itself in the Grimm's fragile skin just above its underbelly.
But not before the beast lodged its tusk through Alice.
Alice died right on the forest floor, in her husband's arms, and miles away from her newborn daughter.
She left Franklin's heart shattered to pieces, and overtaken with grief.
And we all know that grief makes people to things they would never normally do.
Franklin's life changed. Grief warped him into a shell of the man he once was. He spent those first few months caring for his infant daughter, and lamenting on what he could have done differently. What he could have done, what he could have changed, so that his wife did not have to die. He was angry at the villager who charged the Grimm. He was angry at himself for not seeing the Alpha charge. He was angry at his wife, who had once again not thought things through. He quit his job at the academy, and spent his days caring for his daughter. Eventually, he became a part-time hunter to pay his bills, but spent most of his time studying Grimm textbooks and scientific journals.
At last, he had found his new purpose: To create a weapon that would target and kill the Grimm, so that there would be no more need for hunters to risk their lives.
He desired to create a weapon that could hunt like a Grimm, think like a Grimm, but would be a loyal asset to a hunter or huntress. If he could study the Grimm up close and personal, he could figure out their biology, what makes up their creation on a chemical and cellular level, study their behaviors. And if he could recreate that into a form of Grimm that could be controlled, there would be no more need for huntsmen.
No one would have risk dying from hunting the Grimm, because his Grimm would do the hunting for them.
In Atlas, the hub of technological and scientific advancements in all of Remnant, his idea was not accepted. It was called an "abomination". It was called "unnatural".
He was called "insane", and "cowardly".
It was the same reason he decided to leave Atlas. His friends from the academy, his colleagues, no one accepted his idea as science. Even the generals of the Atlas military were not willing to endorse his experiments. So, three years after his wife was killed, he packed up everything he could carry, put his daughter in a caravan drawn by a horse, and left the only home he'd ever known. As he crossed the border of his kingdom, he did not think of the friends and family he was leaving behind. All he saw ahead of him was the discovery that was awaiting him...and of the revenge he aspired to enact.
He would succeed in creating a Grimm that could be controlled by a huntsman. A Grimm that could adapt to any situation, and hunt its own kind on order. A Grimm that knew the meaning of loyalty, and was willing to die for its master.
He would study the Grimm, perform his experiments, and not come back to his home until he had succeeded in perfecting his creation. Once everyone who scoffed him saw the very thing they denied could ever exist, once everyone saw how wrong they were for calling him a fool, they would gladly accept him back into their good graces.
But for now, he needed the perfect specimens to study, and the perfect place to call his research center. He'd heard that there was a village that was bering ravaged by hordes of Grimm, on the north side of the Emerald Forest in Vale. It was a long journey, and would take him months to get there.
But it would be worth it in the end. Success was the best form of revenge, after all.
Or at least, that's what he believed.
Present Day...
-Yang-
Four girls stood before him, each dressed in their combat attire. Their leader, dressed in her favorite red hood, stood excitedly in front of the grand wooded desk, where their headmaster was sitting.
"Your work saving Vale from the Grimm attack has not gone unnoticed." The gray-haired man said, pausing to take a sip of his ever-present coffee. "Though your abilities do still have room for improvement, I don't think that you are incapable of handling dire situations on your own. But, seeing as you are still first-year students, I cannot put you on the battlefield quite yet."
Ozpin sets his mug down, and grabs his cane with his right hand. He stood, and turned to the window for a moment, gazing thoughtfully at the city below.
"There has been a request for the assistance of skilled hunters." Ozpin finally said. "On the farthest side of the Emerald Forest, there is a small village in dire need. With most of the experienced hunters and huntresses in Vale off on missions, I am choosing to send you."
"Not to sound ungrateful, professor." Blake said, carefully. "But why are you sending us? Why not the third or fourth year students?"
Ozin turned back to his desk, grabbed his cup of coffee, and took a long, contemplative sip. "I have chosen you for this," He started, "because you are exactly the type of students this school hopes to create. Smart, skilled, but most of all, determined. I sense something dark is looming on the horizon. If this is indeed true, I need to know that the students from this academy will be ready when that time comes."
Ruby's smile fell, her becoming serious. "We understand, professor." She said finally. "What's the mission?"
Professor Ozpin, for all his talk just a few moments ago, kept silent. As he looked over the four girls before him, he once again saw how young they truly were.
Has it really come to this, he thought, that I must resort to sending children into battle before their time?
And, as if she had heard his thoughts, Ruby Rose, the youngest student at Beacon Academy, said, "My team and I are ready for anything, Professor."
Ozpin, slightly taken aback by the young girl's words, nodded in understanding. He set down his mug, and began the mission debrief.
"The village that requested your assistance on this matter is called Sternlite." Ozpin reported. "It is rather small, barely developed, and is currently being overrun with a...rather unnatural Grimm."
Weiss's eyebrows raised slightly, and she asked, "How can a Grimm be unnatural?"
"The villagers claim that this species of Grimm wasn't born from darkness." Ozpin said without missing a beat. "Rather, it was created by someone who used to reside in the village."
Shocked silence filled the room, as each girl stared at the wisened headmaster, trying to see if he was kidding.
But Ozpin wasn't one to kid.
"Why would someone, in their right mind, create a Grimm?" Weiss asked.
"I think the key words there, Weiss are 'right' and 'mind'" Yang replied sarcastically. "Which, they clearly weren't."
Before her sister and partner's antics could get any further, Ruby asked Professor Ozpin, "Is there any more information on what exactly we're dealing with?"
Ozpin merely sighed. "That is the one thing I do not know, Ms. Rose. The villagers wouldn't say anything more on the matter, and insisted that I send huntsmen to their aid, no matter their skill. I was, however, able to confer with the village's resident huntress. She's waiting for your arrival, and will escort you to the area of the forest in which the Grimm resides. An airship will take you to the mountains of the Emerald Forest today, to a village called Sternlite. A huntress named Victoria will meet you at the gates of her village. After that, your first mission officially begins."
The airship landed in a small clearing. As team RWBY stepped out of the ship, they could not help but cringe a little as the chilly air bit at their faces. The village where they were sent was located up in the mountains, hours from the nearest town. Team RWBY stood in the clearing, and watched as the airship that brought them there took off for the trip back to Beacon.
Up ahead, at the very end of the clearing, stood a tall wooden gate, where a lone figure stood.
"That must be the village." Blake said.
"Alright, Team RWBY!" Ruby said excitedly, pointing towards the gate. "Let our first mission begin!" Just as the words left her mouth, Ruby turned into a whirlwind of roses, and ran ahead of the rest of her team
"Dolt!" Weiss shouted after her partner. "You can't just-"
"Just drop it, Princess." Yang responded teasingly. "She's just excited. Heck, I am too! This is our first mission without having a teacher breathing down out necks. You gotta admit, it's exciting."
"But it is still a mission." Blake said seriously. "We shouldn't forget that the dangers are real." She turned her gaze back towards the village gates. "And this time," Blake continued solemnly, "we're on our own."
Having run after their leader, the three remaining girls reached the entrance of the gates, allowing them to get a closer look at the figure that stood there.
She looked about eighteen years old, and was about average height, with a build that told them this huntress was trained for speed and agility. Her hair was as dark as chocolate, and as wild and unruly as Yang's. Her face would have been flawlessly beautiful, were it not for the leather eyepatch and scars that obscured most of the right half of her face. One could see freckles dotted across her nose, and her one remaining eye was a shade of emerald green. She was dressed in a long-sleeve olive green shirt, black pants and leather boots. A leather armored breastplate was strapped to her chest, and a wrist guard was wrapped around her right forearm. A bow and quiver was slung over one side her shoulder, and a sheathed dagger was strapped to her leather belt.
"You must be the team from Beacon." The girl said. " I was expecting you for some time."
"Guys, she's so cool!" Ruby gushed, looking at the girl with pride. "She says she was trained by an Atlesian hunter!"
"Is that so?" Weiss said skeptically. "So, you never had any formal hunting training?"
The huntress fixed Weiss with a stern, one-eyed glare. "If it concerns you so," she said in a serious voice, "I was trained by my father, who graduated third in his class from Atlas Academy."
"That doesn't answer my question." Weiss responded skeptically.
"Regardless of where I got my training, I am the huntress that sent for you." Victoria continued, completely ignoring Weiss's last comment. The girl bowed at her waist, putting her right fist over her heart. "I am Victoria Stein."
"Does your weapon turn into anything else?" Ruby asked, eyes glimmering in wonder.
Vicotoria righted herself before she fixed the rest of team RWBY with a blank look. "This one is your leader, yes?" Victoria asked.
"Yep."
"Yes."
"Correct."
Victoria sighed, and said "I suppose you all with suffice.", before turning to walk through the gates of Sternlite. "Follow me." Victoria called back to team RWBY. "There is something you need to see before we begin our mission."
Walking into the village was a chance to witness humanity in its rawest form. Instead of the crowded streets, tall skyscrapers, and bustling shops the girls had gotten so used to back in Vale, small log houses lined a dirt path that led to a main cabin at the center of the village. Victoria led them down the dirt path, but team RWBY could not help but notice that there were barely any people in the streets. Stalls that were obviously for a small market were empty, except for a man selling herbs and charms. He watched them as they passed by, and he gazed upon the girls with a look of both fear and of relief. Then he started mumbling something so soft that the girls could barely hear the words.
Ruby looked at the houses that were spread out along the road, and noticed the small faces of children that peered out from behind curtains and cracks in the doors.
"Why is the village so empty?" Ruby asked.
Victoria briefly glanced back at Ruby, looking serious. "You'll soon find out." Was all she said.
She led them to the cabin at the center of the village, which was long and L-shaped. She opened the grand wooden door, and beckoned team RWBY to follow her. Inside, they were shocked at the sight before them.
Children and teenagers, and a few adults, were laid out on several cots. Other villagers, healers, most likely, were tending to their bedsides.
Blake's stomach dropped when she saw a small deer Faunus girl, her horns still coming in, shivering under layers of blankets. She walked forward, and knelt down to her side. She couldn't have been any more than six years old. Her tiny face was beaded with sweat, her skin was pale and clammy. In her sleep, the girl kept mumbling, "Mommy...Daddy."
Weiss noticed that some of the healers, who were older men and women, tending to wounds, refreshing bandages and cleaning the faces of the ill. There didn't appear to be any medicine being used other than cold clothes, clean bandages, and teas that healers were waking sleeping patients and forcing them to drink.
Yang couldn't help but feel a little bit of her heart bleed when she saw a pair of girls in the corner of the room. One of them-the older of the pair-was kneeling next to the cot, gripping the smaller girl's hand in a vice grip. The poor girl in the bed was pale, and sweating profusely. Her lips were beginning to turn a thin shade of blue, and black and purple veins were snaking their way across her face, beginning at around her chin. When Yang looked at Victoria, she saw that her one green eye was lingering on the set of girls. In Victoria's eye, Yang saw determination and...sadness?
A cluster of about six adults-the only adults-caught Ruby's eye. She walked towards them, and upon closer examination could see that they most likely the parents of the children in the room. Some bore a striking resemblance to the younglings lying in the cots, and sported seeping wounds, evidence that they got this way from defending their children from the Grimm. Two men and a woman were splayed out on floor mats. One of them was still awake, and was currently staring at the woman on the mat next to him. She was the worse off out of everyone in the cabin, Ruby thought. Her left arm was bandaged all the way from her forearm to her shoulder. Her face was pale, and beads of sweat crowned her forehead. Her breathing was labored, and purple and black veins were snaking their way up from under her bandages.
Victoria appeared by Ruby's side, and knelt down to examine the woman. She forced one of the woman's eye open with her fingers, exposing a yellowed iris. Victoria sighed deeply, sadly, before she turned and began walking out of the cabin. Ruby ran after Victoria, with Weiss, Blake, and Yang trailing behind her.
Outside, Victoria was hunched over underneath a tall oak tree. Her fist was clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white, then red from where it was scraping against the rough bark. The girls approached her, and couldn't help but notice how the young girl was breathing deep in order to keep control of herself. They stood there, under the tree, in silence for a few moments before Ruby dared voice the question that was on her team's mind.
"What happened to them?" Ruby asked, concerned for the people in the cabin.
Victoria quickly regained her composure, staring at Ruby with her one good eye full of seriousness. "They were attacked by a Grimm in this area." Victoria said.
Blake spoke up. "What exactly happened to them?"
Victoria sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Our village is made up of farmers. A few days ago, a few of the families that farm together were attacked by a species of Grimm that live only in this area of the Emerald Forest. We call it the Brutus. It normally doesn't hunt during the day, which is why the villagers were caught so off guard."
"It just...attacked?" Blake asked.
"Completely unprovoked, and the villagers assure me that there was no negative energy in the area to attract it. It just target these people, and nearly killed them." Victoria regained a solemn expression. "Though, I'm afraid that the ones who survived the attack may not live much longer."
"What's wrong with them?"
Victoria looked around, and noticed that they had begun to draw notice from the villagers.
"Perhaps we should discuss this more over some tea." She said, walking down the road. Team RWBY followed her all the way to a small hut made of wood. Inside, there was sparse decoration. A sleeping mat and pillow sat in one corner, awaiting its owner to return. There was a small fire pit in the center of the hut, which had a tripod fit with a tea kettle hanging over the flames. "Please, sit." Victoria said, gesturing to a kneeling table next to the fire. TEam RWBY, not wanting to offend the serious girl, obliged. Victoria went to a small cupboard in the far corner of the one room, and grabbed five wooden cups, setting them down in front of each girl.
"You are free to ask me your questions." Victoria said seriously.
"Let's start with, what in Hell's name is going on here?!" Yang said, but not at all in a joking manor. All Yang could see when she closed her eyes were the two little girls in the cabin, one in the bed, and the other in tears. It reminded Yang too much of her and Ruby when they were little. "What does everyone mean when they say that this Grimm attacking your village was created?" Yang asked, demanding a straight answer.
Vicotoria grabbed the kettle from the fire with a dry cloth, and began pouring the tea. "The Grimm is a hybrid species that was created by a man who used to live here." Victoria said, having finished pouring the tea, and grabbing her own cup. "He was a hunter, actually, as well as a scientist. He wanted to create a Grimm that has all the instincts of one, but would be eternally loyal to a master."
"But, that's impossible." Weiss said in disbelief, hands wrapped around her cup.
Victoria fixed her with a one-eyed look of neutrality. "Which is why it failed so horribly.", Victoria said as she took another sip of her tea, chewing thoughtfully on a loose tea leaf. "He wanted to create the perfect weapon against the Grimm that were ravaging our village. He was a healer in our town, but he was a hunting teacher in Atlas, specializing in Grimm studies. He fused a wolf he found in the woods with a sample from the pools of Grimm, to create a creature with the power of a Grimm, but also the loyalty of a pet. The creature he made was designed to be living weapons that would hunt other Grimm so that humans and Faunus would not. His original intent was to save lives. What he really ended up doing was costing more."
"He had fused a sample from the Pools of Grimm with his pet wolf. The end result was a dog-like Grimm that had the instincts of a wolf, but the powers of a Grimm. As soon as it was created, its Grimm instincts overtook the animal, and made it into what it is today. It fled the village, returning only to kill livestock or some of the villagers. Since then, the hunter who created it spent the rest of his life trying to fix his mistake. He named the Grimm The Brutus, because it betrayed his original intentions."
"What happened to him?" Ruby asked. "The man who created this Grimm."
Victoria set down her cup, leaving her hand on the small table. "In short," she said carefully, "his creature killed him."
"Care to elaborate on that?" Weiss asked bluntly.
"No." Victoria deadpanned, letting everyone know that it was a subject that she did not wish to discuss.
"So that's what's making the villagers so sick?" Yang asked, having not touched her tea.
Victoria nodded, "The Brutus has a venom that coats its talons. If the victim is so much as grazed, they are on limited time. The venom works in three stages." Victoria paused to take a sip from her tea, barely phased by the heat of it.
"The first stage, the victim will show flu-like symptoms: fever, weakness, nausea, dizziness, as the venom weakens the immune system. The second stage, the victim's veins around the injection site will begin to turn shades of purple, almost like bruises. This signifies that the venom is spreading to the rest of the body. Hallucinations, restless dreams and psychotic episodes can also occur, as the fever can sometimes affect brain function. The third and final stage is the deadliest. The victim's eyes will first turn yellow, signifying the venom has reached the brain. Then the organs will begin shutting down, eventually stopping the heart. It is a frightening and painful death, and everyone in that building is dying of the same venom, some already in the third stage."
"That woman." Ruby added. "You said-"
"Once the venom reaches the central nervous system, there is nothing more we can do except keep them comfortable." Victoria said sadly.
"So...you need us to kill this thing, is that it?" Yang asks.
"Again, no."
"So why are we here?" Yang asked, patience wearing thin.
"Yang, just listed to her." Blake said, silencing her partner.
"I have called you here," Victoria continued, "because I am in need of your assistance to collect the ingredients to make the antiserum that will cure the villagers who are not in the third stage of the venom. One is rare herb that only grows at the center of the forest. It is called Grimmlocke, and it has medicinal properties that can counteract the spread of the venom. However, there is one drawback: it only grows for one week every five years, and what little supply we had from the last harvest five years ago was used up after the latest attack. Luckily for us, the next crop is blooming this week, and only this week."
"What's the second ingredient?" Ruby asked.
"The second ingredient is..." Victoria took a deep breath, "is venom from the claws of the Brutus." At the emanation of the words, Victoria could practically taste the shock in the room.
"So," Yang said, breaking the silence in the room, "you need our help in gathering a rare herb that only grows every five years, and venom from a man-made Grimm that could kill us with one scratch. Is that all?"
"Yes." Victoria says. "The task I ask of you is very dangerous, and it is very possible that you could die. If there is a time you wish to turn back, now is that time. If you agree, we will be going into the forest shortly."
Yang, for all her excitement at going on a mission without a teacher to hound them, looked around at her team, her eyes lingering a second longer on Ruby. She cared about her teammates, but her main priority was Ruby, always. For a brief moment, she wanted to grab Ruby and take her away from this place, to keep her safe. But what she wanted was not what Ruby would. And when Yang saw Ruby, she saw seriousness in her silver eyes. Yang knew that Ruby knew the risks involved in taking this mission, she knew that Ruby could handle herself in any situation, but that didn't stop her heart from fluttering in worry.
Ruby kept her face stoic for a few more moments before shooting Victoria with a toothy grin, and a thumbs up. "You can count on us!" Ruby declared. "Team RWBY has got your back!"
"Before we begin, there are some things you must know about the Brutus' hunting habits." Victoria says, looking at each member of the team as she stood at the front of the village gates. "The Brutus is part wolf, so it has some of the wolf's hunting tactics. It moves incredibly fast, and likes to stick close to the shadows, away from any light. Its fur is hard as steel, but it mouth and eyes are its weak spots. They are the only soft points on the creature.
"The Brutus also has a very acute sense of smell and hearing, so keep as quiet as you can, and don't bring anything scented with you on the hunt."
"Ouch, Weiss," Yang smarts, "why do I get the feeling that last one was directed at you?"
"Shut up, Oaf!" Weiss snaps back at the blonde, while Yang smiled coyly.
Victoria snapped her fingers at the two like she was trying to get the attention of a couple kids. "Second," she continued in a serious voice, her one good eye directed at Yang, "never turn your back on the Brutus. It will take that as a sign of vulnerability, and it will attack to kill if given the opportunity. Third..." Victoria tapered off, her eye landing on Ruby, softening a little at the sight of the young girl. "Third," Victoria regained her composure, "be on your guard. The Brutus mainly attacks prey it sees as vulnerable, which unfortunately, tend to be those who are young, old, sick, or injured. Ruby, you especially need to be on guard."
Ruby nodded grimly, all her swagger from before gone. Once again, her age was something that set her apart from the others, but this time, it was in the worst possible way.
Yang, sensing somethign derogatory being said against her sister, immediately jumped in to her defense. "Hey, listen, Rubes may be the youngest out of all of us, but in no way is she the weakest!"
"That's right!" Weiss added in, despite her argument with Yang a few moments before. "Ruby is just as capable as any of us are."
Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "The Brutus does not care about a person's skill!" She said firmly. "Nor does it care about leadership, or family background, or past history. It is a Grimm, just like any other Grimm you have fought. It relies on its monstrous instincts, and wants only to destroy everything in its path, and if you are in front of it when it does so, you cannot call yourself a capable hunter or huntress." That statement, for the most part, sent a wave of reality over the team, who had never been completely on their own during a mission before. For a while, they just stood there, team RWBY facing Victoria, neither moving nor speaking. Vicotira stared at the team before her with great intent, almost daring them to turn around and run back to Beacon.
However, Ruby's voice was the first to break the long silence. "We understand what you're asking of us", she said gently. "And we understand the risks involved. But my team is ready, and we will not let you down."
Victoria, once again, stared at the small girl, hiding her amazement behind a mask of neutrality. How can so much bravery exist in a body so young?, she thought. "Very well." Victoria said finally, nodding towards the team before turning towards the forest. "Let us embark."
The team passed through the mountainous terrain at a moderate pace, keeping themselves as quiet as they could so not to draw the attention of the surrounding beasts in the area. Victoria led the group, since she was the one who knew the area better than some of the villagers. As Ruby looked around her, she could not help but notice how beautiful the land was. Giant trees made a canopy of luscious green above them, and in some parts you could barely see the sky above. The forest floor was specked with patches of green grass, but mostly it was covered with dried leaves and rocks. The terrain itself was rocky in some areas, but for the most part, it was not a difficult hike.
"So, what exactly are we looking for, again?" Yang asked Victoria.
"We are searching for the Brutus. In order to make the anti-serum, we need to milk the venom from the Grimm itself, before journeying up the mountain to harvest the Grimmlocke plant. Once we have both, we can create an anti-venom before combining it with sap from the Grimmlocke, thus making the antiserum."
"It's interesting" Blake said from beside Yang, "how the very thing that caused all the pain for your village, is the same thing that can save it."
Victoria's eye wandered off towards the forest. "Interesting indeed." She murmured.
All of a sudden, Blake's Faunus ears caught a sound that would have been missed by a normal human. "Stop!" she hisses, drawing her weapon, Gambol Shroud. Victoria grabs a handful of arrows from her quiver, and scans the trees with the accuracy of an archer. Her ears picked up the sound of something large barreling through the forest towards them, and her emerald eye went wide as she realized what it was. "Circle up!" she ordered Team RWBY, "keep your backs to the center, and don't let yourselves get separated!"
In a flash, all five girls circled together, their backs facing the center of the circle. Each girl drew her weapon of choice, readying themselves both mentally and physically for the fight ahead.
A hoard of Beowolves came flooding from the treeline, skirting around the girls like cockroaches to a light source, before running in the opposite direction.
"Umm..." Yang blurted. "Don't those things usually, I don't know, attack everything in their sight?"
"They do." Victoria said grimly, "Unless there's something that threatens them."
As if on cue, the beast emerged from the trees. It was about the size of a truck, but had the figure of a wolf. Its hide was a prickly fur that shone like onyx in the light. Shadows seemed to be drawn to it, just as they were with regular Grimm, but they pooled around its legs, giving the beast the appearance of walking through black water. Its eyes glowed a molted red shade, radiating anger and destruction as its snarling maw opened to show off a set of razor-sharp teeth as white as snow. The Grimm's claws, however, radiated a shade of purple so deep that it almost matched the shade of the Brutus's coat.
This was the Brutus. This was the monster that was leaving hurt and sorrow and illness in its wake wherever it went.
As dangerous and deadly as it was, it truly was a sight to behold.
It stood in defiance of the girls in front of it, daring them to make the first move. All of a sudden, it barreled through the girls, sending them running as they tried to evade it's touch. The Brutus barked at them, a thundering sound, and prowled around them in a circle, anticipating their next move.
"So much for that." Blake said.
"Freezerburn!" Ruby shouted, jumping away from the battle and into the trees as Blake followed her. Victoria, not understanding what was going on, climbed up the nearest tree, and started firing her arrows, trying to land one in the Brutus's eye. But the beast was too smart, too quick, and dodged her every shot.
Meanwhile, Yang and Weiss were left on the ground. Weiss used her ice dust, and pierced the ground with the tip of her rapier, while Yang summoned her fire. She hit the sheet of ice that formed on the ground, thus creating a fog so thick Weiss could have sliced through it if she wanted to. The girls, having a suitable cover from the beast, regrouped on the ground, running circles around it in an effort to keep it disoriented. However, the Brutus still had its sense of smell, and it zeroed in on one particular prey item.
Just as Ruby was about to open her mouth to order Weiss and Blake to do their tag team, an immense claw came out from the clearing fog. Ruby put up her scythe in an effort to block the blow, and ended up catching the beast's paw on the sickle. Ruby fired her weapon, and the blowback yanked the Brutus so hard it stumbled. Seeing an opening, Yang sent a barrage of fists towards its flank in an attempt at keeping it down, but every shot she fired only ricocheted into the trees. The Brutus turned its head a full 180 degrees to try at get at the pest pounding on it, but only ended up snapping at air. Blake had used Gambol Shroud to pull Yang away from the danger of the beast's mouth.
"What do you say, Ruby." Weiss asked, spinning the revolver on her rapier. "Iceflower?"
"Iceflower!" Ruby repeated as she slammed her scythe blade into the ground, as Weiss summoned a glyph at the front of the barrel of Ruby's gun. Sensing two of its potential targets were immobile, the Brutus began to barrel towards the duo. Ruby and Weiss sent shot after shot, aiming for the Brutus' mouth and eyes, but missing due to the beast's agility. Suddenly, Ruby and Weiss were able to land a blow to its right front paw, causing it to lose its balance, and sent it crashing into the trees.
But the beast would not go down quite so easily. Angered, it climbed back onto its feat, and howled at the girls. Its animal instincts were on high alert, telling the Brutus to scan its foes for signs of weakness, but was only able to sense that one of the girls was slightly smaller than the rest.
The girls all watched as the Brutus' snout pinched in agitation before it came barreling back towards them like a runaway train (which they had all fought before). Only this time, the Brutus ran towards Weiss and Ruby
"Watch out!" Victoria yelled, notching an arrow aimed at the Brutus's left eye.
The Beast chomped its jaws at Ruby and Weiss, who were cornered by a patch of thick trees. Ruby swiped the beast's eye with her scythe, just as it brought up a paw to strike them down. Ruby was able to land a blow to the creatures eye, blinding it, as Weiss used a gravity glyph to push it away from them.
Sensing its defeat, and wounded, the Brutus ran back into the bush, almost as quick as it came.
But not before leaving a mark on one of its attackers.
Silence dominated the forest as each girl froze in their place in anticipation of the Brutus's return. But it never came back.
From her vantage point in the trees, Victoria shouted, "Is everyone alright? Is anyone hurt?"
"Nah, we're all fine." Yang said, stretching her arm. "Though, it's nice to see you have a heart under all that cold."
"Yang!" Blake snapped, glaring at her partner.
"It would be more unfortunate for me if any of you were wounded." Victoria said, dropping down to the ground. "It would mean I'd have to call in help for another huntsman."
"You alright, Weiss?" Ruby asked her partner, who looked shaken up. Myrnaster trembled in Weiss grip, something that rarely ever happened to the headstrong girl.
"I'm fine, Ruby." Weiss replied, her face contorting into her usual mask of stoicism. "But...thank you, for asking."
Victoria turned her gaze to the sky, holding up her hand to shield her eye from the light of the setting sun.
"Night is coming", she said, addressing the members of team RWBY. "We should head back to Sternlite and form a strategy, now that you know what we are up against."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to make camp in the forest?" Blake asked. "If you're pressed for time, we could save the energy of walking back to the-"
"Too many have died from spending the night in the forest." Victoria said slowly. "The Brutus is most active at night, thought it is rarely seen in the day. You can take every precaution and still end up dead by morning. No, we go back to the village, get proper rest and sustenance, and form a plan now that we all know what we are up against."
Shouldering her bow, Victoria turned, and started walking back towards her village, not bothering to stop and see if the members of team RWBY were following her.
I keep going over things in my head, wondering if that first day could have gone differently. Had I been honest up front about what was going to happen to me, about who that scientist was, would things still have turned out the same. Maybe, but I don't regret the choices I made at the time, because I believed them to be the right ones. I tried to be the best huntress I believed I could be, and that's all that mattered in the end, I think.
When there is nothing else left to do in a bad situation, all one can hope to do is try and make it better.
That is what I believed then, and it is what I believe now.
However...had I stopped to notice that small little tear in Ruby's shirtsleeve, I think things would have gone differently. I would have saved her, her friends, and her sister a lot of heartache and pain.
Things would have gone differently, but still have yielded the same result in the end.
To be continued...
Author's Note:
I'm a huge fan of the RWBY series, and I've been stewing this idea in my mind for quite some time. As a kid, I was really interested in shows about venomous creatures, especially snakes. I know that the science in this story might not be that accurate, but I figured in a world like RWBY's, anything is possible.
The backgroud inspiration for this story is Mary Shelly's "Frankenstien". It's always been one of the most intruiging stories to me, and was a big influence on my writing this story. I wanted the character of Dr. Frankenstein to be portrayed in two aspects: Dr. Frankenstein as a child (Victoria) and Dr. Frankenstein as an adult (Franklin). While Victoria is serious and wants nothing more than to saver her village from the Brutus, Franklin's motivations for creating the Brutus are more selfish and ambitious. This conincides with the idea of young and adult Frankenstein, since Dr. Frankenstein in his youth wanted to merely be a scientist that helped the world, but Dr. Frankenstain in his adulthood is more ambitious with his desire to create life from death.
I've been working on the background of this story for a long time, and I hope that you guys like it! Feel free to post reviews or comments, because they're much appreciated!
Until Next Time!
-Thrillerartist
