Alright, no more prologues. We're straight into this fic this time. You see the M? That means things will get violent. And without further ado, we shall begin the story.
"Shit! What the hell was that?"
"I don't know, but it sounded so creepy, hissing and shit."
"Reckon it was a Taijitu?"
"Probably. Hide up here!"
"Up!? You realise Taijitu are huge, right?"
"I know! Stop panicking! Give me the merch and get up that tree. And for all that's good in Remnant, stop panicking!"
The two merchants quickly scaled the tree, quiet pneumatic discharges slinging ropes upwards to aid them. The hidden mechanisms hoisted the two men upward, concealing them in the canopy of the Emerald Forest.
"I knew this was a bad time of year to make the Vale run."
"No shit."
"Shh! I see it!"
Many feet below, a large, streamlined head broke through the shrubbery, a dark tongue divining the air, searching for its prey. The Taijitu lifted its head, sweeping slowly from side to side. Above it, the two merchants stared. One of them reached for his weapon, a large shuriken, before the other grabbed his hand, shaking his head furiously.
"It's armour's too thick. I heard that the best way to take one out is to blast something clean through its head, via the eyes."
"If I used a Dust Bomb..."
"No! You'll attract every Grimm in a five mile radius!"
The pair continued to watch as the Taijitu continued its hunt, tongue darting in an out as it did so. It reared up slightly, angling its head upwards. The merchants began to panic.
"Oh fuck, it sees us..."
"Shhh. I see someone down there."
A figure broke into the clearing, the Taijitu instantly forgetting about its meal up in the free and instead hissing at the intruder. The intruder was unfazed, his grey cloak preventing the merchants from seeing his face. The Taijitu hissed again, fangs extending as it lunged towards the cloaked man. Faster than the eye could follow, the man slid his hands into a pair of katara and swung, the vicious blades parrying the Taijitu's fangs. The Taijitu backed away, staring at the defiant intruder. Red aura erupted from the katara, and one of the blades was propelled forwards, piercing the Taijitu's eye, killing it instantly. From above, the merchants watched, wide-eyed.
"Told you the eye was the weak-"
He was cut off as a katar blade attached to a chain embedded itself in the branch on which they resided, hoisting the cloaked man into the trees. He came up to eye level, slowly considering them from behind mirrored glasses and a hood. He noticed the emblem on one of their bags.
"Mystrali merchants? Why are you making the Vale run at this time of year? You should know there's a high concentration of Grimm in the forest."
He spoke quietly, with a deep voice that almost shuddered.
"We need the money. These weapon mods aren't going to sell themselves."
"Might I ask what mods you are selling?"
"Dust discs."
"Interesting. If you'd like, I can escort the two of you to Vale. It's about two hours on foot, but once the sun goes down, you're as good as dead out here. Sorry to be so... Grim... But that's the way it is."
"Thanks, we'll take that offer. My name's Tsul. My shuriken-toting friend here is Kisaragi."
"Alright then, Tsul, Kisaragi, my name is Felix Crimson. Please, follow me."
The trio set off, Tsul and Kisaragi following Felix as he navigated them through the Emerald Forest. On occasion, the man would stop, signalling for the traders to lie flat as a creature of Grimm passed by. True to his word, by the time two hours had passed, the walls of Vale were in sight. Felix pulled a Scroll out of his pocket, sending a quick message. Moments later, a small panel, do bigger than a domestic door, slid aside, granting the trio access to the city. One elevator ride later saw Tsul and Kisaragi in the customs office, armed guards probing their bags and inspecting each Dust disc before placing it back in its respective canister. The guard raised an eyebrow at the large amount of Lien in Kisaragi's bag, but replaced it without a word and waved the pair through. Felix was waiting at the other side.
"Anything else you two need?"
Tsul nodded.
"Do you know where we can buy a plot of land? We're planning on staying a long time."
"You should look in the properties office, over in that direction."
"Thank you, Mr. Crimson."
"Please, just Felix will do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."
-Beacon, the following morning-
Ruby Rose was dreaming. In her dream, she was stood under a large Willow tree, the branches swinging gently in the slight wind. The wind grasped her hood, dragging it backwards, rose petals spilling out. She was alone, or so she thought.
"Ruby..."
She felt arms fall around her, slender, but with hidden strength. She melted into the embrace, sighing quietly. She turned slowly, amber eyes meeting hers, growling larger as the owner leaned in closer...
Ruby was then rudely awoken by an incessant beeping on her Scroll. Blinking blearily, she leapt out her death trap of a bed to turn it off, the other members of her team groaning as they were dragged from the clutches of sleep.
"Morning everyone."
She was met with a chorus of grunts of acknowledgement. Ruby yawned, making her way into the room's small bathroom in order to shower, giving the WBY of RWBY time to crawl out of bed. She emerged minutes later, Yang stumbling past her as she did so. Yang was not a morning person.
Weiss had made her way into the room's kitchen, and the sound of a kettle heating up could be heard, leaving only Blake in the room. She lifted her head, the feline ears atop her head twitching as the sounds from the kitchen continued. Ruby was momentarily taken aback by how beautiful she found her, and was snapped out her temporary trance when Blake's amber eyes opened and stared at her.
"Morning, Ruby."
"M-Morning!"
Ruby blushed and looked away, furiously drying her hair as Weiss brought four mugs of coffee into the room. Yang left the bathroom, sitting down heavily and taking a mug. Weiss was next, showering in just a few minutes to allow Blake enough time to do the same. The four of them sat in silence, slowly sipping their coffee before an announcement broke the peace, Glynda's curt voice broadcast around the academy.
"Would all first year students please report to the arena in full combat gear in ten minutes."
The quartet complied, quickly changing again and removing their weapons from the various safe places in which they were hidden. They made their way through Beacon, nodding at team JNPR as they passed by. They soon reached the arena, some of the stands already full. In the pit, Glynda stood next to Professor Ozpin, the headmaster taking a sip out a mug. Team RWBY sat with Team JNPR as Glynda called for quiet. The room went silent.
"Thank you. Professor Ozpin has an announcement to make."
"Thank you Glynda. Now, you're probably all wondering why I brought you here, in full combat gear, first thing in the morning. Well, I'll get to that later. The first announcement I'd like to make is the recruitment of a new Hunter into our teaching body, Mr. Felix Crimson."
A man emerged from the arena tunnel, wearing a large grey cloak with mirrored glasses. He took his place next to Ozpin.
"Now, Mr. Crimson will be taking up position as a Combat Specialist. I would like the make clear that Crimson is a dedicated Huntsman, and is quite capable of holding his own in a fight, and not just some mercenary we've just hired."
"Thank you, Professor. As you heard, I will become you new Battlemaster, and I will explain more when I see you in your usual classes."
"The second announcement to be made is that Professor Port has successfully contained and categorised a new type of Grimm. He believes it to be the most dangerous form yet. As such, you must keep a watchful eye on any subsequent missions, as the Mimics are not to be taken lightly."
On cue, Port emerged, wheeling a large cage into the arena and removing the cover. Inside stood a perfect copy of Port. As the Mimic turned around, scanning its environment, it took the shape of Glynda, then Ozpin, then Crimson. It turned to the stands, turning into random members of the audience before Port replaced the cover before speaking.
"As you can see, the Mimic is quite capable of matching someone's physical appearance. It can mirror a host perfectly. However, it is incapable of speech. That is why it usually works with a Grimm Siren."
Port removed another cover, showing a small, winged Grimm with two legs and a single, burning eye.
"This little creature will often sit in the shadows near a Mimic, projecting the target's speech patterns. This completes the illusion. Exercise extreme caution in the future, for your greatest enemy may be yourselves."
"Thank you, Port. My final announcement today is that combat training will start immediately. Crimson, if you'd be so kind to explain."
"What will happen is that each team will come into the arena and fight me in a four-on-one fight. However, while fighting me, I will be using my Semblance to attack a seldom considered front- your mind. I cannot say for sure what you will experience in this fight, but I have seen the aftermath. Evidently, it can be quite jarring, but Ozpin and I have discussed the subject and come to the agreement that this exercise will be beneficial to all. Any questions?"
A moment of silence filled the arena.
"Very good. First team to undergo the trial will be..."
The screens around the arena showed every team name, flashing through them. The flashes slowed down, and the cycle stopped. Four letters burned across the screen.
"Team JNPR!"
The team stood up, Jaune leading them into the arena. Crimson stood there, showing little emotion from behind the mirrored glasses and shapeless grey cloak. As JNPR fell into a combat stance, Crimson smiled and raised his arm, a small disc held between his fingers.
"I am offering a prize to the student I deem the greatest performer today: one Blizzard Disc. For those of you unaware of Discs or how they function, a Disc can be applied to a Disc slot on a weapon. This augment, as the name suggests, adds an icy effect to the weapon."
Crimson lowered his arm while simultaneously extending the katara hidden up his sleeves. He slotted the Disc into the weapon, and held them up as the blades visibly cooled, mist forming around them. Ruby frowned.
"How rich is this guy, to be slinging around Discs like that? They cost more than a thousand Lien each!"
Her question fell on deaf ears, as while she had been talking, four red lines hand emerged from Crimson, connecting JNPR to him. The lines faded, and Glynda gave the signal to start the match.
Nora was the first to move, starting the match with an enthusiastic smile and a loud shout of "Smash!", Magnhild swinging in shattering arcs. Pyrrha and Ren backed her up by shooting at Crimson, while Jaune circle around to attack from behind. All the while, Crimson stood there, his katara not moving as he considered the situation. Only once Ren and Pyrrha opened fire did he move, his arms crossing to absorb the shots. They tore through the cloak and bounced off the gauntlets he was wearing. Felix scowled. He had forgotten to remove the arms of the cloak, and now they were ruined again.
As he blocked the shots from the front, he heard Jaune approaching from behind. Felix kicked backwards, his foot meeting Jaune's shield. Nora descended from above, Magnhild raised to deliver a powerful strike. Felix bring his right arm over his head, forcing Jaune to raise his shield. Felix jumped over Jaune, allowing Nora to shatter the ground where he had been and absorb a few shots from Ren, her Aura depleting slightly.
Pyrrha and Ren were joined by Nora. Pyrrha watched as Nora advanced, taking Jaune's place as Felix pushed him back. Jaune went to charge again when Felix raised a katar, a red flash radiating from the blade's tip. Jaune was suddenly paralysed, unable to bring himself to move forward. He glanced at Pyrrha and Ren, who appeared to have the same fearful expression on their faces. Only Nora seemed unaffected, continuing her onslaught of hammer blows and explosive shots. Every time she made contact, there was a similar, but smaller, red flash. Pyrrha watched as Nora's expression fell with each strike, changing from a determined grin to wide-eyed fear. She faltered, raising Magnhild, trying to bring herself to strike again.
"Had enough?"
Crimson's voice seemed to have dropped in pitch, and Nora was sure that his cloak was not as dark as it was now. Nora could not react. She backed away, shaking her head and screaming.
The rest of JNPR attacked in a similar fashion, only one member at a time being able to bring themselves to attack the Battlemaster. One by one, they lost their will to fight, deep fear setting in. Soon, it was Pyrrha's turn to make a move, charging forwards and throwing Akoúo. The shield spun towards Crimson, a faint red flash heralding the impact. She followed up with Miló, making impact with a red flash. In that moment, Felix changed, becoming a twisted effigy of Jaune for a scant moment. As she made more hits, Jaune's effigy became more fearful, more desperate, and she swore she could hear him whispering to her, begging her to help him and not to attack him. She saw him become more bloody with each hit.
"Pyrrha! Please! Stop attacking me! We're friends!"
Sobbing audibly as the next hit showed a version of Jaune very close to death, she backed away, sinking to her knees. A gasp rippled through the audience. No-one put Pyrrha Nikos on her knees. It just didn't happen.
Felix Crimson retracted his Katara. Nora stared fearfully at him. Ren glared, holding the broken girl against himself protectively. Pyrrha stared at the ground, unable to meet Felix's gaze. Jaune was shaking, faint gasps emanating from him.
"Enough. I will not continue. I see that this battle is over. There will be no more combat training today." He leaned down towards Jaune, Nora and Ren, the two formers recoiling and the latter baring his teeth in a growl. "Counselling will be available at any point, should you need it." He turned to the crowed who stared in stunned silence. "At this time tomorrow, Team RWBY will undergo the trial. Dismissed, enjoy the rest of your day."
The amassed students left the arena, no one daring to talk.
There you have it, the first chapter. Let me know what you think by Reviewing; if you have an account, I will PM an answer to any questions you may have. If you're a guest, I will answer questions in the A/N at the start of each chapter. Until next time.
Aura, out.
