"Nate, help me!"
"William!"
"It hurts!"
"Doctor, please. Stop this!"
"Get out of my way, Nate!"
Nate wakes up, screaming, as he reaches out to nothing once he stands up.
His hand is grabbing the air, as it wants to find something to hold on.
After a couple of minutes of struggling, he reaches out to his weapon, Crimson Night, and jumps out of the bed, swinging its steel blade against the nothingness. Only after his Scroll starts ringing, Nate gets back to consciousness, widely opening his eyes and looking around.
"Ah, yes", he says while lowering his weapon. "I'm in Mistral"
He starts to check in every part of the room. As he finds his Scroll under a huge and messy pile of papers, he answers the call, putting it on the loudspeaker.
"Hello?"
"Ah. Finally". A familiar voice comes out from his Scroll, startling Nate. "Hello, Nate. It has been a while since we talked, hasn't it?"
"Professor Ozpin!", he says. "It's an unexpected surprise. I'm glad to hear from you, sir"
"Likewise, Nate. How are you?"
"I'm fine, professor", he timidly replies. "I'm currently in Mistral"
"I see. Did you make a visit to Haven?"
"No. I just arrived yesterday, professor", he declares, yet a slight tone of uneasiness is heard in his voice. "I didn't have the time to visit it"
"I see..."
He stretches a little bit, moving his arms upwards and letting out a grunt of tiredness. He scratches his black hair, from which a pair of wolf ears pop up, nervously flipping at the sound of the crowd on the streets.
Nate remains silent for a couple of seconds, fiddling with his weapon until he decides to resume. "How did you get this number, headmaster?"
"I asked miss Fortuna for it. I wanted to talk to you about something"
He makes a soundly click with his tongue as Ozpin mentions Fortuna, looking irritated, only to focus on the call shortly after.
"Understood. And what is it exactly that you need from me?"
He takes a big sip from the water can that he kept nearby, waiting for Ozpin's answer.
"I'll make this short", Ozpin calmly says. "I want you to teach at Beacon"
Nate immediately spills the water, heavily coughing as he attempts to process Ozpin's request.
"Excuse me, professor?"
"Yes. I know it's sudden, but I do need your help in this particular case"
"I'm all ears, then"
"I have to ask you if you already know Roman Torchwick"
"Yes, sir", Nate replies with a bit of uneasiness, knowing the criminals from several posters that Vale's kingdom handed to him. "A general robber but quite the astute type"
"A couple of days ago, he and his thugs robbed a Dust shop. Luckily, no innocent civilian was harmed. Thanks to a peculiar girl inside the shop"
"Shortly after, what was supposed to be a robbery became a fight between this girl and Torchwick's group. The girl managed to neutralise the thugs and chased Torchwick through the roofs where she encountered an associate of the criminal"
"Luckily for her, professor Goodwitch was nearby and helped her out to fight the criminals who escaped in the end, unfortunately"
"Professor Ozpin, may I ask a question?", Nate asks, followed by a hum of approval. "What's so special about this girl?"
"I was told that you know her", Ozpin replies, making Nate extremely uncomfortable. "A young girl who wielded one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed by humankind"
"Hm...". Nate takes a sip from the can, gulping it down. He takes a moment to think until Ozpin's last statement leaves him in awe. "Wait... Did you just say 'one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed'?"
"Yes, Nate", Ozpin replies, sighing.
"No. Absolutely not"
"Nate, why are you...?"
"No, professor. I can't get back to her, to THEM. Not now!". His voice gets higher, showing a mix of irritation and worry.
"Nate, what are you saying...?"
"You need to find someone else"
Suddenly, someone angrily knocks at the door, bringing Nate back to his senses. He immediately starts gathering his belongings and his paperwork in his backpack. Once the desk is empty from the papers, he grabs the remaining object on it: a black earpiece, with a white shooting star emblem printed on it.
He puts it on his ear, putting his Scroll in the pocket of his trousers.
"Nate, what is going on there?"
"It could be housekeeping", Nate sarcastically replies while wearing a dark grey wind coat. "It can't be the owner, because I've already paid him the Lien he requested for the room"
He heads to the open window. After he checks out that no one suspicious is on the streets, he springs out of the room headfirst, timely front flipping back to his feet to land. After that, he immediately runs away from the building.
"Unwanted guests?", Ozpin calmly asks.
"Let's just say that they were stubbornly trying to get me to meet them", Nate says while avoiding the crowd in front of himself. He suddenly hears complaints and people being pushed around behind him, convincing him to increase his running pace. "And it seems like they're not going to give up on me yet"
The chase continues throughout Mistral until he finds himself on its outskirts.
The crowd of civilians has been replaced with an endless and thick forest, making Nate extremely disoriented, until he finds himself in the middle of a large clearing.
He turns around, trying to find another escape route, but the closing of his chasers' footsteps forces him to stay in the same position, knowing that he will not lose them.
"End of the line, mister", one of the guys says while loading a gun. "Drop any weapon you have, raise your hands and move towards us. Slowly"
"And if I don't comply?", Nate calmly asks while keeping his back to the enemy.
"We received the order to bring you alive", another one replies. "But that doesn't mean that you won't get hurt"
"Well...", Nate starts as he turns around, facing his chasers. "You'll have to disappoint your bosses, then"
The group looks at him with irritation. All of them had similar clothing and similar Grimm mask. But their peculiar animalistic feature, confirms Nate's doubts: the White Fang was after him.
The group gets ready to fight as Nate brings his hands to the sheathed sword on his hips, clicking a switch on the guard.
"I'm half Faunus, it's true", Nate explains, looking at them with pity. "But I won't fight for you"
"You do know what those humans are capable to do to us. Yet you defend them", one of them angrily snarls. By their voice, she sounds like a girl, making Nate more uncomfortable to fight. "Monster"
Something in Nate is moved by that word, as he suddenly becomes irritated, readying himself to the fight.
"Don't test my patience", he angrily growls while hovering his right hand on the sword's handle.
"And don't test ours", another one with horn replies. "Don't try to run away or fight back"
In an instant, Nate disappears in front of the group, reappearing behind them soon after.
He unsheathes his weapon, clashing against the enemy blades, staggering three people with a single swing. A fourth enemy intervenes, trying to hit him with the butt of their rifle, only to see Nate disappear once again.
As he reappears a few meters away from them, they look at him carefully, heavily breathing from the previous sparring.
"I don't want to fight you"
"I do believe they won't listen to you", Ozpin points out.
"That doesn't help, professor", Nate whispers.
Due to Ozpin's intervention, Nate finds himself guardless as the White Fang charges him, attempting to restrain him when suddenly multiple howlings stop them from attacking, as they shake in fear at the sudden sound.
"Why are they this close?", one of the thugs asks as they look around.
Menacing red eyes glow from the forest, looking at the White Fang and Nate, growling as they nervously walk in circles.
"Listen to me", Nate starts, trying to get the group to get closer to him. "Do as I say, or we will all be in deep trouble"
While most of them nod at his request, the rest of the group steps forward, aiming their guns at the threats in the forest.
"Tell your friends not to shoot a single..."
Before Nate can end his sentence, the group starts aimlessly opening fire at the forest, forcing numerous Grimms out in the open, ready to attack.
"... bullet", he ends, sighing, as the White Fang attacks, trying to clear an escape route for themselves.
He immediately teleports himself in front of the Faunus group after they stop shooting, kicking sideways a Beowolf that dangerously started charging them.
The group remains in shock as Nate turns around, looking in the opposite direction to where he sent the Grimm, facing a whole pack staring at him with murderous intents.
All of sudden, he sheathes his blade, clicking on the switch on the guard once again.
The weapon rapidly changes form into a long-barrel rifle. Without any second thought, he points it at the pack single handily, firing as three rounds. The bullets wheeze through the air, impacting on the skulls of three Beowolves which fall on the ground, lifeless.
Soon after, the rest of the pack charges Nate who proceeds to teleport once again and shoot three more rounds, taking down three more Grimms and gain the attention of the rest.
"I'm giving you an opening", he yells at the White Fang. "Now go!"
"What about you?"
"They're after me, not you", Nate explains with insistence. "You were right about me being a monster"
The Grimms rapidly surround the Huntsman, growling as they stare at him from a proper distance.
The Faunus girl that initially called him a monster attempts to get closer, only to get blocked by one of her teammates who shakes his head.
"Just go", Nate continues to yell. The Faunus in front of the group nods at him, ordering the others to retreat.
"Always merciful with anyone but the Grimms", Ozpin points out.
Nate lets out a bitter chuckle. "I think Grimms would make amendments as well if they could talk"
"Perhaps..."
The Beowolves growls at him, circling around him as he looks at them.
Nate gives a quick look at the general direction where the White Fang was. As he noticed that no one was there, he takes a sigh of relief.
"Despite their terrible actions, I do hope they will manage to get back to safety", Ozpin says.
"I hope as well, headmaster", Nate replies as he readies his rifle on his hands.
As soon as he does so, the Beowolves charge him, only to crash against each other as Nate jumps.
He spins mid-air, neutrally looking at the Grimms before clicking the switch on the guard again and firing the gun on them.
The first round is imperceptible, rapidly impacting on the ground. Suddenly, a sudden and unknown force from where the bullet impacted, sends the Beowolves flying several meters away from the position, permitting Nate to safely land.
As they recover, the Beowolves charges the Huntsman. One by one, two by two. The Grimms are easily slain by Nate as he repeatedly fires numerous rounds at them. Each time he fires eight rounds, a ping will announce the emptying of the rifle, making him reload a new clip on it, using the butt of his rifle to kick away any incoming threat.
Without breaking a sweat, Nate continues to fight his way through the enormous pack, risking every single time to end near the beasts' claws and teeth which he avoids by jumping or teleporting on an open space.
But the ammo isn't unlimited and soon Nate starts rationing every round for a sure kill. As the rifle clicks once again, the Grimms dangerously close in to him, ready to fatally strike him.
In response, Nate switches the melee mode of his weapon. But this time, the weapon has a different appearance.
The blade comes out from the sheath in a crimson glow, smoking in the cold air.
Without second thoughts, Nate charges the pack, slicing every single Beowolf in front of him. Teleporting to the next target when they weren't close enough to him.
The Grimms slowly decrease in number. While many continue to attack, the rest runs away as Nate continues his slaughter.
In the end, everything is silent and Nate is left alone with his weapon, returned to the original color.
The shattered moon is high in the sky, illuminating the clearing as Nate, heavily worn out, sheathes his weapon.
He looks around himself, clueless, only to find a wounded Beowolf next to him.
As he approaches the beast, the latter starts growling back but immediately stops as Nate looks at him.
The Huntsman reaches out the head of the Grimm with his hand, careless about any possible attack, caressing the fur of the wounded beast.
"Just rest now", he whispers as he pats the Grimm. "It will be over soon"
The Grimm doesn't react. It slowly breathes, until it starts fading away, leaving Nate with his hand hovering in the cold air.
"The rumors are real, then". A female voice comes out from behind Nate, making him immediately turn back and teleport a few centimetres in front of the person, startling the latter. "What are you gonna do?"
He immediately unsheathes his blade, bringing the flat part it to her throat. She whimpers at the sudden threatening as he brings her closer to him.
"Who is looking after me?", he asks.
"An associate", she says, scared. "They said to our lieutenants to find you, the famous Nate Wolfe"
Nate pushes the blade a little bit further without cutting her.
"How did you do that?", she barely asks with a broken voice. "Why didn't the Grimm attack you?"
"Like you said before", he replies. "I'm a monster"
He immediately lets her go, turning his back to her and walking away. But after a few steps, he hears the clicking of a gun and the roaring of the bullets soon after.
Nate turns back, teleporting to the Faunus once again. But this time, the blade ends up through her abdomen.
He lays her down, holding her head with his unarmed hand.
"You went this far, uh?", she weakly says while grinning. "Killing your own kind"
"You're not going to die", he says as he pulls back the sword, waving it to clean it from the blood. "I didn't hit any vital part. I just needed to incapacitate you"
Once again, he walks away. But this time, he willing stops.
"Also, remember what I said before? I'm half Faunus", he explains. "So, I'm obviously half Human. Not all of them are hateful towards your kind"
He runs away, making several short-range teleporting to gain distance from himself and the Faunus.
After a couple of hours, he arrived to his original place, an old inn.
He sits on a stool, raising his hand to the bartender.
"I thought you left", the bartender says as he cleans an newly washed mug.
"I thought I said no guests", Nate sternly replies.
"They threatened me with a gun"
"Fair enough", Nate says, chuckling.
"Same thing?", he asks as he puts down the mug.
"Same thing", Nate repeats. As the bartender leaves, he presses his hand against the ear. "Are you sleeping, headmaster?"
"Not at all", Ozpin calmly replies. "Still, I'm surprised that it took you so much to resume our conversation"
"I didn't want to talk after the fight"
"Are you losing your sanity? You're talking to yourself", the bartender asks. In his hands, there's a tray full of food.
Nate simply point his finger on his ear, making the bartender notice the earpiece.
"Got it", he shortly concludes. As Nate approaches his pockets, the bartender immediately raises his hand. "It's on the house. As an apology"
"They won't bother you anymore", Nate says, followed by a quick nod of the bartender as he leaves. Then, as he takes a bite from the food on the tray, he resumes his talk with Ozpin. "Professor, about that offer..."
"Yes?"
"I suppose that Ruby isn't my only student", he points out.
"Indeed", Ozpin confirms. "From the new students that were admitted in, we chose a certain group. The list should be in your Scroll now"
After finishing to munch on his food, Nate takes out his Scroll, checking numerous profiles on the list.
After carefully observing the list, he turns at the bartender. "When is the last Airship going to fly to Vale?"
"In a couple of minutes or so. You won't make it in...". The bartender turns back to look at Nate, only to find an empty tray and a handful of Lien next to it.
"Stubborn kid", he says while smiling. "I said it was on the house"
"Who was he?", a random customer asks.
"A kid that supposed to be one of the youngest Huntsman in whole Remnant", he says as he picks up the empty tray and the Lien. "I do remember he said that he is 18 or so"
"What's his name?"
"Nate Wolfe, the Prodigy Huntsman"