RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)
I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.
I am making no money from this.
Chapter 01: A New Beginning
Arctus Slate, son of Gangrel Slate and Weiss Slate, formerly Schnee made his way through the corridors of his families' home, Schnee Manor. At seventeen years old Arctus stood at six foot three and was commonly described as being 'Built like a tank' broad shouldered and muscular, traits inherited from his father along with his Faunus attribute of a bears' snout for a face and claw like hands; his colouration however was clearly from the Schnee side of the family, pale skin, ivory coloured hair undercut and immaculately styled and blue eyes that seemed to sparkle and demand the attention of those around him. Making his way towards the dining room he took in the large framed photographs and portraits showing his family over the years. he gave a toothy grin as he realised this would actually be the last time he saw them for a long time. Deciding he didn't have enough time this morning to get sentimental he continued moving, eventually reaching the double doors of the dining room and pushing them open
"Morning" Arctus greeted those present with a yawn "Where's Dad?"
"One day you'll get dressed before you come to breakfast" Weiss noted with a bemused sigh as she took in the baggy sweatpants and vest her son was currently wearing. The years had been kind to Weiss, even now as she neared forty only the faintest lines marred her face "And your father had to work late….don't worry he'll be here soon"
"If you say so" Arctus shrugged as he took a seat next to his mother and began piling food onto his plate before turning his attention to the third person present "Morning squirt"
"Still not talking to you, jerk"
"Athena!" Weiss gasped before giving her daughter a stern look, Arctus merely laughed at this sisters' reply. Athena-Jade Slate, named for her fathers' mother and the young Spring Maiden killed in the war against Salem was six years old and most people agreed that she was the spitting image of Weiss at the same age save for the claw like hands she shared with her father and brother and the fact that she refused to wear her hair tied back under any circumstances
"You're really gonna give me the silent treatment? Even if I promise to bring you something cool back from New Vale?" Arctus asked
"I don't want you to bring anything back, I don't want you to go" the child sulked slouching in her chair. Arctus gave Weiss an imploring look, having no idea how to deal with the situation
"Athena, Arctus is going to New Vale to train to be a Huntsman; he's going to be at the academy with some of your cousins. If he goes to Vale you can actually see more of them when he video calls" Athena's eyes lit up as she processed that information
"You'd better call me every day!" she gave her brother her best imitation of Weiss's stern glare causing Arctus to reach across the table and ruffle her hair
"As much as I can" the brief moment between the siblings was interrupted by the door opening revealing two people. Whitley Schnee, slender and bearded made his way to the dining table and took a seat near Weiss while rubbing his bleary eyes. The second person was a six foot eight Bear Faunus clad in the uniform of an Atlesian specialist, dark hair greying slightly, scar running horizontally below his left eye and the entirety of his left arm replaced by a cybernetic limb; old war wounds worn with pride
"DADDY!" Athena leapt from her seat, closing the distance between them in less than a second and leaping into her fathers arms, scrabbling onto the shoulders of the tallest person she knew. Gangrel Slate gave a tired smile before making his way over to Weiss and leaning down to kiss her forehead
"Love you" he turned to Arctus "Morning kid, you ready?" the smile turned into one of pride
"Yeah I'm ready to go, just need to get a shower and grab my bags….what kept you?" at that Gangrel's expression became somewhat guilty
"Something that needed my attention came up last night, nothing I can really talk about. But off the record; two different groups tried to hit the same military shipment at the same time. It's all gone crazy"
"Wait for it" Arctus snorted. He fully understood that his father was one of the highest ranking figures in the Atlesian military, answering only to his Aunt, General Winter Schnee herself and commanding his own warship but that fact had led to several missed birthdays and him generally not being around as much as either of them would have liked
"Yeah, I came home to get a couple hours sleep then I have to report to Winter….I'm not gonna be able to drive you to the docks today, I can make sure you get to Vale in time for your initiation but you might have to give seeing Blake and Yang a miss"
"It's cool" Arctus muttered as he rose from his chair, cutting off his fathers' apologies "No really it's fine. Uncle Whitley would you be able to drive me?"
"I can, I'm not needed in the office for a few hours"
"I'm getting in the shower then" Arctus made to leave, stopping to kiss his mother on the cheek "I'll call you when I get to Patch"
The two teens prowled through the dense woodland, the summer heat and glaring sunlight countered somewhat by the canopy of trees overhead
"How is it taking this long to find Grimm?" the younger of the two grumbled
"They must know there's a real Hunter here" the older of the pair answered with a cocky smirk. She was Corvid Xiao Long, five foot seven and slim with pale skin stormy grey eyes and long dark hair forming a single braid. She wore a simple shorts and t-shirt outfit with thoroughly worn sneakers and a vivid yellow scarf that had once belonged to one of their mothers that was currently wrapped around her waist as a belt; the only evidence to her claim of being a real Hunter was the hefty band of metal around her left wrist that reached almost to her elbow sporting several mechanical and computerised components
"Yeah yeah, keep it coming Corey. You can only use that line for a couple more days" her brother Felix retorted with a roll of his eyes. Felix stood only two inches taller than his adopted sister, the lion Faunus wore baggy jeans which were faded and torn with armoured knee pads placed over them and a hole cut into them to accommodate his tail which was currently swishing with anticipation, a tight fitting white t-shirt with a harness containing spare ammunition and housing his weapons slung over it; the shirt showing off a physique that he was more than a little proud of and the lions' head tattoo adorning his right arm he'd managed to acquire at fifteen years old to the anger of both of his mothers. His curly dirty blonde hair could only be described as a mane, reaching down to his shoulder blades; bushy brows framed dark blue eyes and his overlong canine teeth jutted from below his lip.
"Suppose I better get some use out of it then" Corvid grinned and stuck her tongue out at her brother "My baby bro is coming to Halo, this is gonna be awesome!"
"Yeah it is" Felix chuckled. He had missed his sister last year while he had still been studying at Signal, though watching Corvid and her team in the Vytal Tournament in Mistral had been a lot of fun. They took a few more steps through the woods before the sound of growling reached their ears. The pair of them shared a brief smirk before Corvid leapt upwards, grabbing a low hanging tree branch and hauling herself upwards while Felix reached over his back and grabbed the hilts of his weapons as the first of the Beowolves came into view
"Gonna lend a hand?" Corvid had positioned herself in the trees and seemed to consider the idea, right hand hovering over the band around her forearm
"Nah….let's see if you're really ready" she teased. Felix cracked a feral smile while deploying 'Hack' and 'Slash' his twin swords with chainsaw blades that whirred into life with mechanical growls
"Let's see if these mutts can last a whole minute" the Lion Faunus snorted as he twirled the blades, striding towards the small pack of a dozen or so Grimm. With no more warning he shot forwards, blades screaming as they cleaved the first two Beowolves apart; bringing them in front of his face a third Grimm to lunge was blocked and shredded
"Come on! This is too easy!" he backed up his boast by driving one of his blades through the skull of a Grimm, embedding it in the ground below and using his now free hand to catch a leaping Beowolf before dragging a blade along its' underbelly. Rolling away from another Grimm attempting to pounce on him he retrieved the buried sword and shifted both Hack and Slash to the secondary forms; machine pistols with chainsaw bayonets
"Oh 'cos that couldn't possibly attract more Grimm" Corvid noted dryly over the sound of gunfire tearing Grimm asunder
"You're welcome to contribute at any time if it does" her brother snarled as he shifted his weapons back to their sword from and impaled the final Grimm
"For a few Beowolves? Auntie Ruby could take out a few hundred when she was fourteen" Corvid laughed as she dropped down from the tree, landing amidst the still faded mist that was all that remained of the monsters
"Hardly a fair comparison, Auntie Ruby re-wrote the rulebook"
"True" their conversation was halted by the sound of low rumbling growling and heavy thumping footfalls "And there it is" Corvid sighed, moments later a lone Ursa lumbered into view, shattering the trunk of a tree with a single swipe of its' claw as it passed. The monster faced down the pair of would be Hunters, raising itself onto its' rear limbs and letting loose a deafening roar in challenge. Felix merely sighed and replaced his weapons in their harness; seeing his sister raise a quizzical eyebrow he merely grinned
"Throw me a fire Dust crystal" as he spoke he tapped into his Semblance, a faint golden light beginning into envelop his body in preparation. Before Corvid could comply two things happened almost simultaneously; the Ursa charged forward, jaws snapping with murderous intent and a single shot rang out, a flash of light and low bass note that simply unmade the head and forequarters of the Grimm.
"Bear witness to my power!"
The Xiao Long children simply shared a grin at the newcomers' pun before turning and speaking in unison
"Hey Mum"
"Hey, you weren't answering your Scrolls" Yang Xiao Long noted as the plasma cannon attachment fitted to her right arm and gauntlet cooled down and began to collapse before being stored on a back mounted holster. Yang's cybernetic limb whirred faintly as it moved, a sign of the old prosthetic needing to be tuned or updated. Yang herself showed less signs of age than the limb, not a single grey hair could be found in her tied back golden mane though her face bore lines that were more a testament to the stress of teaching than the passage of time.
"We put 'em on silent, didn't want to make coming hunting any tougher on Fluffy" Felix's eyes narrowed at the nickname, only his mothers could call him that
"Well I didn't get chance to watch but it sounds like he did well" she turned her attention to her son "I'll tell you the same thing Grandpa Tai told me though, don't rely on your Semblance that much….even if it's awesome"
"Yeah yeah" he shrugged "I would have taken that Ursa apart and we all know it" Yang merely shook her head
"Come on, I left dinner cooking to come and get you. Your Mum's finished work for the day" Corvid and Felix referred to both of their adopted mothers' as Mum, it very rarely led to complications other than Yang using it to make an endless amount of 'Ask you mother' jokes
"Has she seen-"
"Yep, she stopped off at the airship docks to meet him" Felix's face split into a wide smile
"Awesome"
Arctus stretched as he made his way off of the ferry, neck and shoulders cracking after the extended amount of time he'd spent confined to seats too small for his stature. The drive to the airship docks, then the flight from Atlas to New Vale and the subsequent ferry to Patch had taken him until early evening even with the advancements in Dust engines that the SDC had made, many of which his mother was responsible for. He was currently wearing what would soon be considered his combat gear as a Huntsman; armour plated black boots that reached his calves, white pants and sleeveless jacket with several pockets intended to evoke a more stylish version of an Atlesian military uniform; a black t-shirt beneath the vest with sturdy armour plates integrated into the chest and shoulders. The look was completed by a pair of black leather gloves and his weapon Gefroren-Erbe slung over his shoulder in its' close combat form, an ornate curved broadsword that most people would struggle to lift; Arctus wielded it one handed. Picking up his suitcases he turned back to the ferry waiting for his companion for the final stretch of the journey to disembark. Eventually Blake Xiao Long, formerly Belladonna came into view depositing her Scroll in her pocket as she walked
"Just told your Aunt Yang to expect us" while Blake Belladonna and Gangrel Slate were not related by blood they had grown up in Sienna Khan's orphanage together and would fiercely argue against any claim that that fact didn't make them family, the fact that Gangrel had gone on to marry one of Blake's former team-mates only reinforced the connection between them.
"Cool, how is everyone? I promised Mum and Athena I'd call when I got here" the younger Faunus asked
"And your Dad?" Blake raised an eyebrow
"Yeah he says 'hi' as well" Arctus's blunt answer earned him a concerned look from his aunt who chose not to press the issue and answered his question
"Everyone's fine, Taiyang is planning on retiring from teaching soon it's pretty clear that Yang's going to get the job of replacing him as head of Signal. Corvid is back on Patch for the Summer even if you wouldn't know it with how much time she spends on the mainland. Felix is managing to keep himself out of trouble for more than a week at a time for a change" Arctus suppressed a laugh at that, sure that if his own rebellious streak was ever as extreme as his cousins' his Aunt Winter would probably conscript him into the army. The two of them fell into an easy silence as they made their way through the streets of Patch, broken by the locals greeting Blake who was obviously a well known figure within the community. Eventually they reached the edge of town, the distance between each house becoming significant though they were not as isolated as Taiyang Xiao Longs' home on the other side of the woods. Those who had lived on Patch long enough to remember would confirm that the retired Hunter had built the house with his own hands almost forty years ago and no Grimm had neared it since
"Oi snout! Why have you come dressed for another Great War?" looking up revealed the source of the jibe, leaning from a first floor window of one of the nearby houses was his cousin Felix; the Lion Faunus promptly leaping from the window nonchalantly and clambering over the fence to greet them
"Coming from a Hue Jackman cosplayer I'll take that as a compliment Chopper-face" Arctus retorted with a grin, the pair both pulled each other into a hug
"I'm surprised you even know what that is, I'm sure you only watch Michael Beige films"
"Now that's just rude" Arctus feigned a hurt expression
"Boys" Blake gave an exasperated sigh at their antics "Felix give Arctus a hand with his cases"
"Sweet Oum how much Dust did you bring?" the blonde laughed as he took one of the cases and noticed the amount of hazard labels that been attached to it by the staff of the airship docks
"Enough for another Great War" Arctus grinned, earning himself a laugh from his favourite cousin
"Halo Academy isn't gonna know what hit it when we get there"
"Just please, please try and stay out of trouble" Blake sighed with a shake of her head
"What like you did?" Felix snorted, Blake's response went unheard as the door to the Xiao Long home opened revealing Yang and Corvid, it was hard to tell which of them wore the brighter smile
"Hey Arctus" Yang smiled before turning her attention to her wife "You'll never guess who I just got off the Scroll with….Ruby, her and Penny are coming round tomorrow night with the kids. She wants to see Felix and Arctus before their initiation"
"Sweet" Felix chuckled, his Aunt Ruby was a living legend among Hunters and his younger cousins were bundles of pure happiness that nobody was immune to. Corvid seemed to be vibrating with excitement, she was quite possibly the biggest fan Ruby and Penny Rose had and had been since her childhood; the fact they had helped her build her weapon had only intensified her idolising
"Have you called your Dad?" Blake asked "Ruby and Penny probably won't stay on Patch for Long. See if he wants to come round, in fact ask your Uncle Qrow as well" Arctus gave a weak smile at the exchange, the closeness between his family in Vale was something he'd always been a little jealous of. He loved his parents, Aunt Winter and Uncle Whitley dearly; he just wished they were around more.
The sun had long since set over Patch and the inhabitants of the island were blissfully unaware that they were being watched with malicious intent and studied for weaknesses by unseen eyes. A large bird of prey of a species no-one native to Patch would recognise circled overhead before diving and swooping over the waves further out to sea to where a single small vessel was anchored, two figures stood upon its' prow seemingly waiting for the birds' arrival. The shorter of the figures, a young woman held out her left arm, a heavy armour plated gauntlet marked with countless scratches made by sharp talons worn over her taupe coloured skin. The action was seemingly done unconsciously as she continued to gaze straight ahead, pure white eyes unseeing and giving off an ethereal glow until the bird took its' position on her arm. With a sharp intake of breath her eyes returned to their natural colour, a deep jade green and the dragonfly wings protruding from the Faunus's back shuddered as she regained consciousness
"What does your pet see Hellion?" the voice was low and rasping Hellion Eudialyte turned to face the speaker, their form shrouded by a hooded black cloak. Hellion stroked the bird of prey which was now perched on her arm preening itself
"His name is Marauder" Hellion hissed, her gossamer wings fluttering with agitation "They have what we need" her Semblance, known as 'Warg' which allowed her to see through the eyes of nearby animals had shown her that the isle of Patch was well suited to their needs
"Good" the hooded figure beside her breathed out, the menace in their voice tinged with relief "When we return home it will be as conquerors. We land tomorrow, tell the others to prepare themselves" Hellion nodded as she turned away from the figure, making her way below deck taking in the damage to the ship as she passed bullets holes and steel warped and burned by laser fire, their plan in Atlas had not gone as intended but they would overcome and tomorrow would be the start of her peoples' dominance.
Authors Notes:
Okay this is a spin off to my story "The Downward Spiral" /s/12133386/1/The-Downward-Spiral read that first if you haven't already.
My one shot "Our Happy Ever After" actually bridges some of the twenty year gap between the two stories /s/12367693/1/Our-Happy-Ever-After
This story is currently rated T but knowing my writing it will no doubt become and M-rated story at some point.
Now let's summarise:
I can't believe how many people loved Weiss x Gangrel in The Downward Spiral and my OCs in general, let's hope you enjoy their son as much.
Two criminal groups hit the same military shipment at the same time, may as well just write "Foreshadowing" in big neon letters.
Felix and Corvid Xiao Long; a Lion Faunus and a Human, both of them are adopted.
Felix's Semblance; I held back on showing it but when you see it you'll love it.
Same with Corvid's weapon.
Yang's first line was a pun, because of course it was.
Hue Jackman and Michael Beige, because references.
The irony of any of Team RWBY telling their kids to "Stay out of trouble" cannot be overstated.
Nuts & Dolts next chapter.
Our first look at some antagonists, I have plans for them.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.