And The VCTR Is….
Author's Note: This is our very first foray into the RWBY fandom, but this is hardly the first time we've given it some thought. Nomad-117 and myself have been fans of Monty Oum's, (may he return to the dust in peace and his light never fade from our hearts), creation, continued by the very amazing people at Rooster Teeth. After finding a VERY interesting story on AO3 called JSTC Is Served, a similarly styled self insert story from four different authors that have collabed together to create some very interesting 'trailer' chapters for each of their people on AO3, I was inspired to finally give this a shot. Check out their story if you get the chance, but for now, enjoy our effort and addition to the fandom that is RWBY.
Potential story spoilers up to Vol 5 Ch 12, Vault of the Spring Maiden, but will mostly be sticking close to Vol 1 and 2 in terms of the timeline. Alternate Universe stuff to be expected in any event, but you've been warned in advance. Enjoy if you choose to keep going. As for the stories we're currently concentrating on, we've been mostly focusing on Semper Ad Meliora as well as Unharmonic Convergence, but some minor writer's block on my part has made that one difficult. Still, we hope you enjoy guys and gals and we'll see ya soon.
Disclaimer; We own nothing related to Rooster Teeth or Monty Oum's wonderful creation, nor do we claim ownership to any songs, references to popular media, culture, or otherwise that might pop up along the way. The only thing that's ours is our characters. Having said that, sit back and we hope you all enjoy!
Ch 1: 'V' Trailer
Viridian took a deep breath and allowed her crimson eyes to wander as she took in the surrounding area. Despite the fact the forest she was in had all manner of foul monsters between its green, leafy boughs that gave the forest its name, you'd never know it just to look at the serenity and beauty of the woods themselves as the pleasant smell of damp earth and pine, oak, and more filled her nose. South Dakota had its share of beautiful places like this, where nature ruled and the mechanical, lifeless hum of man's creations held no sway, but this place had likely never known the darkness such things often brought in their wake. It had never been tarnished by man's corruption and greed, never known the capacity for cruelty people were capable of, and while the Grimm were evil incarnate with no souls of their own to ever know the difference, so long as they continued to stalk these lands, they'd remain as unspoiled and unmolested long after she returned to the dust she'd come from.
Stepping into a clearing in the Emerald Forest, just a stone's throw away from Beacon Academy, it was here that she had both survived and completed her initiation, becoming one of the students of this prestigious academy only a few short months ago. Even now it felt strange to her how natural everything had become to her, this new world, the faunus, the fighting, even the Grimm were something that she had come to regard as… usual, normal, and dare she say, commonplace. Of course, there was also the White Fang, or as she called them, the Red Fang, having flatly refused to call the extremist splinter group anything else since to her mind, they dishonored everything Ghira Belladonna stood for.
But once one took away their faunus traits, the group in question were something that she had seen even before waking up in this world. Having seen many such groups before on her Earth, Viridian could only roll her eyes at their foolhardy willingness to believe in such a twisted mockery of their far more peaceful origins. Racism may take many forms, but in the end, it was still the same, a bunch of misguided, downright stupid people believing in the same useless ideals of hate and bigotry out of fear, or pride, or any number of things along the same lines.
Still, despite the constant fear of death and possibly worse, she had to marvel at how far they'd all come, herself and her three very close friends. Who knew a year in Remnant could be so….liberating wasn't quite the right word, but it was certainly a lot better than the mess she'd left behind. A no name town in the middle of South Dakota was dozens of miles and years behind her, and now it was a literal world apart, and to top it off she was in an entirely new body to boot. To make it better, the experience they'd gained just from making their way to Beacon, where so much was about to unfold, had done a lot to give them the strength to stand against the coming darkness promised by an insane Grimm 'witch' and her followers. They weren't ready to face her though, not by a long shot. Viridian, who she had woken up as, knew that, and it played its own part as to why they were in Beacon in the first place.
Their shared hope of being in a position to save the world aside, Beacon was the one Academy for Hunters and Huntresses that VV and her three friends knew was the best of the best in Remnant, and that the Headmaster was far more than he too appeared to be. If anyone could understand and sympathize with their very….unique circumstances, Professor Ozpin had certainly seemed like the most logical choice, and he had proven himself in that regard after some….convincing.
"And how do you know so much about me Ms. Gogh?" She remembered Ozpin asking, his glasses just shy of falling off the bridge of his nose as she and her three friends stood in front of his desk.
"That's….gonna take some explaining." Viridian hesitantly replied, her hand running through her long platinum blonde locks uncomfortably, but she patted herself on the back for not looking away from Ozpin's gently if probing gaze.
"Then by all means." He invited them as he sat down behind his metallic desk before folding his hands beneath his chin, but not before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose so they were no longer in fear of falling from his admittedly handsome face.
"Let's just say you aren't the only one that likes fairytales, Professor." She replied with a shy grin as she sat down opposite of him and began their rather unbelievable story.
Humming a tune as she stretched her arms over her head, Viridian felt something pop in the small of her back, just above her red, bushy fox like tail. Then there was that. Shrugging her shoulders, VV smiled ruefully at the thought of having a tail and an unburnt, unscarred face, the latter being a reminder of her old life that she hadn't been able to shed until she came to Remnant. Frankly speaking, she prefered the tail over the scars of her youth which had marked her as different, something to be feared and revulsed. Here though she was one of many who sported animal traits, not that certain people cared, they happily despised all faunus simply for being faunus. Cardin Winchester certainly made no secret of his dislike for them, and as a result, it hadn't taken long for him and his posse to take an instant dislike to herself and her own Team.
"Hey, foxy!" And speak of the devil…. Turning annoyed crimson eyes on the large, powerfully built teen with his smug little grin on his face, Viridian sighed and shook her head even as her hand fell to the collapsed spear hilt on her belt. Cardin just couldn't take a hint it seemed as he and his Team of idiots quickly circled her. "I got words for you, faunus."
"Really? I couldn't tell." Viridian retorted in a bored tone as she turned to face the man and his three stooges of a team.
"You think you're so goddamn smart, don't you?" He growled, and took a lumbering step forward, reminding her of a drunken ape in a full suit of armor from the neck down.
"Not hard with you around, but I guess that wasn't the point you were trying to make." She shot back without even needing to think about it. She'd definitely spent too much time with Roman if she could no longer control her sarcasm.
"Pretty big words for an animal." He hissed back and puffed up his chest like a peacock trying to appear larger than he actually was. The fact that his indigo coloured eyes widened in indigation clued her in to the fact he was surprised that she had actually voiced her thoughts. Unfortunately, knowing him, that wouldn't be enough to send him packing, nor to shut him up. He proved her right on point counts when he angrily pointed a finger at her chest. "You and your smart mouth friends need to be put in their place."
"Good luck." She chuckled humorlessly in retort. What happened next was too quick for any of them to follow as Viridian snapped her barbed spear up off of her belt as it began to extend to its full length, the wickedly sharp blade glimmering in the early afternoon sunlight that filtered through the leaf heavy branches. Gungnir hadn't failed her yet, and against Cardin, it wouldn't fail her now. "Pyrrha Nykos isn't the only spear wielder here anymore, and with your track record, I don't like your chances. Do you, Cardin?" She smirked, knowing from her time watching the show that the giant oaf before her was a sad excuse for a human being, let alone a Huntsman. The sheer disparity between Pyrrha and Cardin's skill levels had been readily apparent, and while Viridian knew she wasn't quite as skilled by any means, she was far from helpless. Though it probably also helped that Team CRDL had displayed absolutely no teamwork and coordination whatsoever during the episodes they'd still been a nuisance, each member acting on their own without a thought wasted on each other.
But she was the leader of Team VCTR, and while she knew they couldn't and likely wouldn't win every confrontation they might find themselves a part of, she wasn't about to lose this one. Alone though, Viridian knew she was a threat. Together with her friends, her newfound family, her team, they were so much more, a lesson Cardin and his boys would never learn. And as expected, the leader of Team CRDL, Cardin Winchester, couldn't let her attack against his worthless macho pride stand as he pulled the heavy mace from his belt, the large head unfolding in rapid order as he reared one large arm back before bringing it down with explosive force.
There's a day when all hearts will be broken
When a shadow will cast out the light
And our eyes cry a million tears
Help won't arrive
She was nowhere near where she'd started. Having an Aura rocked in moments like this as her body flashed with crimson red light when she jumped up and back, landing on Russel's shoulders as he stabbed forward with two short daggers moments after Cardin had hit nothing but the grass between them. A crimson red blur in her skintight combat suit that hugged her caramel skinned curves perfectly, Russel ended up falling forward while VV flipped back off of his shoulders, just in time to take Cardin's backswing under his chin. Landing some feet away, Viridian jerked to the side and continued her spin as Dove lunged at her, the back end of Gungnir slamming hard into the small of his back before she spun it around herself, using her momentum to change directions in the next instant. Stumbling forward, Dove could only just get his sword in the way as the spear's blade stopped shy of lodging in his groin, but Viridian was far from done.
There's a day when all courage collapses
And our friends turn and leave us behind
Creatures of darkness will triumph
The sun won't rise
Turning aside the flurry of sword strikes from Dove, she snapped her spear's blade towards his feet, sweeping out and around her in a series of elegant spins as she pressed forward, forcing him back with every rapid spin followed by a lightning fast jab after the third revolution. It was just in time to force Russel, who'd only just started to stand, to jerk to the side just in time for Dove to slam his elbow into the side of his friend's head. Both men went down hard in a tangle of limbs, the air being driven out of Dove's lungs as Viridian planted the butt of her spear in his stomach as she pole vaulted away from Cardin and his remaining partner, Sky.
When we've lost all hope
And succumb to fear
As the skies rain blood
And the end draws near
Landing about the same time Sky's axe head buried itself in the grass between Russel's spread legs just as he'd gotten onto his back, both men paled, with Russel passing right out from the near miss while Sky did his best to heft his axe up in time to protect himself. Viridian wasn't about to give him the chance as she planted her feet against the side of the tree she'd been aiming for and launched herself, a jump that was further aided when her spear's shaft extended, slamming into the tree's trunk just as she pushed herself off. With the sound of splintering bark beneath her feet and her spear's butt, she was aided by the extra force, which Viridian used to hit Sky with such strength that the improvised clothesline, her spear held out away from her like a bat, was enough to flip him head over heels when she flew past.
I may fall
But not like this – it won't be by your hand
I may fall
Not this place, not today
I may fall
Bring it all – it's not enough to take me down
I may fall
There's a place where we'll stand outnumbered
Where the wolves and the soulless will rise
In the time of our final moments
Every dream dies
Springing off the ground on one hand, she sailed up and over Cardin's swing and rolled under the next as he spun completely around, the head of his mace shaving off a few hairs from her long bushy tail as she regained her feet, Gungnir spinning around her waist as she danced away from his third. "Urgh! Hold sti-" Cardin's protest was cut off when she jabbed for his throat. Batting it away, it was still close enough to scrape across his Aura, the light from the barrier flaring to life as Viridian snapped her spear up as it began to collapse and change, the weapon transforming in midair as she jumped back to catch the shotgun that was in her hands in the next moment. No matter what its form was, that of a spear or a shotgun, Gungnir always exuded an aura of lethal intent and power, but the truth was it all came from Viridian herself. Gungnir was just an extension of her own strength, her own belief in herself, something she'd been without for far too long.
There's a place where our shields will lay shattered
And the fear's all that's left in our hearts
Strength and our courage have run out
We fall apart
When we lose our faith
And forsake our friends
When the moon is gone
And we reach our end
"Block this." Viridian hissed between clenched teeth as the bladed barrel began to glow ominously with red light as her Aura flared brightly in response to her Semblance. Pulling the trigger just as the idiot giant started to charge her down once more despite how handedly she'd beaten his 'Team', the boom of her weapon was overshadowed by the two dozen 'pellets' that raced away, each trailing an angry red that set fire to everything in their path. Cardin's mace was the first victim as the head of his weapon exploded under the firestorm, he having tried to block as many of the projectiles as any sane person would. Instead he could only gape as he was left holding an useless metal stick that he was forced to drop from the extreme heat of the Burn Dust round she'd used in conjunction with her Semblance, a quick glance towards Russel, Dove, and Sky revealing that they weren't faring much better as pieces of their armor melted and their weapons, those that were hit, became useless scrap, their respective Auras flaring to life in an effort to stave off as much of the burning slag as possible.
There's a moment that changes a life when
We do something that no one else can
And the path that we've taken will lead us
One final stand
There's a moment we make a decision
Not to cower and crash to the ground
The moment we face our worst demons
Our courage found
"My Semblance is called Annihilation , Cardin. I can feed my Aura into my weapon, making it possible to do what I just did to you and your team, and I'm not limited by my shotgun." She let that sink in as she nodded to what was left of his Team's equipment before saying, "You've been...disarmed, but if you want to lose an actual arm next once I pull my spear out to further prove my point, I suggest you never harass myself or my friends again, and get out of here, now ." The light in her crimson eyes was matched only by the ferocious flames that threatened to consume them all if this went on much longer. Viridian kept her shotgun up, unmoving, unafraid of the flames, or Cardin, as he visibly gulped and started to back away.
When we stand with friends
And we won't retreat
As we stare down death
Then the taste is sweet
"You've won this round, girlie." He spat out over one shoulder, his macho bravado nothing but hot air at this point as he stomped off, uncaring for the wellbeing of his team or if they even kept up at this point as he ran as fast as his pride and his knocking knees would allow.
I may fall
But not like this – it won't be by your hand
I may fall
Not this place, not today
I may fall
Bring it all – it's not enough to take me down
I may fall
Only once they'd gone did Viridian allow her knees to buckle, her shotgun returning to its spear form which she promptly drove, point first, into the ground as her crimson red Aura flickered and died. Trembling from the sheer drain from using Annihilation, she allowed herself a smile despite feeling ready to drop if so much as a stiff breeze washed over her. The fire she'd caused was incentive enough not to though as she limped away, using her spear as a makeshift cane, and made her slow way back to Beacon Academy proper. "So much for a pleasant walk through Grimm infested woods." She chuckled, but it hadn't been all bad at least.
She now had a story to share with Carrie for a change once she got back to the dorms. The loud, protesting growl of her stomach further pushed her to return as quickly as she could, but even that couldn't diminish her cheer at having put Cardin in his place. Today was a very good day indeed, and it'd only begun.