Rick was up early, even for him. It was the weekend, a few days had passed since the breach but things had returned to normal fairly quickly. Rick, however, was at the docks, sitting down and drinking a soda. A voice called to him, the psychopath turned with a smile. It was Micca and Ruby, who was still a little tired from the breach.
"Hey guys! What's going on?" Rick said, smiling goofily.
"We've been looking for you, your team said you'd be here." Ruby said as the pair sat down next to him.
"Why you looking?" Rick asked, slightly concerned.
"Well, last time you were here…your bitch of a sister kind of told you off." Micca said, grabbing Rick's hand subtly.
"Oh…good point," Rick said with a sigh, "On the bright side, this has nothing to do with that. I'm here to greet an old friend."
Before the pair could ask any more questions, a ship landed, it's passangers disembarking.
"Ricky!" A scottish accented, female voice yelled as the owner raced over and grabbed the psychopath in a bear hug. It was a woman, about as tall as Rick. She wore brown leather over chainmail, and had a claymore on her back. Ruby heard Micca suck in a breath as she saw how close the woman was holding him.
"Rick, hope you're not trying to steal my girl." Another voice sounded out, this one deeper and more threatening. The group turned to see a man about the same height as Rick walking towards them, he wore bronze armor, had a sword on his hip, a spear in his hand, and his helmet bore a black plume.
"Leonidus Khrusos, a pleasure as always." Rick laughed, getting a laugh from the Spartan in return.
"Your damn right it is," Leonidus said as the woman let Rick go, clasping their hands in a firm hand shake, "It's been a while, how's the team doing?"
"They're fine, it's just been a crazy last few days." Rick said with a grin.
"Your right about that, wish we could have been here." A new voice came in, two more people walked out of the ship. A woman who was shorter than Willow and a man with glasses whom bared a mustache almost as glorious as Richards.
"Where Bull Moose?" Rick asked, earning a strange look from Ruby and Micca.
"It's being taken to the garage, nothing too serious…unless they scratch it, then Teddy's going to be enraged." The woman laughed out, earning a laugh from the rest of the teens except for Ruby and Micca.
"Oh, sorry you two, I forgot intruductions are in order," Rick said as he started pointing. "This is team LWTJ (Liberty), Leonidus Khrusos, Willow Wallace, Teddy Brown, and Josephine Rosso."
"A pleasure." Teddy said in a formal tone of voice.
"Team LWTJ, this is Micca Sol and Ruby Rose…" Rick said, only to be cut off when Willow suddenly ran up to Micca and clasped her in a bear hug.
"So you're the girl Rick can't shut about!" She yelled, setting down the shaken girl.
"Willow…" Josephine said in a warning tone.
"Calm down, Jose, they're in a relationship now, it's OK," Willow said with a grin as she looked over to Ruby, "And this is the legendary Ruby Rose, fifteen years of age and already at Beacon, nice."
"Wait, I do know you!" Ruby giggled out, "You fought in the last Vytal Festival, you got to the finals!"
"That we did, then those EMAD bastards got us, good fight though." Leo said with a grin.
"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, how are things at Fate?" Rick asked, he was always looking for info on his former friends.
"Nothings really changed, outside of the Grimm in the Black Forest getting a tad bit more aggressive, but that's to be expected with the White Fang attacks." Willow said, though Micca picked up on the shame in her voice.
"Huh, sounds good, hey, breakfast is open, let's grab a bite to eat real quick." Rick said, leading the group towards the mess hall.
At the Atlas Flagship…
Roman Torchwick was lead down the corridor to the mess hall, he was sat down onto a bench with a simple order. Don't talk to anyone, if there was anyone to talk too. Most of the crew was off guarding Beacon, but a few remained on the ship. Roman usually would have just stared at his plate, but then someone sat next to them.
"So…I hear that a bastard got his wings clipped," The ragged voice said, Romen turned around to regard the man. He looked a bit older than Roman, unshaven black hair covered his features, but he wore a prison jumpsuit that was marked with strange symbles, "How'd they catch you? Too busy getting high in a bathroom?"
"Well sir, I'm not a liberty to comment on that, so do me a favor, shut up." Roman said, not in the mood to talk.
"So that big bad criminal who had the world quaking in their boots turns out to be a whiney little girl, good to know." The man said as he took a bite of his eggs.
"Pray tell, why do you care?' Torchwick as the man swallowed, "We're both locked up here, why don't we try to get along?"
"Huh, you know, if I remember right, your cell is pretty bare. At least I've got a TV, I can watch the festival." The man said, ignoring Torchwicks statement, the gangster grew more irritated.
"And who are you to brag? You know who I am, I'm big news around here. Pay a little respect, and I might be generous when I get out." Torchwick said with a big, shit eating grin.
"Oh…I know who you are, and I know what you can do…but…let me tell you something, to me…you're worthless, a piece of the criminal system who Ironwood was too much of an idiot to break." The man replied, earning a look of rage from the orange haired man.
"Tell, what's your name so I can carve it into your chest after I get out?" Torchwick said in a threatening tone.
"Ok, I'll give you the courtesy," The man said, finishing off his breakfast before turngin to face the big bad criminal, "The names…Jesse Stampede."
"Hey, no talking!" The guards yelled, finally noticing the two conversing criminals.
"Don't worry officer, we just got done…" Jessie said, picking up his tray and heading back to his cell. Torchwick, on the other hand, had paled at the name. He knew that name, it filled him with dread. Jesse Stampede, the Hunter of Hunters, this…was a significant development.
Jesse Stampede was one of the most dangerous people in the world, if not because of his high body count, most of which were full blown hunters, than his infiltration of Beacon, Atlas, the White Fang, and even this ship…multiple times. He had dissappered a while back, guess he had finally gotten caught…but his calm nature plus his suit…he was working with Atlas.
At the Beacon Mess hall…
"So…my rival mustache has come again?" Richard asked as Teddy sat down in front of him.
"That I have," Teddy replied, the two locking into a intense staring contest, "How's the twinblade?"
"Better than your rifle," The monk said with a smirk, before bursting out laughing, "It's good to see you again, Ted."
"Likewise." Teddy said before biting into a piece of ham.
"Getting the gang back together?" Ben said as he sat down, the rest of the group following.
"Yep, our friends from Fate followed us out here." Rick said with a laugh.
"Sounds good to me, been too long since I've gotten a decent challenge." Richard said, getting a few laughs form the gang.
"Well, pardon me if I think I can handle you." A soft British voice said, Richard turned to regard Velvet.
"Whose this? Someone you didn't tell us about?" Josephene said with a laugh.
"This is Velvet, my girlfriend." Richard said as the bunny fanaus sat on his lap.
"Well, that's surprising, Ricks got a girl, Richards got a girl…what's next? Ben?" Leo joked, getting another roaring laugh from the table. Micca noticed something, however, Willow hadn't talked at all, she had just been staring at the snake fanuas the whole time.
"Hey, Willow, why don't you go make sure our stuff all arrived?" Leo asked in a knowing tone.
"I'll help you." Micca said, getting up. Willow smiled as she got to her feet and started walking out, Micca following. They walked a fair distance before Willow stopped.
"I'm assuming you know that out luggage is all safe and sucure?" Willow asked, to with Micca nodded.
"Yeah, I guessed, you wanted to talk to me?" Micca asked, ready for something.
"I wanted to ask you…has Rick…ever mentioned why he became a hunter?" Willow asked suddenly, getting a strange look from the snake fanus.
"No…why?" Mica asked, very concerned for her love.
"I need to tell you then," Willow said in a sad tone, "The reason…was because of me."
"Wait, What?" Micca asked, a flood of emotions coming to her brain, mainly jealously.
"I…I was part of the White Fang," Willow said, stopping Micca dead in her tracks, "Well, I was going to be. I was born in Vacuo, but move to Ricks hometown of Tradition when I was young. I was a teen at the time, just starting in weapon academys, but I was filled with hate. That's why we moved actually, Tradition was a medium sized town, but the people where kind."
"Eventually, I found a White Fang recruiter, me and three others where going to finish up our training, and join the Fang," Willow said, taking a deep breath, "Then, on our senior year…a stupid freshman walked right into my life with his friends."
"Sound like how I met him." Micca giggled, only to stop when Willow took a deep breath.
"He showed me things, he showed me to look past my hatred, to regard the humans as people…he changed my mind," Willow said as she stared into the clouds, "Me and my friends decided to not join the White Fang, the recruiter…"
"The White Fang doesn't appreciate traitors…" Micca finsished, earning a sad smile from Willow.
"No they do not," Willow said as she took a deep breath, "He tracked us down, killing us off one by one, until I was left. As fate would have it, before he could pull the trigger…Rick happened to be stopping by, dropping off some movie. If it wasn't for him…"
Willow's eyes were tearing up at that point, Micca put her arms around the girl.
"Tell me, do you know the Butcher of men?" Willow asked, only getting a confused look from Micca.
"No…though…I've heard of that." Micca replied, getting a sad smile from Willow.
"One day, you'll meet him, I know that for sure, but," Willow said in a happy tone of voice, "After that day, Rick changed, he threw himself into weapons training, forging his ax, and readying himself. He had made his decision, he was to become a hunter."
"Why? Why tell this too me?" Micca asked, her fear showing.
"Because you need to know, Rick wouldn't tell you because he wants to protect you. He really does care for you, but this part of his life…it changed him. You'll discover what I mean I the future." Willow said as she started off again, heading towards the next area with Micca watching silently.
The snake fanuas's mouth was agape, but she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to regard a strange man, he wore a black trench coat over black boots and trousers, on his left hand, he bore a bronze gauntlet and his right leg was bound with a leather strap, he wore a large brimmed hat and had a leather mask covering everything below his eyes.
Micca's eyes widened as she took him in, she blinked, and just like that…he was gone…
Micca looked around, before shrugging, with all of this stress, she probably just needed sleep.
At the Mess Hall…
"Hey Rick, something I've been meaning to ask you," Ruby said, scooting over to his side, "Why does your ax smell funny?"
"Well, I'm glad you asked," Rick said with a laugh, "It's a long story, after I decided to become a hunter, I needed a weapon. Now, because I'm a purist, I decided to forge my own. I stepped into a forge and got to work…I kind of sucked at it."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, leaning in.
"I couldn't do it, I didn't know how to forge the metal properly to be able to take a hit. So, after my fifth attempt failed, I decided to drink some water that I brought with me," Rick said before he took a breath, "What I didn't realize was that I had picked up some moonshine, I spat it out because I didn't want to be drunk and it got into the flames…"
"Isn't moonshine flammable?" Ruby asked, getting a pat on the head.
"Yes, yes it is, the flames almost blew up…that's when it hit me," Rick said, taking a dramatic pause, "If I could keep the flames hot enough, I might get somewhere."
"That's now how it works…" Ruby said, grinning over the stupid talk.
"I didn't know that, so I started forging the weapon using Wet Forging, only replace the water with moonshine…" Rick started before Richard cut him off.
"A few hours later, Ben and I walked into the forge…only to see Rick in a leather blacksmith apron and nothing else." Richard said, getting a laugh from the entire table.
"Anyway, after that, somehow…the moonshine increased the ax heads durability to extreme levels, so much so, that I couldn't find a handle that wouldn't shatter." Rick said with a grin.
"So…how did you aquire a blackwood handle?" Ruby asked, gushing over Rick's ax.
"Well, I found a hunk of black wood lying around, it was a gift to my family from a long time ago that we didn't ever find a use for, so I made it into the shaft," Rick said as he leaned back in his chair, "Took me a while, went through about five Dust saws, ten fire dust vials, and almost lost my fingers about twenty times. But after all that…it was done, my ax…a Taste of Madness."
"What about your other weapons?" The scythe weilder asked back.
"Well, Jason's Love, the machete, was something I picked up from my garage, bradden steel, great durability. The Cowboy…well, it was a gift from my uncle. It's a good blade, good metal, but nothing above standard hunter durability." Rick said, leaning forward in his chair. He almost said more, but a bell went off.
"Hey, we've got arena fighting, care to join us LWTJ?" Richard asked, Leo smiled.
"Sure, love to see some of the competition…" The Spartan said as he and his team got up, "Lead the way…"
Ruby got up as well, only to stop as she turned…she saw a strange man with a large brimmed hat.
"Ruby, you coming?" Ben yelled as he walked away.
"Sure!" Ruby yelled back, turning to see that the mysterious man was gone.
At the Arena…
"So this is were you been you lazy bastards!" Rick yelled, teams ROSA, EMBR, RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN were all sitting down.
"Well, got to check out the competition, get an edge!" Shaun yelled, as he looked at Weiss, the heiress flashed him a dirty look.
"Sounds good to me, besides, it's always fun to see new people," Yang said with a grin as the new group approached, "So…who are these guys?"
"Team LWTJ," Pyrrha piped in suddenly, gaining everyones attention, "Lead by Leonidus, good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, Pyrrha, been a while since we last met." Leo said as he approached the second Spartan.
"It's too bad you refused to fight in the single tournaments, I would have loved to face you." Pyrrha said with a smile as Leo sat down next to Jaune, who immedeatly stiffened.
"Glory to the army, not the individual, besides…I prefer leadership over single combat," Leo said as he stretched, "By the way, congratulations on not losing a fight."
"Thank you," Pyrrha said as she suddenly noticed Jaunes scared face, "Jaune, this is Leonidus, he was…"
Pyrrha started, but couldn't seem to find the right words.
"The closest thing she had to a friend, unfortunitly, I was a second year when she was starting out, and had to leave before she got famous." Leo said in a blunt manner.
"Hi…" Jaune said, putting out his hand, which Leo took. Jaune felt the pressure of the grip, but smiled as the teen in front of him laughed.
"Got a good grip, you're a great warrior, Jaune Arc." Leo said, much to the knights confusion.
"Uh…what?" Jaune stuttered, slightly confused on how the guy knew his name.
"Jaune Arc, decendent of the Arc line, your great grandfather was a great warrior." Leo said, putting the knight to rest.
"Leonidus…hey," Blake suddenly piped in, "You wouldn't happen to be related to…"
"King Leonidus? Defender of Mistral during the Great war? Died at the battle of Thermoplhe?" A scottish voice came through, the group turned to regard Willow and Micca as they walked in.
"Yes…" Blake started before Willow cut her off again.
"You would be correct, he's decended and proud of it." Willow said with a grin as she sat next to her leader. Richard and Velvet sat in front of them, holding hands.
"The next matches will be three on three as team CFVY's fourth member is absent," Goodwitches voice boomed, making Velvet shrink as the lights dimmed, "The next fight will be between team CFVY and team BLCP (Black)."
Everyone silenced at that name, team BLCP was legendary in the fields of glory. They were fourth years of Shade, already, they had won the last Vytal festival, had won multiple tournaments in other years, had one of the largest Grimm kill counts of any of the schools, and were considered some of the most promising students of the acadamies.
As they walked onto the stage, the crowd couldn't help but be impressed. Their leader was massive, about as tall as Yatsuhashi, but was even broader. His face was covered with long hair and a thick black beard. He wore chainmail, but most attention went onto his sword. It was a beast, even Yatsuhashi was impressed by it's size.
It was single edged, but it was at least a foot thick at the base. The mechaniques of the weapon were easy to see, but hard to determine what they were meant to do. The crowd, even Rick, all knew who this man was. Beowulf Gra, the warrior of the north, and he wasn't the only intimidating face.
The second on stage was of slender build, but the figure was clad in black armor. They bore a lance on their shoulder, and red shone out of the eye slit. Nothing was visible, but it didn't have to be. Sir Lancelot, the knight who had taken a vow of silence after the death of his original team leader, Artoria.
The second on stage wore a brown colored shirt that showed off her midriff, as well as brown shorts. Her hair was cut short, and her eyes shined blue in the light. Her weapon hung at her hip, a ax with a wide blade, perfect for chopping off heads. Someone in the crowd wolf whistled, but everyone knew that no one would dare call her something like a slut or a attention whore. This was Caramel Cernach, she was from the north east, and she was known for her habit of taking heads.
She walked off stage, she had volunteered to not fight for the three on three. The fourth on was a man wearing a toga with gold embrodiory, he had a sword in his one hand, but no one was fooled by the simple looking weapon. This was Perseus Kitrinos, a man of untold power, his face was sooth and his skin bronze.
The remnants of team CFVY looked at their opponents with hesitation, only for Beowulf to slam his sword into the ground. The crowd's eyes widened as he smirked, pressing a button, suddenly, the swords handle came off, reavealing a smaller sword. This one was still pretty big, but wasn't the eqiuvolent of a anime protagonist sword.
"Well, then, you have a big sword," Coco said with a grin, "You compensating for something?"
The crowd silenced, not knowing weather it was simply Coco's bravado or if she was trying to hide her fear. That's when Beowulf laughed.
"Finally, someone with some balls," The big man yelled, "I can tell I'm going to like it here."
The buzzer sounded, prompting the teens to rush forward, Beowulf and Yatsuhashi slammed their respective swords together, Lancelot and Fox started duking it out with fast strikes, and Perseus and Coco stared at each other. The militarily dressed girl yelled a battle cry as she started up her minigun, Perseus remained stone cold as it whirled up.
The bullets started flying as Persues leaped back, dodging every one of said bullets. His hands started to crackles with energy as Coco's eyes widened, she knew what came next, she dove to the right to avoid the lightning blast. She smirked, this was going to be interesting.
Lancelot and Fox's weapons traveled faster then most eyes could track, and that was a feat when you took into account that one of them was using a lance. As the paired fought, however, it became clear that Fox had the advantage as he got past the knights lance and landed a flurry of blows that sent the his opponent staggering back. The knight suddenly rushed back, landing blows against the red mencance. He felt his Aura drain, this was going to be a lot harder than he expected.
Yatsuhashi was having the same problem, Beowulf made up for what he lacked in speed with pure strength. The giant monk could feel the strikes as he blocked them, each blow felt like a jackhammer, each graze felt like a bullet. The monk had to admit, this man…was actually better than him. Yatsuhashi mistimed a attack…and missed, leaving himself open to attack. Beowulf obliged him, sending the giant to the floor.
Yatsuhashi opened his eyes to see the warrior offereing him a hand, despite the battle raging around him.
"A fallen foe of such worth deserves respect, even in the middle of carnage." Beowulf said to the questioning eyes. Unbeknowgst to them, two pairs of eyes watched the carnage, Emerald and Mercury looked at their scrolls and pulled a seemingly random lever. The fight was interrupted by a roar, all of the fighters stopping as they turned to the gates. A black shape slowly came out of the darkness, it stood on two legs, was about as tall as a Nevermore, armored plates covered it's body, and it's eyes glowed red as it regarded its new prey.
"Rancor!" Beowulf yelled, readying himself, only to see his fallen opponent try to get to his feet, "Team CFVY, get back, you're too exhausted for this."
Coco and Fox both almost yelled back when they looked at their auras on the screen, they were dangerously low. Lancelot and Perseus both gathered around their leader, Caramel leaped next to them with her ax drawn. The four regarded their opponent as it roared again, charging at them.
"Split!" Beowulf yelled, three of them broke off, while Beowulf stayed firmly planted. The creature didn't object as it swung it's arm at the man, expecting him to go flying. The huge man suddenly leaped back, narrowly avoiding the blow, and seemed to be waiting for something. That's when the creature felt a burning pain in its left leg, it turned it's head to see a person in a black suit of armor jamming a lance into it's foot, pinning it.
The rancor roared again, reaching for the pest, only for it to feel another burning pain in it's chest. It looked down to see that Perseus was jamming his blade into it's chest, before leaping up and landing on it's head. The warrior jammed his blade into the creatures head, before blasting it with lightning. The blade conducted it like a lightning rod, the creature roared again, reaching for the man. Only to discover that it's hand wasn't attached to it's body.
It turned to see that Caramel ax was glowing orange, and that the woman had a big smile on her face. It paid her no mind as it slammed it's into the ground, dislodging the warrior attached to it's head. It whirled around to see that Beowulf had rushed for his bigger blade, the rancor roared as it charged, the crowd gasped, no one could lift that blade and swing it in time to stop the charging creature.
As Beowulf reached it, he slammed his smaller sword into the blade, the creature was almost upon him. That's when the mechanics of the sword revealed themselves, rockets along the dull side blasted, swinging the sword around. The creatures path put it right above him, the blade cleaved it foot in half. Beowulf smiled as he swung again, this time, the rockets cut through the leg, severing it.
The creature fell into a heap, the hunter leaping out of the way.
"Lance, now!" Beowulf yelled, prompting everyone, including the beast, to look at the plate clad warrior, whose weapon had unfolded to reveal a huge rifle. The barrel started glowing blue, and a distinct whirring was heard. The creature knew that it wasn't good to remain in this spot, but having no arm and leg prevented it from moving. The gun fired, a huge blast ringing out as the projectile hit it. The creature exploded, each piece disentigrating as it flew away.
"Is everyone all right?" Beowulf yelled to the shocked audience, most of whom nodded, "Good, I believe that should satisfy your interest, now then…where's the food court?"
As the crowd laughed at the joke, Emarald and Mercury eye's and mouth were agape. This was a problem, these guys were more dangerous than they thought. However, they knew that the plan was still intact, the pair started to walk off. Emerald stopped at a cage, looking at the Beowolf that was inside. Suddenly, she felt a hand push her away, the beast paw narrowly missing her.
"Thanks, Mercury." Emerald said with a smile, only to see that she was alone. All she smelled was a faing scent of blood on the air…
And it's done, now, important announcement regarding the story. I originally hoped to get this going by now, but, due to plot twist on the actual RWBY show, it's still on hiatus until the end of the volume three. If this is being read and there are other chapters, disregard this message and have a nice day.
