Story 1: RWBY
It was a forboding morning; with a darkened sky and a chilling unholy breeze coming from the south. Team RWBY had slowly made their way to their morning classes; still trying the brush off the lingering sleepiness that claimed them. Followed closely behind them was team JNPR; who was just as worse for ware. Weeks of hard training and late night cram sessions have slowly taken its toll on the students; to the point that it became harder and harder for them to get the strength to crawl out of bed each morning. Ruby Rose was by far the most affected by the sleep deprivation; seeing that her sharp combat skills did nothing to help her with her written course work.
With a big yawn Ruby spoke, "Aaaaaaaaaahhh. I wish I was back in bed." She quickly turned her head over to Weiss Schnee. "Weiss..."
Weiss turned her head sharply towards Ruby and stared daggers at the young huntress in training. "No! I am NOT going to take notes for the both of us. It's YOUR fault that WE'RE not getting any sleep."
Ruby stopped mid stride and gave Weiss a look of a sad puppy. "But but... My mind is complete garbage when I'm tired..."
Quickly changing her sadden face to a more stoic one. "Besides; who needs to know all this history stuff? What does learning about history and stuff have to do with slaying monsters?"
Despondant at the lack of maturity from their group leader, Weiss' usual cold demenour turned sour. "WHAT DOES LEARNING ABOUT HISTORY HAVE TO DO WITH SLAYING MONSTERS? EVERYTHING!"
Weiss got closer to Ruby and placed a single finger right in front of Rubys' face and with a scolding overtone spoke. "How about Sir Regmund the third who was able to lead his army to victory over a vast horde of Grimm due to his intricate knowledge of the landscape on which they fought. Or the great huntress Frigg who was able to defeat dozens of Nevermore with nothing more than the tools that she could forge from her surroundings and her guile. The whole point of learning about history is that we don't make the same mistakes as others before us. Or learn new ways of being able to defeat the Grimm; if we ever end up in a similar situation."
Both groups stood silent for the longest time; letting Weiss' words sink in. Deep down they all knew that she was correct; especially Ruby. Deep down Ruby was actually quite grateful that her team had helped her in her studies; especially Weiss. Weiss always ranked high in any written course work; especially when it came to history and mathematics. Which when it came down to physical application of strategies; gave their team a strong advantage over other teams. Reluctantly, Ruby lowered her head in shame of her childness.
"Your right Weiss. I'm sorry for being so selfish."
Returning her eyes back to face Weiss'; Ruby was expecting to find Weiss still angry at Rubys' lack of maturity. Instead she saw a softer face in front of her. "Ruby. I know I can be mean sometimes. But I want you to know that I'm not being mean out of hate. I just want you to be the best team leader that you can be. If that means cracking the whip some times then I'll do it. If it means that I have to stay up late at night to help you study; then I'll do it. I want; no... we want you to succeed."
With that a smile creeped across Rubys face and team RWBY broke into a small impromptu celebration.
Jaune looked over to Pyrrha with somewhat lovely dovey look across his face. "Doesn't that just warm your heart on this cold morning."
Pyrrha with a very coy look on her face turned to Jaune. Like a cat who ate the canary she spoke, "Speaking of which; Jaune. You need to keep up working on your swordsmanship. We can't be carrying you all the time."
Jaune; taken aback by Pyrrhas' words found what enery left in him get drained out. Till all that was left was an empty husk of a man. Pyrrha touched his arm and dragged him along with a gleeful smile on her face. "Lighten up Jaune. You know I was kidding right.."
"Kidding. Yeah..."
Neither team realized that today wasn't going to be just another ordinary day at Beacon Academy however. Beyond the grounds of the school; plans had been set into motion that would change how the hunters and huntresses viewed the world and their place in it. For all what not right with the world and there was deadlier things in the forests that surrounded the academy than Grimm. And those things planned on visiting the campus.
Slowly, a heavy fog rolled across the campus, impairing the vision of anyone that wasn't indoors. As both teams finally made it inside the main building, they paused to consider how quickly it rolled in. Thinking how odd it was too. They were about to think nothing of it until Glynda Goodwitch rushed to them in a hurry. She wore a nervous and quite fearful expression on her face as if she saw death itself in front of her. She turned to the students and tried to address them in a calm and collected manner; yet could not hide how much fear actually was in her voice.
"Students... I need you to hurry to class. I need you to run there as fast as possible... And lock the door behind you."
They all were stunned as she spoke. Rarely had she shown this much emotion; and never one of pure panic and fear. They themselves started to be afraid of whatever had rattled their teacher to her core.
Jaune tried to respond, "Um Ms. Goodwitch, what is going..."
Glynda cut him off mid sentence and basically shouted at them; this time not hiding any of her fear. " GET TO CLASS NOW!"
Without another word spoken, she ran past them; out the main door and onto the academy grounds. Neithers of the teams spoke nor moved; letting Glyndas' words sink in. What ever was going on was serious enough to scare a seasoned huntress as Glynda; meant that it was way out of their league. Yet the seriousness didn't start sinking in until more faculty started rushing past them. Till it appeared all the faculty in the academy was outside in the fog.
"What in the world is going...ON!" Jaunes final word was excenuated by the blast of a massive explosion that took place on the campus grounds; rocking the academy walls and shattering all the windows in proximity. The force knocked the students to the ground.
Getting up; shaking the dust and glass off her uniform; Ruby looked out the broken window onto the campus grounds. There on the grounds laid a vast majority of the staff; many injured and a few completely taken out of the battle. What caught Rubys gaze however were the five shadowy figures in the distance. Cloaked in garment and fog alike; they walked slowly towards the still standing staff. With each step; each staff member shook in fear; knowing full well the monsters that stepped every closer towards them.
The students looked shocked; the faculty who are trained huntsmen and huntresses in their own right were afraid. Afraid of all things; these beings in front of them. Not Grimm but those of the mortal coil.
Glynda stood before the cloaked figures holding her ribs with her left hand while her right barely held onto her riding crop. With pure hatred and disdain in her voice she scowled at the one in the middle. "After all these years... After all these years you finally decided to do it. The wars over... You got your freedom. What good is he to you anymore?.. After all those mighty words of honour and pride; you finally decided to show your true colors. You finally decided to get your revenge on Ozpen. Well, I've trained since then... I've trained and waited for this chance. Your bloody crusade ends he..re.."
She lost sight of him for less than a second; a blink of an eye some would say. For him; that was what all he needed. Glynda was stopped mid sentense from a hard fist to the gut; fracturing two more of her ribs in the process. The pain was excruciating. Glyndas' body crumpled under its own weight down to the academy grounds.
The cloaked figure could only scowl. "You call yourself a huntress... My how times of peace have made us soft. Look at you. How dare you call yourself a huntress. Your not even worthy to clean the mud off of my boots."
He looked down with her with pure contempt in his his eyes and fist full of rage. "You huntsmen and huntresses dare say that you're this worlds protectors... You can barely protect yourselves."
The students could only look on as all the faculty lay beaten on the campus grounds. They could barely believe their eyes at how badly and how swiftly the trained staff fell. Yang turned her head to the others.
"This looks bad. We need to think of a way to help Professer Goodwitch. Ruby, do you... got any... ideas?"
Yang looked around at the group to see that Ruby no longer was huddled in with them in the relative safety of the building.
"Um. Guys. Where's Ruby?"
Everyone; broken from their self induced spell of shock; finally noticed that Ruby was missing. They all tried looking around for her till in unison; they looked out towards the courtyard.
The cloaked man bent over towards Glynda and pierced her soul with his cold grey eyes. They both knew she was defeated; all that was left was his decision on what to do with her. He let out a low deep growl of delight at the thoughts of what to do to her. Yet his personal victory was short lived as he heard a high pitched voice shout a challenge towards him.
"Hey! Leave my teacher alone!"
Without hesitation; Ruby unloaded rounds from the Crescent Rose at the cloaked man. He barely managed to dodge the first few rounds yet managed to dodge the rest easily. Slowly he stalked towards her; dodging more of her shots along the way. His walk became a run till he was dead sprinting across the grounds towards her. Ruby barely managed to reload the gun before he was on her. She quickly unfolded the rest of the Crescent Rose to its full scythe mode; spinning it around her in an attempt to make a killing zone around her person. As he backstepped away from her spins; she fired a shot from it; accelerating her body towards him. She started her attack with another shot to help the acceleration and rotation of her spin as she went for a horizontal slash across his midsection. Yet it only tore through his cloak to finally full reveal the opponent before her.
He easily stood six feet tall with a lean yet muscular build. His unruly hair coming down to his cold grey eyes. His hands and arms bore steel gauntlets and two guardless blades were held on his back.
Ruby used the momentum from her first slash to do another spin for a diagonal slash. With ease he dodged it also; along with the multiple slashs that followed. Even though she continued to pick up the pace with each slash rotation; no attacks were hitting their mark. Finally loosing her patience; she forced a ascending vertical slash; attempting to slice him legnth ways. Halfway thru though; she knew she had failed as the Crescent Rose barely missed hitting him.
...
This man; who stood imposingly in front of her grinned wickedly. He let out a low growl as his eyes pierced hers. They both knew that she had made a crucial mistake and now she was going to pay for it. He closed the short distance in an instant; right through Rubys' guard. With a fierce right hook; he had spun her around and cause her to lose what little defense she had. Ruby quickly stepped back; yet found him immediately upon her. She started firing off the Crescent Rose at him; using the recoil to push her backwards and open up some distance between them. Yet this man not only dodged the rounds but continued to match pace with the young huntress in training. Till finally he pushed right to her and struck her with a one-two punch combo that knocked her off balance and caused her to fall to the ground.
Ruby quickly placed the barrel onto the ground and pulled the trigger. Within an instant both she and Crescent Rose were airborn and fell back away from this beast of a man. As soon as her feet hit solid ground; she fired her weapon again. She charged towards him hoping to finish this with one powerful horizontal slash. As she begun her swing; the horror of her situation finally caught up to her. She had left herself wide open again for him to attack her front and he was already there to meet her with a clothsline; taking her firmly off her feet and crashing down hard to the ground below.
All the man could do was laugh as this would be huntress continued to make a fool of herself in combat. 'If this was the best Ozpyn could find then I am doing him a service by destroying them,' he though to himself as he bent over and picked up the Crescent Rose.
The other students looked on in shock as not only was Ruby soundly defeated; but this man was taking her scythe. Yangs' anger grew. Her little sister lay beated soundly on the ground and all they could do was look on in fear. She couldn't stand it any longer. Deep down she knew that neither of them could beat this man but she couldn't stand still any longer. Yet it wasn't her that moved first. A streak of yellow barged past them all and ran head long at the man. She heared Pyrrha shout out Jaunes' name and she knew instantly that it was him that was charging this unknown man. Emboldend by Jaunes' charge; she raced after him.
The man looked up at the two new students joining the fray and growled; spinning the Crescent Rose in a circle. He met their charge with a charge of his own. Jaune withdrew his sword and tried to slice the man in two only to find that his stomach was exposed to the back side of the scythe. With a mightly blow to Jaunes stomach; the man ended Jaunes' charge. Yet his eyes quickly picked up on a blonde mass coming down from behind Jaune.
Yang crashed down between the man and Jaune and proceeded to strike the man. She let loose with her gauntlets during each punch. She continued pushing the man back; even if her punches and shots weren't connecting. She tried pushing harder till she over commited on a straight right. This time the dodge was faster as the man spun around her arm and sent the back end of his stolen scythe across her back. The blow caused her to fall to her knees; severely winded from such a powerful blow.
The man showed no sign of pity or sympathy as he laid the edge of the blade against her throat. Yang could only look out at her sister in fear as she knew in a split second that she would be dead and that Ruby would be defenseless against this monster. Ruby herself screamed as she saw her sister and best friend in the world at the mercy of her own weapon. Yet Ruby couldn't move. She was helpless without the Crimson Rose; there was no way she could stop this man without it.
"I'm sorry Ruby." All Yang could do was close her eyes and wait for her death. There was nothing either girl could do to stop this man...
A loud explosion broke the tension as Yang fell forward hard. She turned around quickly; expecting to see the man readying the finishing blow. Yet what greeted her was the giant hammer that belonged to Nora. To her right and left were Pyrrha and Ren. She found that they now stood between her and the man with Weiss and Blake guarding Jaune.
Pyrrha looked over to Yang. "Go check on Ruby. We'll hold this guy off."
The standing members of JNPR and RWBY charged the man as Yang stood up and ran towards her sister. She slid towards Ruby and checked over her body to make sure she was ok.
"Yang. I'm sorry." That was all she could let out before she started crying into Yangs' chest.
"It's ok Ruby. We're all here for you." Yang held her close and patted her lightly on the head. "Do you think you can still fight?"
Ruby was startled that Yang still desired to fight that man. She was even more startled to see her friends trying to fight that man. They were trying their hardest to hurt him; yet his movements showed that he was still able to handle so many with little fuss. Both girls knew that their team needed them; yet deep down they wondered if even that would be enough to stop this man.
...
Multiple gun fire and dust spells were sent hurdling towards this unnamed man; yet each was dodged effortlessly as if he could predict all of their attacks before they even performed them. Ruby quickly took in their situation trying to figure out the best way of attack seeing that overwhelming him with sure numbers had proven completely ineffective. Finally, she shouted out a command to her team, "Weiss, FREEZER BURN!"
Instinctively, Weiss set the groud around them to ice while Yang came down with a strong fist and turned that ice into a thicker layer of fog. Making the already thick fog into an unseeable soup.
"Guys, check me."
As the call came out both Weiss and Blake rushed towards the ghostly image of the man planning to pierce and cleave him in two; respectively. Yet all they were met with was the ghostly image and nothing else.
Jaune quickly shouted an order to his team. "Air Raid"
Nora turned her hammer into its grenade launcher form and launched shot after shot into the air. Few seconds later, the shots exploded into small flechetta rounds. Pyrrha tapped into her magnetism aura power and turned each flechetta into a powerful spinning fan; blowing the fog up and away from the students. With their vision finally regained; Jaune let out an early sign of relief. Yet his relief turned into near panic as he saw the crescent rose flying like a bullet towards him. Pyrrha reacted instinctively and raised Jaunes shield with her aura causing him to block the blow; yet knocking him down hard.
The same could not be said for Pyrrha, as this monster of a man stood before her and violently backhanded her. With a hard shot to the gut; Pyrrha lay crumbled on the ground unconscious. The others could only look on stunned as both Pyrrha and Jaune get taken out of the fight so effortlessly.
...
His grey eyes stare each one of them down as his hands find the grips of his blades on his back. He swiftly unsheathed them; changing from their base revolver form into their bladed form. Yet even before he could decide who to defeat first; a familiar hand places itself firmly upon his right shoulder. This new figure walks foward with his fingers grazing the rim of his black fedora.
"Sieg, not to ruin your fun, but we are on a time table here."
Sieg; supressing his battle urge slowly compacts his blades back to revolver form and then replaces them back into their holsters.
The fedora hatted man walked closer to the students with a much more laise faire posture. "I'm sorry for my leaders lack of tact. It's just been such a very long time since he's had a good fight. He just couldn't resist himself. Allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Apollo."
He slowly removed his fedora with his right hand and bowed towards the students.
"We've only come here to have a... a 'conversation' with Ozpyn. If you would be so kind as to go and retrieve him, then we shall give you no more trouble."
Apollo looked back up to his bow to see team RWBY and the remaining team JNPR pointing their weapons at him. He sighs reluctantly as a small bead of sweat runs down his face.
Without hesitation they open up with gun rounds and dust attacks at Apollo hoping to take him down quickly. He could only sigh as he pulled out his trumpet that he kept secured along his back and begins to play a tune loudly.
With each blast from his trumpet; the rounds and dust attacks slow until they finally dead stop mere inches from him. Apollo lets loose another flourish of blasts; forcing everything back in a wave of sound and fury.
As the dust settled from his attack; no one stood to oppose him.
"Sigh. Why do kids always want to do it the hard way? I don't..."
His words were cut mid sentense as a metal gauntlet appeared next to his head along with a sword blade. The gauntlet belonging to Sieg and the blade belonging to Jaune.
Siegs' gravely voice broke the stalemate between the three. "I should congradulate you. Not many hunters could say that they could take such a powerful blow and still be standing so soon."
Jaunes eyes were filled with rage. Both his team and team RWBY were defeated handedly and these men had already shown interest of ending all of their lives. Now out of all times; he had to be the hunter he always wanted to be. Not for himself; but for his friends who depended on him.
"You monsters. I don't care if you wear the skin of man. I'm going to finish you here and now!"
Sieg could only smile at the boy and he could feel Jaune try to force his blade harder onto Siegs gauntlet. With just a flick of his wrist; he knocked the blade back and forcing Jaune a few steps back. Sieg removes both of his blades from his back and fully extends both of them.
"I'm starting to like you more and more already, boy... Tell me; what is your name boy?"
Jaune could only stare him down coldly. "Why do you want to know my name NOW?"
"Because, it is only fair to know the name of the person that I am about to kill."
Jaune gripped his sword tighter. "Jaune... The name of the hunter that is going to stop you is Jaune Arc."
Sieg smile grew bigger at hearings Jaunes' boast. "Well Jaune Arc. It was a pleasure to meet you. Now, count up your sins..."
Apollo and the others who came with Sieg could only look on in shock as they heard their leaders words. He only ever used those words when he was intent was to kill. Did this 'boy' grab his attention so much as to warrent such a response? They didn't have time to react as both combatants charged one another.
Jaune brought his blade down fast and hard; planning on cleaving this monster in half. Yet Siegs left blade met his sword in a violent clash of steel; knocking Jaune's blade harmlessly to the side. While at the same time leaving Jaune fully exposed to his right blade. All onlookers could only look on in fear and shock as Siegs thrust was about to penetrate the childs chest.
Sieg was the first one to notice the blur though. His eyes trained in not getting tunnel visioned in a fight. He was even less surprised to see a metal object deflect his blade away from Jaunes' chest. His smile felt like it would rip his face in half as he recognised the metal object and who was weilding it in front of him.
"Ozpyn... About time. If you took any longer; you would of been down a student."
Sieg stood straight up and sheathed his blades; making eye contact with a greatly angered Ozpyn.
"Sieg... you best have a good reason for coming here and destroying my school."
Sieg finally turned his head and surveyed the damage his battle had caused. "So I went a bit overboard. But you know I wouldn't even be here unless it was important. Now shall we go to your office or would you prefer to air more dirty laundry out in the courtyard."
Without another word; Ozpyn, Sieg, Apollo, and the remaining cloaked strangers walked into Beacon leaving the battered students and faculty in the mercy of the arriving medical teams...
End chapter 1...