Broken Branches
Previously in Broken Branches: Armis Zwolf stole Glynda Goodwitch's access key in order to enter the Vault and slay the Fall Maiden. But a encounter with Ozpin has changed Armis' perspective on things. Now he go's to one of Beacon's arena classrooms to see what the students of Beacon Huntsman Academy are like... What could possibly go wrong?
Thanks to all of you who have read my story and I hope that you continue to do so. Here is the lengthy fight scene as promised. Hope you enjoy.
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
I do not own either RWBY or Warhammer 40,000. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.
Ruby was bored. And perhaps worse Nora was bored. They had been waiting for combat class to start for half an hour by now. The arena was now pretty much deserted, after most of the students left after Miss Goodwitch hadn't shown up, and now only teams RWBY and JNPR remained. After the brief upset of the weekend students returning and Ruby sharing stories of Yang's dubious exploits, to a bewildered team JNPR, there was a long lull of activity and now they were bored. Not that three quarters of RWBY could complain. Any amount of time to recover from their hangovers was grateful accepted and they didn't question their teacher's tardiness.
"…And then she sent him through a window, proclaiming…" Ruby jumped up from her seat and put a foot on the safety railing surrounding the area, like a triumphant hero. "NONE SHALL INSULT THE HONOUR OF SIR POUNCE-A LOT!"
Nora who was listening intently, rolled back onto her back and began kicking into the air, her giggles turning more into mad laughter. The hyperactive ginger girl had been talking to Ruby for a while now and with each story she had done the same thing. Literally rolling on the floor laughing. Her friend, a black haired young man, in an oriental robe, simply held his head in his hands and sighed.
"Please Oum, let Goodwitch get here to end this madness." He mumbled in prayer.
"She probably has something more important to do with Ozpin, with his 'Clock tower.' Am I right?" Yang tried to joked, failing miserably, while nudging Weiss who was leaning back in her seat, eyes closed.
"Yes Yang, you think Goodwitch and Ozpin are doing something in the clock tower. You have said it three times now." Blake grumbled as she tried to get comfortable on the hard stone seats. 'Why they choose this material for sitting students was beyond her, but granted, they were in a school of teenage Aura users so the precaution that something is gonna break was the right one.' Blake thought.
"Does someone want to check and see if Goodwitch has cancelled the lesson and left a note on the door we didn't see?" A redheaded girl asked, her ponytail flicking over her shoulder as she looked to the rest of the class. She was wearing a set of almost Amazonian armour, which appeared to be made of a combination of bronze and some other burnished metals.
"Good idea Pyrrha!" Ruby said as she jumped up off her seat and walked down the stairs towards the door.
"Just a few more minutes." Weiss whispered to Yang, as she turned and leant against her shoulder. Yang was still sober enough to realise a golden opportunity and proceeded to take several selfies with her phone scroll.
Ruby dashed towards the door in a straight line, rose petals forming a mini tornado behind her. Pulling open the door until she could get a good look at anything stuck there.
'Nope, I guess Miss Goodwitch really is-' Ruby then noticed the blackness outside the door. 'Who turned off the lights outs-.' She glanced outside and paused for a moment. There appeared to be red glowing eyes in the doorway… huh strange. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, jumping backwards in fright, tripping and landing on her back.
Teams RWBY and JNPR woke up from their bored stupor in an instant, looking towards Ruby and then they noticing the blackness outside. A hooded figure standing in the doorway, two dim glowing orbs of red emanating from within the darkness. It was like something from a horror movie and the teams just stood their shocked as this mass of black swirling darkness, moved forwards into the room, while Ruby simple lay on the floor, petrified. Yang began to unsheathe Ember Celica, allowing it to extend up her arm, and was ready to defend her sister, by jumping at the monster, but the thing beat her to it.
"Greetings students. I am Mr Zwolf. And I will be taking over Miss Goodwitch's class this morning." A voice came from the darkness.
As his words finally settled into the two teams members, they slowly lowered and sheathed their weapons. Ruby was still on the floor, staring at this cloaked figure. He was tall, very tall, and broad enough to fill out the doorway to the arena classroom, but that could just be the cloak he wore. Or several cloaks if Ruby saw correctly. He was definitely human, if a bit strange. He still appeared to be covered in a shroud of darkness, but the powerful light in the room was somehow causing several shimmers to appear in the cloak and allowed the teams to make out the creases in in the fabric giving the figure shape. His face was still obscured, as the hood seemed to cast a deep shadow that gave him the appearance of one of Oum's grim reapers, from the fairy tales. Ruby snapped out of her daze when Mr Zwolf, as he called himself, approached her.
"There is no need to fear me, little girl, and I apologise for my appearance, but there is good reason for me to hide, I assure you." He said. The cloak parted and an arm reached down, offering Ruby a hand up.
Ruby couldn't see past his arm through the cloak, despite how hard she tried, so after a slight pause, she thanked him and accepted his help, getting to her feet. His arm seemed quiet thin and sickly, like a man starved for days, but his hand was fully proportioned and his skin was a healthy shade, while his grip firm and the hand itself strong, effortlessly lifting her too her feet. Ruby even felt her lift of the ground for a second.
"Now return to your seat, little girl. Class is in session."
"R-right." Ruby replied, rubbing her hands together, before blurring up the stairs, in a cloud of roses, sitting next to Yang and shuffling close. When questioned to see if she was ok, she simply nodded.
Mr Zwolf started walking towards the centre of the Arena. "I again apologise for my appearance and how late I was. Ozpin and I had a small debate over a new student."
Back at the clock tower, Ozpin watched from the cameras and took a sip of coffee.
"Cheeky shit." He chuckled.
The teams who were sitting in a group around the arena glanced at each other, looks of confusion going around. The question on everyone's mind was if this man ready was who he said he was. And what would make Miss Goodwitch come to this man to help. Was he even a Huntsman?
"Ah, you want proof." Mr Zwolf said, as he dug into his cape and an arm extended, holding a green tear shaped emerald. This appeared to calm most of the students siting on the side-lines around him. He returned it to his cloak and took out a clipboard with a single sheet of paper and proceeded to examine it. "Could… Jaune Arc? Step forward and come down to the Arena."
Jaune, a blonde haired boy, the leader of Team JNPR, stood and after looking at his surrounding friends asked; "Anyone else?"
"No. Just you."
Jaune gulped. 'They usually had sparing matches in pairs, so what did this mean? Was he in trouble?'
He gathering his shield and sword and wearing a set of white plate over general combat gear took the stairs down to the centre arena. The cloaked mans hood turned and followed Jaune down as he walked into the arena and stood opposite him, weapons held loosely at his side.
"What combat school did you graduate from?" Mr Zwolf suddenly asked.
Taken aback, Jaune stumbled with is words. "Eh-?"
"How long have you been training before this academy? And how were you graded?"
Jaune continued to stammer. "I'm sorry, how is that-?"
There were looks of confusion and disbelief between the two teams. Why was this teacher asking these questions and why was Jaune having such a hard time with answering? Pyrrha's face was aghast with an expression of shock and horror. She knew why.
"Who accepted you into this academy?" Mr Zwolf questioned, his voice adding a tone of finality to it.
"Ozpin." Was the immediate response.
The 'teacher' chuckled. 'Accepted by Ozpin. Old set of armour. Sword and shield. Found you. Now where is your trainer?'
"So then Jaune, could you explain to me, and give me a definition of Aura?" He asked. As he spoke he began walking closer to Jaune.
Jaune shook himself out of his shock and became determined to prove himself to this substitute teacher. "Aura is the manifestation of our soul. Hunters can use this as either a unique semblance or as a protective barrier."
Mr Zwolf stopped in front of Jaune, just in arms reach, his cloak swinging forward slightly at the change in momentum. "And that protective barrier?"
"Aura is used as a shield from physical attacks or damages. Although this wears upon the users Aura level, it is always protecting the user from harm and-AACK!"
A stunning silence filled the arena, as with a whirl of fabric, a arm and flat hand had whipped out from the teachers cloak, as the man himself darted forwards, around to Jaune's left and struck with a swift chop across the back of the boy's neck. Jaune was knocked forwards, his head arched back with the force of the strike, a strangled gasp escaping from his lips. His eyes rolled back into his head and he landed with a thud onto the floor. Unconscious. Mr Zwolf stepped over Jaune and returned to his original position in the arena and faced the flabbergasted faces of teams RWBY and NPR. He gave way no emotion as he scanned the remaining seven people above him. Only one of them showed a different emotion to shock. And it was quite ironic that the redheaded Amazonian girl was angry first.
"What this man here and many hunters fail to realise is that Aura is not infallible. It only activates when the user is aware of a danger, in combat. An Aura user is just as vulnerable as anyone else when caught unawares." He started. Mr Zwolf didn't need the list Ozpin gave him for this. The hood moved to focus solely on the redhead girl. Now if he was right… "Could the four-time champion of Mistral step forward into the arena?"
All eyes turned to Pyrrha. And then back to Jaune. A few looks of understanding past between Pyrrha and her team mates.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ren questioned. "We don't know who he is, or what he is capable of."
"Yes. I'm sure." Pyrrha answered as she drew both her gun-spear Milo and hoplon shield Akouo, and jumped down the arena. "Someone help Jaune get out of the way!" She called out.
Nora jumped down to the arena with her and slung Jaune over her shoulder, like he weighed nothing. But before she returned to the stands, she shot a defiant look at Mr Zwolf, and stuck out her tongue at him. The tilting of a hood was all she got in return. With the arena clear, the two opponents stood opposite each other, a few paces apart.
"Where did graduate combat school?"
"Sanctum, Mistral."
"Who accepted you into this Academy?"
"Ozpin."
"Where do your loyalties lie?"
A pause.
"As I thought."
"With my team! I fight for them, not Mistral or Ozpin. I fight for THEM!
"Good answer. What is your semblance?" The hooded figure then began circling around Pyrrha, who did the same, both knowing what would soon follow.
"How about you come and find out!" Pyrrha shouted, her spear extending and shield at the ready.
A laugh echoed out across the silent arena. "My thoughts exactly."
Pyrrha surged forwards, her spear back ready to extend and strike. But Mr Zwolf simply jumped backwards, cloaks billowing back and spreading out in a whirling pattern, still revealing nothing underneath. While in the air, multiple explosions of sound light and metal, shot out from within the darkness of the man's silhouette. Bullets impacted against Pyrrha's shield as she continued to push forward towards her target. However, her shield was simply too small to block all of the countless rounds of ammunition flying her way. Most were absorbed or deflected by her aura, but some of the bullets struck harder than others. A round glanced off the top rim of her shield and would have passed harmlessly by her head, if it hadn't detonated directly in front of her face. Her aura was strong and she took very little actual damage, but the flash of light blinded her and the force from the explosion knocked her off balance and she stumbled.
"Pyrrha, look out! In front of you!" Someone screamed.
Combat instincts kicked in and a mental map of the arena, herself and her shadowy opponent appeared in her head. She was blinded and staggering, her opponent believed her guard to be down. Most would panic and take an easy strike from a more experience opponent. But she did not panic. What did you do when you see an easy opening? You go straight for it. And reveal your hand. Pyrrha continued playing the panicking student, but as she felt the displacement of air in front of her, she pushed forwards once more and swung her shield across her body. A rewarding crunch and grunt of pain followed and as she regained her sight, she twirled around to see that she had sent her assailant flying to the left. Mr Zwolf landed on his knees, and fell on all fours, although his arms were not visible.
"Damn." He spluttered, his voice slightly more garbled than normal. "Haven't been hit that hard in a while."
The cloaks moved to a standing position and the hood turned to the side. From within, a small piece of white bone, accompanied by a splatter of red liquid, was spat out. A pair of humming swords rose from the darkness, behind the layers of black fabric. He held them at the ready, as he started moving towards his foe. They were a dark shade of turquoise that seemed to glow as small jolts of lightning blade across the blades. One was smaller than the other but they were otherwise identical, one-sided blades each built more like a crude machete than a katana. Pyrrha began to feel something funny in her stomach and she felt that these swords were to blame. She ignored it and ran forwards to meet her opponent. A barrage of slashes and stabs met her, but each she dodged or knocked aside with her spear. Metal finally met metal as a humming blade struck Pyrrha's shield and was easily defected to the side, along with the hand that held it. Her spear, struck out and punched through a layer of cloak, but with so little resistance, Pyrrha doubted she had landed a hit. Mr Zwolf's second blade, the shorter of the two, cut past her head as she ducked underneath, getting in close, right under his guard. She retracted her spear into a short sword to allow for better control in this close quarters combat. She had an opening, by now she could get a good approximation of where his body would be under the cloak. But before she had the chance, she felt an impact against her face knocking her down, while the cloak swirled past her. Several more blunt strikes rained down upon her, before she was able to break away from the man's cloak and regain her bearings.
'How had I taken that first hit?" Pyrrha thought. "I clearly remember, blocking the sword and dodging his dagger swing. I was in too close for him to take a swing at me that quickly. And the hits felt like punches, not the blade of a sword or the flat of a hilt."
The audience was thinking the same thing. At first they were cheering, seeing Pyrrha land the first solid hit, and then easily dodge and deflect Mr Zwolfs attacks. She even seemed to get in another hit, and was able to get in close enough for a second strike, when suddenly she was sent reeling back and put on the defensive. No one saw where the strikes had come from, and they all had seen where Mr Zwolf's hands were, holding his blades too far away from Pyrrha to reach her. He advanced once again and Pyrrah took a more defensive stance in order to figure out what was going on. Was this his semblance? The feeling in her stomach increased as the blades he held, grew louder and the metal swords looked like they were beginning to vibrate. She brought her shield closer to her body and then thrust forward as the two blades came down together in a double stroke. Yet instead of stopping the blades and smashing them aside, as it had just moments before, they simply past straight through, leaving two giant rents in the metal. The blades only stopped for a moment over her skin, and at first she feared they would continue and sever her arm. But they remained hovering there, a centimetre away, before tracing around her arm and finishing their job on her shield. But he wasn't finished yet. As Akouo split into three pieces and fell off her arm, Mr Zwolf continued his assault. He seemed to be growing faster, and she feared to parry his strikes with her weapon, in case it was torn apart as well. More of his strikes were landing now, yet Pyrrha felt no drop in her aura, or at least very little. And Mr Zwolf seemed to notice it too. As another useless hit landed, Pyrrha, gripped her spear in two hands and twirled it around, causing the man to jump backwards.
Pyrrha could just about hear a mumble of "Stupid Aura" and something about a sonic blade? Mr Zwolf then returned his two blades to his cloak and pulled out his hands once again. Pyrrha saw his hands now gripping a sort of punching gauntlet. A black leather glove with silvery metal plates attached to the knuckles. A smile almost made its way onto Pyrrha's face, but she remained vigilant, face straight. Metal she could work with. Meeting again at the centre of the arena, the two exchanged blows. Mostly probing strikes on Mr Zwolf's part and sweeps of her spear, to keep him away by Pyrrha. A stab from Pyrrha's spear, led Mr Zwolf to twirl to the side, the spear tip passing harmlessly behind him as he rolled past it and got in close. His cloak once again enveloped Pyrrha, obscuring her view of where her opponent exactly was. In such close proximity, Pyrrha could no longer dodge, and a devastating barrage of punches connected with her. This man was fast. Too fast. She could feel each impact against her aura, and it was as though she was being struck in half a dozen places at the same time, again and again. She couldn't take much more of this. Swinging her spear in a wide arc, again meeting no resistance, but the air forced apart by the weapons passing, caused a layer of cloak to shift and one of Mr Zwolf's fists became visible. She felt the metal coving the hand and subtly moved it into a perfect position and she readied her spear for a disarming stab. Even with aura, enough precise force, that when delivered to a precise spot on the arm, would cause the nerves in the arm to go numb and useless. With the speed of her strike and her semblance of polarity, there was no chance the dodge.
Ruby was getting worried. Pyrrha had getting hurt more and more and didn't seem to be countering. Similar looks of concern filled the stands. Ruby didn't think Pyrrha had landed any solid hits on Mr Zwolf, except the first shield bash. And however devastating that blow had been, Ruby had no way of knowing how much Aura damage that had done.
'Wait…' Ruby thought, looking down into the arena to where Mr Zwolf had been struck by Pyrrha's shield. A metre or so away from the arena wall was a small puddle of blood. 'And a tooth?'
Looking at Mr Zwolf who was currently, in a stalemate with Pyrrha trying to get in close while the redheaded girl kept him at bay with her spear. Why hadn't he used his Aura? He had even made a point about how Aura activated when he first arrived. Ruby glanced around the arena and her eyes caught the Aura level board. Her eyes widened as she turned to get a better look. Pyrrha's Aura had been in the green but was now rapidly dropping towards the red as Mr Zwolf landed hit after hit. But this wasn't why Ruby was shocked. What scared her was that the opposite bar was empty. Perhaps the system hadn't registered the new opponent, but Ruby quickly connected the dots. She dashed up to the railings of the arena, to see Mr Zwolfs cloak reveal an outstretched arm, and Pyrrha exploiting the opening.
"Pyrrha stop! He has no aura!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Too late.
'What?!' Pyrrha thought. She tried to divert her attack past her target but due to how much momentum she had gathered and the panic, she only succeeded in striking higher along Mr Zwolfs arm. Time seemed to slow for Pyrrha, and she got to watch as the blade stabbed straight through his arm, met the resistance of bone and flesh and severed straight through it. A roar of pain came from the hood, as blood sprayed out from the wound, and a line of the red liquid struck Pyrrha across the face. She screamed and leapt backwards from her wounded foe. Horror plastered her face. In all of her tournaments, all of the opponents had aura and would lose the instant their aura dropped to a certain level. She had never physically hurt someone, like this, perhaps maimed them for the rest of their life.
'Oh god! Theres so much blood! What should I do? What should I do!?' Pyrrha brought her free hand to her face, only to have it be covered in more blood. She began to weep. 'I did this!' Pyrrha looked up, but she feared what she might see. She was, perhaps, pleasantly surprised.
Ruby and the rest of the audience had seen what had happened and a collective gasp went out the moment one of Mr Zwolf's arms was sliced off. Silence reined as the arm hit the floor with a thud and blood sprayed across the arena floor. Pyrrha had jumped back and seemed to be having a panic attack, her face, spear and hands covered in blood. They watched on to afraid, petrified to do anything. But Mr Zwolf, although having roared in pain, had simply picked up the arm from the floor and covered both his arm stump and severed hand in his cloak. The blood that had once been pouring from his arm suddenly stopped the moment it became hidden. Pyrrha seemed to be recovering from her panic attack, but this was only replaced with shock as the cloak sprinted towards her, his remaining hand raised in a fist. She panicked and could only raise her arm to block. The metal knuckles struck against the aura protecting her arm, but she could feel her bones shaking and bending at the strength behind the attack.
"We're not finished yet!" Mr Zwolf roared as he drew is arm back for another punch.
Pyrrha retreated from his onslaught in a panic. "But your arm! Your aura-" She stammered as she had to dodge another strike aimed at her head. "I hurt you!"
"I can still fight." He said and he came forth again. "And what makes you thing I'm hurt?"
Pyrrha ducked under his arm. "But your hand! Its-" She was interrupted by a strong uppercut that she hadn't seen coming, connected with her jaw. It sent her flying back and she impacted against the arena wall to fall slumped against it. Looking up she saw Mr Zwolf running towards her again. With two undamaged arms wearing the same black punching gauntlets. Pyrrha was at the same time relieved she hadn't hurt him, but at the same time bewildered at how he still had his arm. The cloak got within a metre of Pyrrha, ready to end the fight for good before he suddenly stopped mid dash and was sent flying into the air by an invisible force.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in my class, fighting my students?" A womanly voice called out from the doorway.
Looking in from above via the cameras, Ozpin quickly grabbed his cane and dashed for the arena classroom. This wasn't good.
Glynda Goodwitch had returned.
Something was gripping his leg and hauling him into the air. Armis had been planning on beating this so-called 'champion' upstart and then calling to see if anyone else had the metal to test him. Yet he had found the right opponent immediately. Pyrrha Nikos was a commendable fighter. With both speed and the strength gained from Aura, she would likely been able to defeat him if he had continued to fight at one twelfth of his potential. And if she wasn't so afraid of blood. A lifetime of fighting Aura opponents and Grimm, all of which disintegrated upon death, Armis doubted that she had ever actually wounded another person. But now he was in even more trouble. He twisted around and glared at whoever had just entered and attacked him. Goodwitch.
'Damn it Ozpin, haven't you told her of our arrangement?' He thought, cursing his luck as he struggled to free himself. 'How am I going to get out of- oh no."
"Reveal yourself thief!" Glynda cried, as she waved her whip and another invisible force gripped Armis' cloak.
"No! Don't you dare!" Armis roared at Glynda, gripping his cloak with everything he could. "Don't you- Please no!" Desperation was filling his voice.
And the fabric slipped out from his fingers and was thrown aside by telekinetic force.
"DAMN YOU!" As his appearance and true form was revealed to all those present.
Glynda was caught completely unaware by what she saw. A mass of limbs, weapons and pale skin.
He appeared like a young man, face unblemished and eyes an average brown. His head was shaven bald, but had some traces of hair, re-growing across his head. The man's legs and body were covered in a layer of skin-tight black suit that revealed each and every muscle and curve in his body. It ended up to the joints to his arms, leaving his arms bare. And he had many, many arms. Five, no six pairs of arms, each were pale, and thin, yet his hands themselves were perfectly proportioned. The one exception was the set of arms, that were attached to his body where most humans had them, likely his original arms. They were the same as the rest, except they were a healthier shade of skin.
'Twelve arms.' These were the thoughts that were running through everyone's heads. Ten hands were covered in the black punching gauntlets that he had used in his fight with Pyrrha, while the other two were encased completely in metal and ended at sharp claws. The one arm that had been severed seemed to have disappeared. His entire body seemed to be bound by belts, pouches and holsters, containing various weapons. Different sets of guns, all of which were more blocky clubs than firearms, were strapped to his chest. A number of serrated knives were attached to his arms as well as another dark blade similar to the ones he used previously. More weaponry, could only be assumed to be hidden in his cloak.
Armis was frantically trying to grasp his cloak, which he could no longer see, arms flailing out and hands grasping at the air. And then he saw their faces. And his arms snapped into motionlessness. The little girl, who he had first scared entering the room, had her hands to her mouth, eyes blinking in surprise. Glynda had her mouth open, her arms in the air still holding him in place above the ground, equally surprised. The remaining students had similar expressions of shock. And terror. And disgust. He hated it. Hated the judgements laid upon him. The fear of the unknown always turned to hatred. And he was no different. His fear was of being exposed. His fear was being judged. Armis feared those who had seen him, those who revealed him. And Armis knew how to hate.
He screamed his hatred into the arena, holsters unbuckling, straps loosening, pouch's opening, as each of his twelve limbs moved in lightning unison. Still held upside down by his legs, his arms spread out, each clutching a weapon of some manner. In a web metal and ammunition, any hand that didn't hold a weapon held, a knife or a blade with which he would throw. Another snap of motion as each hand picked a target. Everyone in the room. The initial shock began to wear off on those in the arena, and realisation of what was happening dawned, but there was no chance to dodge. Armis could feel the weight of a dozen triggers and blades as he readied his assault.
The door to the arena burst open. "Glynda drop him!" Came the sudden shout from Ozpin.
Being too bewildered to question him, Glynda did as he asked and released Armis. The many-armed man fell a few metres to the ground, trying to twist round and land on his feet while still picking targets. He landed awkwardly but quickly recovered and brought his arms up again.
"Armis! Peace!"
Armis could feel the psychic power behind his words, and tried to fight against it, but to no avail again. His many hands dropped to his side, head down, defeated and broken. He knew what came next. The questions. The poking and prodding.
Glynda walked straight up to Ozpin. "What is the meaning of this! How do you know him, and what is he doing here!"
"I will explain in full detail later Glynda, but first-" Ozpin started before being interrupted.
"No! You can explain to me now. What is he! It!" Glynda shouted brandishing her whip at Armis.
Armis growled and struggled against his invisible bonds, but couldn't shout an insult or get up. The Headmaster was preventing him from doing so. Ozpin shot Glynda a warning glance, and seeing a great deal of anger within Ozpin's eyes, Glynda realised she had said something wrong, and she backed down. Ozpin walked up to Armis's side and addressed the class.
"This is Armis Zwolf. He is Beacon academies newest student." He proclaimed. A few looks of confusion went round the room, but Ozpin quelled any questions. "He is the victim of a forced semblance transplant."
Looks of surprise when round the room, none more so than Armis himself. Was Ozpin defending him? Lying on his behalf? He had taken no semblance transplant, or psychic manipulation. Only cold, hard, imperial science.
"Armis and his five other identical brothers were captured by a rogue group of Atlas extremists. And experimented on."
'No don't tell them that! No matter how you spin it, you have no right to tell of my suffering!' Armis thought, his mind roiling in frustration and rage, as his body tired to move and speak.
'Peace Armis. Trust me.' Came a whisper in his head. Armis looked up at Ozpin. A look of sincere honesty and care was evident on his face. Armis shook his head.
'Please…' He tried to convey to Ozpin. 'Please just don't…'
"His brothers were killed and butchered, and he was strapped down and forced into a coma, while they cut into his body and augmented him beyond what should be humanly possible. When he woke up, he had been changed to what you see before you. His brothers are with him still."
Ozpin's words slowly sunk in with Glynda and the teams RWBY and JNPR. Even Jaune had woken up and heard Armis's tale. Armis looked up at the students. He still saw the suspicion and small hints of fear. But the faces of those around him held other emotions. Sympathy, sadness, and pity. A lot of pity. Armis couldn't understand it. The suspicion and fear was justified, but where was the typical disgust? The hatred and the discrimination against the mutant and the abhuman? While he did not like pity… He much preferred it to anything else he had expected. He was confused.
"And just today, he came to me for help after escaping. He does not trust anyone easily and so he set up this test to find out what sort of students this school holds. All the other academies he refused to join. They do not accept the Faunus as equals, so how can they accept him?"
Armis could feel his speech returning and his arms began to move again. He stood up straight. Now that he could, he didn't know what to say. Or what to do. He looked to see the students fill with pride as Ozpin's impromptu speech came to a close.
"So are we all not equal in Beacon? What sort of people, what sort of Huntsmen and women are we?"
Armis barely had time to react as a red spinning cyclone of roses hit him in the chest. And then it began mumbling and sobbing uncontrollably. Armis was sent back a few steps, and didn't know what to do. The little girl in the red cloak was hugging him and saying things. His arms were out wide, still clutching loosely at his many weapons.
The black haired girl was holding him tightly and Armis could feel wetness against his skin as tears were pouring from Ruby's eyes. She was speaking at a incredible and almost nonsensical pace.
"What? Why?" Armis stuttered, his body frozen in place, but looking round the room for an explanation, help, anything!
"OHMYGODYOULOSTYOURBROTHERSTHATSLIKEMELOSINGFIVEYANGSANDIWOULDBECRYINGANDIWOULDWANTHUGS!SOIGIVEYOUHUGS!" The girl looked up and at Armis's outstretched arms and her face lit up suddenly. "OOOOOOO!LETSTALKABOUTSOMETHINGOODINSTEAD!GUNSAREGOOD!YOURSARECOOLANDNEWANDWHATROUNDSDOTHEYUSE?AMMOCAPACITY?FIRERATE!?INEEDTOKNOOOWWW!"
"Why are you like this with me! Aren't you scared? Terrified like before?" Armis questioned, kind of ignoring the fact that a fifteen-year-old girl was strapped to his chest and trying desperately to take one of his weapons from his closest hand. "And please speak sense!"
Ruby stopped for a moment and then realised what she had been doing. She jumped down off of Armis and blushed slightly. Armis was almost a head and shoulders taller than her and she had to tilt her head up to look at him.
"I don't think your scary now. You were more scary when you surprised me in that cloak!" Ruby narrowed her eyes at Armis. "I shall not forgive this grievance most foul."
Small giggles and smiles were poorly hidden among the students as they got a look of Armis' truly confused face. He wasn't sure if she was being serious or not. Or how he should react in this situation.
"That's Ruby!" Yang chimed in, her signature smirk on her face.
Several other smiles joined it, even from a battered Pyrrha. He could not understand this girl. A few students like the ginger-haired girl were openly laughing. This small dark girl was so naïve and innocent, yet so completely unafraid of him. With a blur of words, she had turned the room, with Ozpin's help admittedly, from suspicions glances and hushed whispers to friendly smiles and open laughter. No commissar could boast of such an act. Ozpin approached him, while the rest of the two teams moved down from the stands, and put a hand over his shoulder, which Armis flinched at.
"Easy 'Mr Zwolf'. What do you think of our students?" He smiled at Armis. He wasn't truly asking that question. The real question was if he would join this Academy.
"Aye." Armis nodded. "I'll join your academy, on one condition."
"Go on."
"I will have my own room."
"I'll see what can be done."
"Armis?"
"Yes Ruby?" He replied turning back to the rest of the students.
The others became curious as to what Ruby wanted.
"What happened to your arm!?" She shouted pointing at his arms. Pyrrha began to look guilty. "It got cut off and THERE WAS BLOODAND-"
Armis held up a hand, both to silence Ruby before she had another adorable rant, and to show his previously severed arm to the teams. They all gathered closer and leaned in to get a closer look. His arm seemed perfectly healthy, for one of Armis' arms at least, but they could see a line of red flaring skin, and many thick black lines weaving over the line. A second of silence before realization followed.
"I have a medical kit in my cloak and I stitched myself up during the fight. With… the rest of my arms. I heal fast."
…
"EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!" When the cry from a thoroughly grossed out Nora.
And so Armis Zwolf's identity is revealed to teams RWBY and JNPR. But how will he cope with life in Beacon Academy and who was it who originally hired him? What other schemes are taking place behind the scenes? Find out in the next chapter of Broken Branches.
Question time. What is the significance of the name Armis Zwolf?
Reviews and criticism is welcome.
Signed by Imperial Decree
BluePanedGasMask
