"Can I see it please?" begged Ruby Rose, eyes full of wonder at Gerhardt's blade. Her hands were twitching like they had a life of their own, and he could almost swear she was drooling slightly looking at the sword.
Gerhardt looked down at the pint-sized horror. Ruby had been alright at first, a little excitable certainly, but as soon as he began to talk to her he realised the horrible truth; the girl lacked an off switch. She just talked and talked and talked. And that was before she had begun to show an interest in his weapon.
He groaned slightly "Why are you so fixated on my sword?"
Yang chipped in, she was still cautious of the newcomer but even she realised what a handful Ruby could be at times "My sister is a weapon buff, she has an eye for all kinds of gear. Your stuff has caught her attention."
Gerhardt nodded his thanks; he was uncomfortable with the idea of giving the girl his blade; the weapon was a gift from the Pontiff. This was not something to be frivolously handed around without care. He was not sure that the girl could look after it.
"I promise I'll take good care of it!" declared Ruby, seemingly reading his thoughts, all the while edging closer to the Outrider who was visibly uncomfortable with her proximity. That was quite enough for him.
"Fine," muttered Gerhardt before unsheathing his sword "I must warn you however it weighs a great deal."
Not that it would matter to her considering the size of the scythe she carted around.
The longsword was tossed towards Ruby who caught it, and with a huff struggled to bring it up. She smiled slightly "You weren't kidding, huh?"
Ruby ran her hand along the edge; it was rather featureless if she was going to be quite honest, not that it was not crafted well it just looked extremely plain to her. The actual blade lacked any form of ornate decoration, but the grip seemed to be covered in runic etchings. The writing was not attractive however lacking in any form of splendour; the markings seemed messy as if they had been scraped in after the weapon was forged. She could read the impromptu engraving, but they seemed entirely foreign to her as if they were in a different language. To be honest they probably were.
She searched the butt of the weapon as well as the entirety of the grip looking for the button she was certain it had. After confirming it had none she gave it an experimental squeeze to see if that activated its transformation. Nothing happened.
Ruby looked up at the weapon's owner "How do you change it?"
Gerhardt raised his glowing hand towards the blade before running it across the weapon shifting it from a sword to a halberd. Ruby stumbled as she grew accustomed to the new shape; her grin grew larger as she saw the magic trick.
She practically squealed "This is so cool; it can become a sword and a halberd!"
She carefully twirled the polearm and looked over it; the markings had stretched to cover the blade without deforming or losing their shape. That was strange.
"Not just that," said Gerhardt, his hand reaching out again with that ethereal blue glow running it across the halberd causing it to shorten ever to slightly before thickening into a larger sword.
Ruby blinked in surprise "A great-sword too!"
Gerhardt held off on informing her it could become a curved sword, rapier and axe as well deciding that this could blow the little girl's mind. It could also turn into a mace, but he never used that form. He lacked the skill with blunt weaponry that his predecessor Vordt had.
Ruby gave the weapon an experimental swing, finally becoming accustomed to the weight of the steel she was using. She was living proof that looks could be deceiving when it came to strength, Yang was as well, but Ruby was still shocked that this was the thing that Gerhardt had been using during their fight. The speed inherent in how he used it was impressive considering it felt like it weighed a ton.
The clawed gauntlets beckoned for the weapon back, and Ruby sighed before handing it to the man who looked more comfortable now that his sword was in his hands once more. He transformed the weapon to its sword state, and sheathed it again. He continued walking towards the general direction that the blond boy was heading. He was little better than a puppy following its mother, but he wanted out of the forest more than anything at the moment.
Ruby continued to try and make conversation "So, you're a hunter too yeah?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
"Lost and tired."
Ruby smiled "Oh don't worry about that when we get back to Beacon we can get you a map and a bed. Trust me we all know us teenagers need rest. Am I right?"
By all that he held holy, could she not take a hint? He appreciated the pleasantness of the girl, but he really was not made to socialise at all. The Dancer had been good with words; he was good with fighting. That was just how things were.
That thought drew his mind to the sole fleeting female of the Outrider Knights; he could remember her being the most charismatic of the Outriders he had been around before they left. The Dancer was motherly almost; she likely felt a connection to the youngest Outrider. That being said all of them had been kind to him, save Vordt considering that he had never actually met the man.
Vordt had left long before the rest of them, the Dancer and the three others did not follow for a full three years after the Captain of the Knights had departed. Gerhardt had not been made before Vordt had left, but the Pontiff had graciously created him just in time to be trained by his siblings to a degree of competency before they left to follow their leader. Afterwards his Holiness had seen to his training personally for the next few years up until the bells had rang in the Cemetery of Ash, a great honour of which no one else could boast.
Shaking his head from the distraction, Gerhardt chose the wisest option. He kept his mouth shut instead hoping that no words would dissuade her from talking further. He looked firmly to his right, avoiding the crimson girl's gaze only to stare into the turquoise eyes of the owner of the flamboyant warhammer.
"So Ren and I want to know how you feel about pancakes."
Aldrich save him.
Gerhardt had no words to describe the horror he had been through trying to get to this Beacon academy; the two groups had met with a blond haired woman who introduced herself as a witch. She then sternly spoke with the two teams before informing them they would be in detention for wandering so far into the forest without telling anyone else. This had gotten the leaders some pointed glares from their teammates.
Once she had finished with them she had turned on him assaulting him with a barrage of questions faster than he could even answer her. He tried to give her satisfactory replies, but in the end she just sent him away again.
After that they went into a metal bird, a "bullhead" they called it, before the thing lifted into the air at unnatural speeds to bring him to a school on top of a mountain. All the while his complaints and grievances were dismissed with a "wait until we see Ozpin".
He did not even know what an Ozpin was!
Finally after all of this he was basically dragged by the witch towards the office of the Headmaster, who he now realised was Ozpin and stood in front of him. That had all been five minutes ago.
For five minutes he had been staring at a white-haired man who nonchalantly sipped on whatever he was drinking while idly pressing buttons on a device Gerhardt did not even recognize. This Ozpin was lucky that the Pontiff had taught Gerhardt need for manners and patience or he would have already torn this man and his office apart.
The Headmaster finally looked up at him with a smile on his face, that kind of smile that was far too gentle to be genuine "Take a seat would you, I think you and I have much to discuss."
Gerhardt's clawed gauntlets gripped the seat, and pulled it out before he sat on it warily watching the man for any sign of aggression. He had no idea of what this 'Ozpin' wanted from him; the Outrider had to be wary but at the same time pleasant to talk to. That was a hard combination for one as awkward in speech as he.
Ozpin moved forward a cup "Tea or coffee? You must be thirsty from spending a week alone inside Forever Fall."
He was of course genuinely offering him something to drink; his guest was likely parched beyond belief unless he had been drinking regularly from streams. However, it was also important that they could see eye-to-eye, and that was never going to happen with cast steel firmly enclosing the other man's head.
Ozpin knew he was not likely to get answers out of his guest as to why he truly was in Forever Fall; Glynda had notified him by scroll of what she had gotten out of the armoured knight before he had even arrived. It was not much.
There was merit in keeping his guest on school grounds, and in his sight. Then perhaps once he had gotten the newcomer to settle Ozpin could get answers. That being said he could not just keep a person here for no reason, he could only hope he was the right age for Beacon otherwise he would have to hand him over to Ironwood. James had less pleasant ways of getting answers.
"I thank you, but I'll be quite fine," murmured Gerhardt, seeing what the man really wanted. He was not removing his helm if he had anything to say about it. He had not yet inspected himself since his last fight; it was completely possible that mutations had developed on him especially considering that he had used the Right Eye in the battle with those beasts. The moment the man saw anything inhuman on him, he would be killed at best or at worst kept to be experimented on.
Ozpin frowned but nodded "Ah, well you have me quite interested Mr…?"
"Gerhardt."
"Ah well Gerhardt, I must admit that I was quite taken back by your presence in Forever Fall, and the death count you tallied while you were in it. You oversaw a decline in the Grimm population of Forever Fall by thirty percent, in a single week," said Ozpin, inspecting the data on his computer to confirm what he was saying. He turned back to the armoured warrior "Even for a veteran huntsman that would be an impressive feat."
Gerhardt had no clue as to how to respond so he just nodded dumbly, thankful that his helmet closed him off from any real scrutiny from the man. The miracles that this piece of protection afforded him seemed endless.
"Tell me Gerhardt, how old are you?" asked Ozpin, clasping his hands under his chin. The answer determined where this conversation was going.
That was a difficult question to answer; the Pontiff had created him so he did not exactly mature as would be expected of a regular human. Irithyllians matured differently to normal humans in general, due to the relation they shared with the old gods according to the Pontiff. An Irithyllian could live for hundreds of years naturally. Gerhardt was no Irithyllian however; he was a human who had been created and augmented into an Outrider by the Pontiff; it was his Holiness' belief that a regular human would react differently to the curse of the Eyes, and could perhaps overcome it. He had been born as he currently was so to speak, and time was convoluted in Lothric so discerning his actual age was difficult to say the least. He was physically young however that could not be denied.
"Sixteen years old," answered Gerhardt, having thought for a moment. Ruby had said indirectly that she was a teenager, and judging by what he had seen of the two teams he had fought had they seemed around the sixteen to eighteen years old bracket. His physical maturity was not that much different to theirs, though his biology certainly was.
A smile graced the Headmaster's lips, and he gazed intently into the eyes of the Outrider "I would like to make you an offer then Gerhardt, one I think you may find merit in. I think you and I would both benefit from you attending Beacon Academy."
Gerhardt narrowed his eyes, the man was bold and audacious he would give him that. What was the Headmaster's game? What did he seek? The Knight was not blind to how he could gain from such an arrangement, but what about this Ozpin? What did he achieve by making this offer?
The proposal was very tempting however. As it stood currently, he was unable to do much of anything in regards to returning to Lothric. He had tried traversing the Deep while he had been stuck in the forest; he could still travel distances but he could not return to his home, and he found the amount of ground he could travel was far smaller than what he had previously enjoyed. It was as if the Deep had a neutered connection to this world. That scared him.
Gerhardt had to find answers on how to return, but could trust no one. This was a regrettable turn of events but hardly unexpected. He had understood that he would be in the wolves' den when he came to this school. Perhaps some tomes they kept here would shed light on his predicament. He was going to have to take this offer.
Ozpin smiled before gesturing to the conflicted Outrider "Of course if we were to shake on this, I would need to see your face. I want to believe you, but a good look at you should prove you are sixteen as you say."
The Knight froze, but regrettably he knew there was fairly little way around this. In a way he was unfortunate that he lacked the helm of his predecessors, favouring a more skull-like design. His proportions did not fit the typical helm of an Outrider Knight; he did not have the long features of trueborn Irithyllians. While his helmet was easier to take off than most, it still could not be opened up halfway like his brethren's armour could. In other words, he could not feel his face for mutations or deformities before showing himself to this Headmaster.
Gerhardt clasped the back of his helmet with one hand, a skill one learned quickly considering squires were not a thing for Outrider Knights, laying another against his side where he kept one of the three daggers he had on his person at all times. If all went well it would see no use, but if the man reacted in any way then he would slit his jugular quickly before making his escape. It seemed a solid plan or rather the most solid plan he had at the moment. It was as they said, what was bravery without a dash of recklessness?
Ozpin watched as the metal mask the man had been wearing finally came undone settling on the knee of his guest. The Headmaster was shocked at what he saw. A boy sat before him; a pale, almost deathly face with a piercing gaze. If he was to guess, this was the first time the youth had taken that helmet off in a long time. His eyes were blue, but nowhere near as luminous as they had been behind the helmet. His hair was auburn albeit extremely sickly looking killing most of the colour in it. The Knight beneath the armour looked frail.
The Headmaster sighed, he had so many questions but he knew he would not get answers. He extended his hand "You may want to get washed up before doing anything else, and get something to eat. Welcome to Beacon, Gerhardt."
The Knight grasped it tentatively before shaking it "Thank you for your hospitality."
Ozpin let go and leaned back "I will see about getting you into a team, as Hunters, when training at least, generally operate in four-man cells as you might have already noticed. There are no actual openings in any team as of right now, but I have an idea or two for how we can squeeze you in to the academic year. On that topic how is your literacy?"
"I do not think I can write well at all," ventured Gerhardt, he had seen the Ruby could not decipher the writing on his weapon, which likely meant that while he could speak the tongue he could not write it. A curious thing, but one he would have to work with.
Ozpin nodded; he had made an educated guess. Call it luck, but he just knew from the state of the boy that his literacy would be an issue. The fact he could speak well enough was interesting, he had his theories as to where the youth had come from, but he would need to speak with Qrow and the others first before he came up with anything concrete.
"Do not worry that much, I'll refer you to Professor Port for after-school lessons on writing. The man has a way with words, but he knows how to write a story as well. He can teach you," assured Ozpin, while sipping from his cup.
"Thank you."
Ozpin nodded "As for accommodation, you will stay with teams RWBY and JNRP intermittently to familiarise yourself with how Beacon works. Ms Goodwitch will also be keeping tabs on you to make sure you are settling in. Once I work something out for you in regards to a team, you will move in with them. But until then you will stick with RWBY one week and JNPR the next. Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc are the team leaders, I expect you to follow them as if they were your leader for the period you are under their care."
Gerhardt was calm on the outside, but on the inside he was dreading the idea of being commanded by that excitable girl with a penchant for weapons. The Arc boy seemed alright though; perhaps Gerhardt would do well to remain on his good side.
"Oh and do remember being at Beacon is not just about learning, it is also about having fun."
Somehow the Outrider knew that this would be a horrible experience for him in general.
Ruby Rose had always been an excitable person, both her dad and her sister told her as much, but she honestly was horrible at making friends. Team RWBY was the best thing that had ever happened to her; she kept her great big sister as well as getting the opportunity to meet two of her new best friends. With the advent of her first real friend at Beacon Jaune Arc, she had gotten the opportunity to make even more friends in the form of Team JNPR. She was on a roll in the friend-making business and the girl had found her next target.
"This is going to be great!" said Ruby an infectious grin plastered across her face "We are going to do so many things together, like playing video games and discussing weapons and shopping and discussing weapons as well as eating cookies and discussing weapons!"
Gerhardt had firmly screwed his helmet back on as soon as he had left Ozpin's office, and he was beyond grateful for choosing to do as such. He took these new developments in stride.
"I look forward to getting to know all of you."
The white-haired one huffed and went back to doing homework.
The black-haired girl with the strange scent did not even look up from her book and kept reading.
And the blond older sister growled at him.
Ruby put her hand behind her head and laughed nervously "They'll warm up to you, I promise."
Gerhardt did not believe her.
Adam Taurus was a complicated man, considered to be full of ambition and self-righteousness as well as determination. He had never subscribed to such ideas; he had a simple outlook on things; did the White Fang gain from this or did they not? Once he had started looking at life this way, he found that things had become easier to keep a hold of. If there was one thing you needed to do in life, it was keep a hold of it.
He was in Mountain Glenn at the moment, clearing up a few things for his 'associate' Cinder Fall before he left it to that red-haired ponce that Cinder had running the ground operations. The fact that he had to leave his men in the hands of Roman Torchwick was enough to make Adam's blood boil. The crook did not even treat them well; he would have gutted him already if Cinder had not stressed the importance of his role. Adam had graciously accepted her reasoning under the condition that if he ever laid eyes on the man he would kill Torchwick regardless. So far the unofficial restraining order had worked, and he had not been forced to deal with the thief.
"Adam?"
The White Fang leader turned to face his comrade "Perry, I was lost in thought."
The dog faunus nodded "So I see, but I want to show you what we found in our excavations. I haven't told Roman yet, I felt it was more important you see it."
The pair walked into the excavated cavern, boots crunching over loose dirt and rocks. The cavern had started out plain, and natural, but the further in they went the more artificial it looked. It seemed as if they had stumbled on fortifications that had become submerged in a sea of soil and rock.
Perry gave voice to Adam's thoughts "We haven't exactly figured out when the ruins date to, we do not exactly have many historians among us much less one here, but they are extremely old. I'd guess this place hadn't been touched in thousands of years."
"And you just happened to stumble upon it?"
The dog faunus nodded slightly "When we were digging the tunnel for the attack due in Vale, we needed more materials for sandbags among other things. We started taking chunks out of the ground and walls, away from the actual main tunnel in case we caused problems with the structural integrity, but soon enough the excavator hit something much stronger than dirt. We were originally going to leave it, but I was curious so I ordered a few of the men to open it up in private that way Roman would not throw a fit if it turned out to be a waste of time."
Adam frowned "Was it?"
"I honestly do not know what it was; you have to see it for yourself. We are getting close."
Perry pointed to what looked like a ruined doorway, with a barred door that had rusted to nearly unrecognisable levels. Behind it was what looked like a makeshift elevator of some description, lacking in any form of finesse but enough to get the job done.
Adam was about to voice his concerns but his lieutenant cut him off.
"The elevator is still working, and do not ask me how I haven't a clue."
The two stood on the metal panel of the wooden elevator that by all rights should have rotted away long ago if it truly was thousands of years old. The two began their slow descent into the depths.
Perry spoke up "We are not the first to go down here, I sent a squad down three days ago to check out the area. We lost contact by radio however, interference is crazy down here."
Adam's frown grew deeper as his hand reached towards Wilt his fingers ready to draw the chokutō at a moment's notice. Perry rested his hand on a pistol still in its holster too.
The elevator finally stopped and Adam blinked in shock at what he saw, suits of plate armour with tattered blue and red cloaks laid strewn around what could only be described as a massive cell. The cacophony of carnage had clearly happened long ago and yet at the same time the damage looked fresh on the bodies of the dozens of knights that littered the area giving even Adam an eerie feeling. Some had perished crawling on the ground, while others had fallen against walls before dying. Broken swords were scattered across the ground some embedded in their owners, or sitting broken and discarded on the ground. A tattered banner laid to the side the colour long having faded from it, while the heraldry on it was indiscernible.
As Adam scanned the room his eyes picked up among the silver steel of the archaic armours a familiar white hue on several bodies; White Fang members were lying face down on the ground.
Adam bolted over to them, before wordlessly checking the vitals of one shaking his head in remorse when he confirmed what he already knew. They were all dead.
Adam snarled and turned to Perry "Why was no one sent to check on them, and why have they not been buried yet?"
Perry flinched slightly before speaking "Adam we sent these guys down three days ago, and we sent down another team two hours later when they didn't report back. They were found like this."
"And why have they not been buried?"
"Check that one's face," muttered Perry turning away from his leader.
Adam did as he was asked, and turned the body over before he grimaced at what he saw.
Beneath the cracked mask the corpse was desiccated; he could see the bones under the veneer of skin that loosely clung to what remained of the poor wretch's body. If Adam were a man of weaker constitution he would have thrown up, as it was he still felt sick to his stomach. The hair had fallen out from the rabbit faunus' ears, and his eyes were chillingly absent. As Adam studied the body further he noticed a curious knife mark present on the neck of the corpse, quite different from the sword marks across the other dead White Fang members.
Perry spoke up "He was still alive when we found him like that, we put him out of his misery."
No more had to be said on that matter.
"Who did this to them?" asked Adam, laying the corpse gently back across the ground again. He turned to face Perry.
"We don't know."
Adam's nostrils flared, and even from under his mask the glare he was giving could be felt "What do you mean you don't know?"
Perry held his hands up in defence "As I said, we sent down a second team two hours after this one. They were found like this. What was worrying was that this elevator only goes one-way; there is no other way out of this room. Yet when I sent down more men, they found the elevator back at the top again."
The red-haired faunus understood what he meant "Meaning that whatever was down with them took the elevator to the top."
"And left before we even knew it was there yeah," said Perry, crossing his arms and sighing "We found tracks on the way out, but they ran cold after it left the cavern and got into rest of the tunnels leading to Mountain Glenn. We've haven't heard or seen anything since."
Adam took one last look at the dried out corpse with its face etched in an eternal scream before looking up at the ceiling.
What the hell had been let out of this cell?
Hey guys another chapter as promised, I haven't much to say other than see you next week and Happy Easter I suppose. Be seeing you all soon.
