Disclaimer: Like before, I don't own RWBY and any of their things. That strictly belongs to Rooster Teeth. That being said, I do claim originals.
Note: There may be some grammar errors. I apologize and I'll do my best to make sure there aren't any.
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Chapter One: Thirteen
Part Three: Faustus' Box
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The group decided that they should go immediately. They exchanged stories of their past with each other as they got to know "Crasher."
"So, why DO they call you 'Crasher' Welkin?" Jaune asked, thankfully being the first to question what the deal with the nickname was.
"Hooo boy. I'd rather not say now. T'ain't my finest moment." Welkin rubbed the back of his head as he leaned against the glass window on the transport airship. He patted the bike next to him with a hand and avoided eye contact.
"Awww, I could always tell them my side Welks. It's still great." Welkin paled at Yang's threat, eyes widened in horror. "It all started when we first met actually..." Yang had began when Welkin piped up.
"Alright alright. Lemme tell my side before you soil my name. So it was our first year at Signal. I was running late so I was running as fast as I could to get to class. Little did I know our lovely lady Yang was also late. And we were heading straight to an intersection in the halls. So soon enough we slammed into each other improbably hard. I swear we probably caused a fire with our aura." Welkin began his story. "What happened was I may have slammed into her in a place you obviously shouldn't be slamming into and got tangled a bit. Needless to say, Yang punched me across the hall and I crashed into all manners of stuff. You see, the hall I was running to also had a bunch of junk being moved out. Papers, files, cabinets, whatever. I end up being punched into the pile and crashed into my classroom."
Yang laughed at the memory while the others raised the eyebrows in disbelief. "Tangled? Is that what you want to call it. You tried to buffer the ram with your arms. I don't think groping counts as being tangled." The others glared at the courier.
"It was on accident! I thought I landed on a pillow! Besides you sent me flying!" Welkin fixed his jacket (which was now flipped to show the camouflage side) and straightened out his scarf.
"Don't lie now. You knew what you were doing. Besides, that punch didn't hurt too much. The brawl we had later was probably worse."
"Okay, now that I won't lie about. That was the most fun brawling ever at Signal. No rules, no holds bar, just punching and brute force. I think we both got sent to the infirmary after that..."
"Yeah it's where we got to know each other. By slinging insults. I think we got better just because we wanted to kill each other." Yang laughed and took a seat on the bike.
"So yeah, that's how I got the nickname Crasher. I slammed into everything and broke quite a lot of things. After we recovered from the infirmary from the second brawl, we both got landed with detention for months. Well, I got months. Thankfully I didn't get expelled for that."
Ruby stared at the two as the others smiled or joined in the laughter. Something was off, why didn't Yang ever mention Welkin before? Well, then again, she didn't really know any of Yang's crowd. Was there anything between the two? Probably not, they said it's been a while after all...or was it just a lie to hide something? No! No, Yang would definitely not be able to shut up about something like this.
"Are you okay there Ruby?" Blake put a hand on her leader's shoulder.
"Yeah. I'm just curious as to why I've never met him before..."
Blake shrugged and flipped a page in her small novella, "Some interesting people pass by us every day. It is just a matter of asking and talking." Ruby contemplated her words carefully as the airship docked at Beacon. The teams walked out first, followed by Welkin who was wheeling the bike with Yang still on it. They were about to discuss where to find Professor Ozpin when the group ran into said Professor and Professor Goodwitch.
"Teams JNPR and RWBY. Good evening. Courier thirteen, it is pleasant to see you are alive."
Welkin snapped his heels together and saluted. "Courier thirteen from Star of Polaris Courier Service sir! Packages are with me now sir."
"Very good. Mister Arc? Miss Rose? I believe you have something for me." Professor Ozpin looked at the two leaders as Welkin pulled out the two packages. "Here's a hint, it's the brown one." Ruby immediately snacked the smaller brown package from Welkin's hand.
"Mission complete, professor!" Ruby offered the package to Professor Ozpin, who opened it immediately.
"Ah yes, two packs of the best blends of coffee here in Vale. I had always wanted some more after sampling some elsewhere. And this other pack is for our good Professor Bartholomew Oobleck. His birthday is approaching quickly after all." Professor Ozpin packed away the two safely into his coat. "Miss Goodwitch, if you would kindly deal with our students. I have something important to discuss with our friendly courier here."
Professor Goodwitch nodded and gestured for the two teams to follow her to a classroom, while Professor Ozpin led Welkin away.
"Seeya later Crasher! Maybe we can hang out some more before you get another mission!" Yang called out as they seperated.
"Yeah! Nice meeting you! Take care!" Ruby waved as well. Welkin waved to the both of them and called out 'seeya!'
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Professor Ozpin and Welkin walked, and walked, and walked some more before finally turning into his office. Professor Ozpin gestured for Welkin to take a seat and looked around outside before having a seat at the head of the desk. "Mister Fenrir, I believe you have something from Serjeva for me." Welkin nodded and produced the metal case, placing it on the desk and turning it towards Ozpin. "Excellent. Are you aware of the contents?"
"No sir. Couriers don't ask what's the package, they just deliver. That being said I know it's not from Serjeva. The stamp is too worn out to be from there and the case has been handled before. Courier to courier."
"And how do you infer such things?" Ozpin looked over the case carefully. It was roughly the size of a small brief case. just large enough to carry a compact handgun.
"Couriers leave their marks on the package. Whether by accident or purpose. In this case, the handle had blood on it. Before I left I found out the courier who had brought it to Serjeva was near dead."
Professor Ozpin pulled the holographic keypad from the front of the case. "You understand that simply handling this package puts your life in danger correct?" He entered in the pass code for the package.
"Sir, if I wasn't aware of this, I wouldn't be a courier...that being said. What -is- inside it? A package like that risked the lives of several couriers, myself included. It must be something important. Also, the fee?" Welkin placed the payment unit onto the desk. Professor Ozpin opened a drawer and drew out a Lien card. He pushed the card into the insert slot and signed the digital screen with a stylus. The unit beeped and flashed green, and Ozpin drew the card out.
"Mister Fenrir, are you aware of the ancient tale of the box that brought upon evil to the world? The gods that had given mankind dust to fight the darkness had blessed the world with a box to contain all of the grimm and evil defeated by man. Civilization flourished afterwards because of the power of the box." Welkin stared at the case, attempting to find a connection between the story and the case. Professor Ozpin grinned and continued, "It was only when a man had made a mistake. A scholar of dust supposedly, curious as to the power of the container. His curiosity grew and turned him obsessed. His curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he broke the seal. The demons we conquered were once again released, and it reduced civilization to what it is now."
"What's a wonderfully happy story sir. But I fail to see the connection." Welkin piped up, "Unless of course you're going to tell me that I was carrying the Box of Faustus all this time."
Ozpin nodded and opened the case finally, "Oh no, the Box of Faustus was destroyed long ago. It would be juvenile to believe another one exists. That being said, Mister Fenrir, what you were delivering is something dangerous." Ozpin pulled a squarish block with dials and switches. The device hummed from the dust crystal giving it energy. He pulled the black crystal out of the power slot and the device died down. "Dangerous to both couriers and Vale. This device is not from here. Some associates of mine had discovered its existence. When they had ascertained the purpose of it, they immediately raided the facility at Alano to confiscate it. From there it was given to a man posing as a courier to deliver here for safe keepi-"
"Professor, in all honesty, what IS the device? I mean no disrespect but you have yet to tell me what it is." Professor Ozpin smiled at Welkin's frustration.
"It's a device that can connect to dust stores around a certain place. When properly tuned and charged, it can cause dust and crystals to overload within a large area." Ozpin placed the device into the case and rolled the black crystal in his hand. "So ask yourself, what sane man would build such a device? And why? And why would some bad men want it."
Welkin's eyes widened in horror. It was not simply a communication device. It was a trigger. Dust piles all around Vale would- Welkin's train of thought was cut out when Professor Ozpin continued, "Indeed. I suppose while it does not release all the evil in the world, this Box of Faustus will most certainly release the evil into Vale. I will discard of this crystal. It was not merely a power source after all..."
"Professor, are you sure you can keep it safe? Something like that...would it not be better to destroy it?"
"Indeed I have thought the very same Mister Fenrir. But the lives of my associates would have gone to waste had they wanted me to keep it safe. I believe they had reason to keep it, for what only time shall tell. Thank you again Mister Fenrir, your services have been appreciated. Speak to Professor Goodwitch when you're about to leave, she may have a task for you." Professor Ozpin turned around to look out the large window of his office. Welkin stood and saluted, before exiting the room, lost in thought. "Dear me, if only his record was not tarnished. He would have made an excellent student."
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After a brief congratulation from Professor Goodwitch (brief being she said well done and then scolded them for causing so much damage to the highway,) the teams retired to the cafeteria for a brief meal before heading off to bed. The weekend was here, so they had time to rest and relax instead of speaking all weekend chasing a package.
Over a mouthful of rice and curry, Yang said to the others, "I cannae belief we finished so fast."
"Don't talk with your mouthful you beast." Weiss scolded Yang, who swallowed and laughed.
"Indeed. But Yang does have a point. I had thought the mission would be significantly harder. I believe it would be safe to thank luck, despite how fickle it may be, for our good fortune." Pyrrha sipped a bit of stew.
"Yeah! I mean, what were the odds that going to pick up a bike while in town would've led us right to the package in record time!" Ruby smiled gleefully.
"None of us were hurt as well," Jaune started, but caught the eye of Lie Ren who had a few bandages from the fight earlier on, "Well, uh, badly hurt. Actually, I'm curious, how DID that fight go Ren? Nora?"
Nora was too busy choking down a pile of flapjacks covered in sweet sap to answer, but Ren placed his chopsticks onto the bowl to being, "Well, after the two of you left, we climbed up onto the highway to see if we could stop them. We actually weren't sure how we were going to approach it until Nora opened fire on it..."
Nora put her fork down and immediately chimed in, "It was so badass! Like it was twenty to two and they had an airship. Stuff of legends I tell you! I mean, we started shooting at the airship while it chased down Welksy! It was like, boom boom! Bam! And then suddenly the thing stops to drop off some little dudes that were angry at us. Then Welksy pulls up all cool and the like and was like 'Sup. Friends? Cool.' and started shooting at the group! It was then that I ended up nailing the airship and made it run away 'cause the pilot became such a scaredy cat!" Nora jumped up and had appropriate gestures for each event.
"What she means is that the airship turned back away in order to shoot at us some more without her being able to hit it." Ren noted carefully as he took another bite of rice.
"Psssh, he didn't get far. I totally nailed the engine on that thing! It started like spinning then it went BOOOOOM! And like there were flames everywhere. And the leader came out and was total like 'I'm gonna kick yer ass.' But Ren and Welksy took care of him! Those gauntlets. You could hear a rib crack each time he punched someone."
"The shield was a problem. He hit us both with a good few times. Welkin healed up well enough I think. His aura seems to affect his regeneration."
"Yeah it's quite a 'shocker.' Right?" Yang grinned and as sawed into the piece of meat.
"Booooooo. That was so bad Yang." Ruby bit into a cookie, or rather, shoved a whole one into her mouth.
"I have to agree, that was horrible." Welkin walked by and placed a tray with his plate of curry and rice on the table next to Ren. "How are your wounds?" Welkin sat down next to him and pulled off the heavy gauntlets.
"Doing well enough. Just need a little rest." Ren smiled faintly at Welkin who pat him on the shoulder. "If you've got time, mind if we talk later?" The courier gave a thumbs up and buried his spoon into the dish, mixing it around.
"If I may ask, what did you and Professor Ozpin talk about?" Welkin looked up across at Pyrrha.
"Work related things, nothing you all need to worry about. Hey this curry isn't bad. Better than whatever that junk at Signal was. Damn, I wouldn't mind more of this."
"Yeah I know! Food is so much better here!" Nora chimed in gleefully.
"Did you ask about what was inside the box?" Blake put down her novella and looked at the man wolfing down food.
"I did. Didn't say. He told me some ol' story and sent me on my way. Gotta talk to Professor Goodwitch, so if ya'll see her lemme know."
Blake raised an eyebrow, "So you weren't curious about what that package was and why those men attacked you for it?"
"Ma'am, a courier never asks what the package is. We just carry it around." Welkin said quickly. Blake was about to call him out on the lie, but Nora beat her to the punch.
"Aww com'on Welksy, you don't need to lie to us! What was inside it? It must've been something good. Like a diamond necklace! Or maybe something fancy like...like a new mug!" Nora leaned over Ren and looked at Welkin.
"How, I don't even- Welksy?" Welkin raised an eyebrow at the energy ball. "Might I suggest you eat a little less sugar? And I gotta eat. It's late and I've probably gotta get some rest before I head out tomorrow."
"Oh? You're leaving already?" Yang asked as she finished off her meal. "That didn't take long. Why don't you say hi to some of your friends here! it's the weekend, you probably have it off from courier duty anyways!"
"Couriers operate 24/7 Yang, I don't think there's vacation days for this occupation. Though that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Know where Mike and Sunny are? They should be going here."
"Ah, that I actually don't know. I think I saw Sunny hanging out with the school's equivalent of an honor society. Mike likes to hide in the library. I think Blake can point him out to you, can't you Blakey?~" Yang grinned at her bow-wearing partner. Blake rolled her eyes and nodded just slightly.
"Cool. Actually, I'm curious, what did ya'll do when ya got in? I heard there was some brutal test that ye' had to take?"
"I do not believe brutal would describe it. It was...different. A challenge to be solved not with brute force." Blake lowered the novella slightly, remembering the battle with the Nevermore and Scorpion. "It certainly was dangerous, don't get me wrong." Welkin held up his hand to pause her.
"Wait, ya'll are tellin' me that you all took down a Nevermore and a Death Stalker? Just the eight of ya?" The group exchanged yeahs and yeses. "Huh. Normally I'd call BS and ask someone else, but that look on your face tells me it was very much real. I don't get how ya'll could've done it. I saw a Nevermore once. It was HUGE."
"They're really big. And you have to fight smart to kill it because it's just so darn big! We ended up pinning the thing to the cliff side while Ruby chopped it's head off." Yang hugged Ruby proudly and smiled brightly. "And I think Jaune and the others sent the Death Stalker down the canyon."
"Yep! Hammered its own stinger into his head and then the bridge broke on it! It was so dangerous! Just thinking about it is great!" Nora cheered.
"Dubious." Welkin stated flatly.
"I would be inclined to agree. But it did happen. Pyrrha, Jaune, and I can vouch for it." Pyrrha and Jaune nodded to Ren. "It wasn't an easy fight."
"I'm...I don't know what to say. When I saw a Nevermore I ran the hell away. Speaking of which, never going through Forever Fall again. The thing chased me down a friggin canyon shooting feathers at me. Thank god I got an engine upgrade not long before."
"Oh yeah, speaking about your engine, you think I could borrow your bike so I can upgrade mine?" Yang looked at Welkin expectantly. Welkin thought for a moment and nodded.
"I don't see why not. You're not going to tear it in half right? If you're up for it, want to go tomorrow?" Welkin finished his meal and wiped his hands down.
"Sure! It's a date!" Yang gave a thumbs up and smiled brilliantly. Welkin nodded as Ruby sat flabbergasted. Did Yang just ask a guy out? What the hell?
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Professor Goodwitch knocked on Professor Ozpin's office door. She leaned against the door and opened it slightly, "Professor?"
"You know our deal Junior. Make it happen." Ozpin ended the call immediately and remained facing away from the door. "Professor Goodwitch, good evening. Is there an issue?"
"Good evening professor. I was coming to double check this order you wanted to put in. Did I interrupt something?" Ozpin turned around and smiled at his colleague.
"No. Your arrival was quite timely actually. I would like to add a package to the list of things we need delievered." Professor Ozpin produced a small package and the paper work, "The payment is included in this Lien card.
"Understood. I just need your signature here sir." Ozpin signed the forms elegantly. "Is there anything else you would like?"
"Hmm...Warn Welkin. Tell him Forever Fall is exceptionally lively these days...oh, and it's alright if the package doesn't get delivered. It's merely a birthday gift to a distant friend." Ozpin turned back around and sipped from his mug.
"I understand. By the way professor, what was in the package earlier?"
"What you can call the box of Faustus." Ozpin muttered quietly.
"I'm sorry? I did not hear that professor." Professor Goodwitch looked at him carefully, as she tucked the things to be delivered into a box for transport.
"Oh, nothing. Carry on, and have yourself a lovely evening Professor."
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Notes: I need to slow down with working on this project, it's almost become an obsession for me. I just feel this urge to continue writing for some odd reason. I dream of the day I can actually finish this story, and turn some seemingly random OCs into something actually compelling and interesting.
Other things, I want to alternate between some action and some development. I don't like the idea of pure combat and action. As much fun as it sounds to write only action scenes and have blood and guts everywhere, there IS a plot to follow. I don't know if I make these plot development and character development parts too light hearted or too serious, but I hope I struck a decent balance. I think I'll probably slow down updates because I have papers due soon.
To clarify some things, the story about the Faustus Box is indeed Pandora's box. Except tweaked of course. And like every other magic macguffin, everyone's going to want to get their hands on it.
Thanks again for the time, and I hope it's been enjoyable to read.
Encyclopedia Entry:
Faustus' Box. A near mythical device that once controlled the grimm and contained them, allowing man to prosper. It's existence was shrouded in mystery and wrapped in an enigma. Researchers and archaeologists have claimed to have found the magic device several times throughout history, however people have yet to concluded which is real. The box, black in color according to historic reports, was dust powered and charged with what researchers thing was an aura. Historically speaking, men who killed grimm with dusts forced the defeated foe into the box, essentially banishing it to oblivion. This device, lost in history, has become a widely sought after mystery; a part of the past when flourished.
