What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the third chapter of Black Remnant.
Still wondering what you guys want for pairings because I'm still deciding at the moment.
And as an answer to the obvious, Chris will not be having Aura or a Semblance. He won't use a melee weapon either since he prefers to use guns. The only time he will ever use one is if he has no ammo, no grenades, and only has access to his combat knife.
Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OC, Aliens or RWBY. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!
Aliens: Black Remnant
Chapter 3: Jaundice
Sergeant Alder's Classroom
In the afternoon, the Colonial Marine was now teaching his students how to properly aim with weapons they had no experience utilizing, including the ones that were only melee-based fighters.
While he didn't let them use real bullets since he only had a spare amount of ammunition for all his guns, he did petition an order of Dust rounds that could be utilized for the USCM weapons.
Although, he did have to prescribe several of his Faunus students special earphones to keep their animal ears from having internal damage.
He checked on Ruby Rose, who was having the time of her life as she fired an M4RA Battle Rifle loaded with blunt force Dust rounds. Her precision was quite amazing. Each shot struck the head and the heart. Chris wrote the leader of Team RWBY off as a potential marksman or sniper.
He went over to the so-called heiress, Weiss Schnee, who seemed to be having difficulty shooting a simple handgun. Granted, he couldn't fault her for not training to use firearms, but this was still pretty sad. So with great reluctance, he showed her how to properly hold the 88 Mod 4 Combat Pistol and how to assume a proper firing stance. All the while, he hardly noticed the dusting of red on her otherwise pale cheeks.
Next came Blake, who seemed quite proficient in utilizing both the Service Pistol and the Combat Pistol. Though he always caught her wincing every time she fired the weapon, almost like the discharge was hurting her eardrums, which is impossible because she's wearing earmuffs.
Yang wouldn't let go of an MK221 Tactical Shotgun and he could understand that. The first time he held one, he wouldn't let go either during basic training. Firing that fucker was the best adrenaline rush he ever felt that day. So it wouldn't surprise him if the buxom blonde was having the time of her life blasting a target to pieces with the weapon.
After he finished surveying RWBY, he went on to JNPR. Jaune, unsurprisingly, was terrible with firearms. Understandable considering he only used a sword and shield for combat. Still, the boy could stand to use guns to improve on his combat efficiency if what he heard from Glynda was of any indication. How anybody so terrible in fighting would get into such a prestigious combat school was beyond him. On the plus side, the kid was determined to get better if his improving aim was any indication.
Next was Nora. God, did he regret giving her one of his grenades. The fiery chatterbox just wouldn't stop cackling like some B-movie mad scientist. A few unlucky souls had to be taken to the infirmary because of Miss Valkyrie's explosive personality. Chris was left with no choice but to ban the girl from using explosives in his class, much to her disappointment.
Pyrrha was possibly one of his best students. She had the skill and the confidence to put most Marine recruits to shame. Any weapon he gave her, she mastered in seconds like it was second nature to her. Though he wished she'd stop apologizing every time that she'd hit someone else's target. That gentle demeanor of hers will be seen as a sign of weakness.
Ren, being the silent ninja of JNPR, had no trouble in utilizing handguns considering his proficiency in dual-wielding modded automatic pistols. He also seemed to take to using the SMG quite well. A potential scout for a Colonial Marine battalion. Though communication would have to be key in a team-building exercise since this kid would only say about one or two words to somebody. More if it was the chatterbox, Nora.
So far, all of his students seemed to be proficient in a specific set of firearms, but that was the whole point of it all. To see if they could adapt to using something they were unfamiliar with.
"Alright, everybody, cease fire!" He ordered loudly, stopping all of the students from continuously firing their assigned guns. "Now I want all of you to unload your weapons and set them down. Make sure to pop the bullet in the chamber. If I test fire one gun and there's a bullet in there, I'm on your asses like shit!"
Amusingly, he watched all of them scramble to unload the magazines from their guns and removing the bullet from the chamber. A few of them either stumbled or nearly dropped a gun. Once all was said and done, they lined up and looked at the sergeant nervously.
Wordlessly, Chris grabbed each weapon and aimed it down range. With a pull of a trigger, he received a satisfying click. He listed off the names of students that passed his little test. Unsurprisingly, Team RWBY also passed followed by-
BANG!
Everyone winced when Chris fired the Service Pistol that rested on the berth and hit the target. Someone had forgotten to release the bullet in the chamber. And now, they've evoked their demon of a teacher's wrath.
"Who was using this station?" The Marine asked calmly with a slight undertone that nobody could decipher, but they knew that he was angry.
The students glanced at the lone blonde-haired leader of Team JNPR, who looked ready to piss his pants. "M-me, Sergeant." Jaune Arc whimpered, raising his hand in terror as the CM gave him the look that gazed deeply into one's soul, judging their worth and value in a cruel fashion.
"Mr. Arc, can you tell me why I explicitly told all of my students to unload their guns and empty the chamber for any bullets before I test fired them?" Chris asked the teen, narrowing his crimson eyes down on the boy.
"B-because of safety stuff?" The scraggly blonde replied foolishly.
"No, it's to prevent people from accidentally shooting themselves in the foot or in the leg. Trust me. It's happened before." The Marine stated. "So why didn't you bother to check the chamber if there was another round in it?"
"I-I…" The boy stuttered.
"Answer me, maggot!" He yelled, getting up in Jaune's face.
"I-I forgot, sir!" The leader of Team JNPR cried out loudly in fear.
…
…
"You forgot?" Chris felt his left brow twitch.
Jaune nodded rapidly.
"I see. In that case, I want you to write me a twenty-page essay on what not to do when you're on a firing range." The Colonial Marine sergeant stated. "Everyone else, you're dismissed. I expect that essay on my desk tomorrow, Mr. Arc."
"Yes, sir…" The boy groaned.
"And if you are in need of proper firearm training, you're welcome to use your free time to get lessons." Chris pointed out.
At least this way, the sergeant would have a less likely option of potentially firing another chambered bullet due to Jaune's negligence.
Combat Classroom
Chris watched as Jaune and Cardin squared off against each other. Even if melee combat wasn't his thing, he knew for a fact that the JNPR team leader's combat stance was entirely all over the place and sloppy.
He noticed their mouths moving. Having a conversation during a battle is foolish, it gets a soldier killed faster.
Suddenly, Cardin drove his knee directly into Jaune's solar plexus, causing him to cough out in pain and fall to the ground. The brute of team CRDL raised his mace to finish off the blonde boy until Glynda quickly interjected, stopping the match and declaring Cardin the winner.
Honestly, Chris felt bad for the kid. Mostly because he was put up against an opponent he couldn't handle. Then again, they were being taught to overcome their limits as Hunters and Huntresses.
Still, it probably didn't help Jaune's confidence when Glynda, unintentionally, berated his lack of combat skill. The kid had enough of a hard time with the Marine, but he didn't deserve to be ridiculed for his poor performance.
Chris will have to find a way to at least boost it. The leader of JNPR had a lot of potential as a field commander with his tactical and analytical mind. He just needed the right… push.
While the students left to go to lunch, Chris spotted Glynda typing something on her scroll. "Ms. Goodwitch." He greeted.
"Sergeant," The blonde greeted stiffly.
The two of them looked at each other in silence. Crimson red gauging into bright green.
Finally, the Colonial Marine spoke again, "Y'know, it's not my place to question someone's teaching, but are you sure that berating and joking about Mr. Arc's lack of progress is a good thing?"
"Professor Ozpin believes the boy possesses a lot of potential," Glynda answered. "Despite what you may think, Sergeant Alder, I care about my students' growth. I'm placing a lot of faith in that boy to rise up and overcome his limits."
"Well, he's a bit sensitive." Chris pointed out. "He's already got low self-esteem because of Winchester's bullying and his lack of training. Granted, I didn't help much in that department either with how much of a hardass I am in my class."
"Can you please refrain from using profanity in front of me, Sergeant?" She asked with a hint of annoyance on her lovely face.
An amused grin appeared on the soldier's mug. "I make no promises." He joked. He almost laughed when Glynda leveled a glare at him. It didn't work as well as she thought. His foster mother's glare was scarier.
Plus, xenomorphs kinda killed his fears long ago…
Cafeteria - Sometime Later
Lunch seemed rather busy. Chris didn't feel like hanging out with the other faculty members so he went to the mess to find people he knew and could hang out with.
The marine's gaze scanned his current environment. Teens chatting, laughing, or just eating.
"Mr. Alder! Mr. Alder!" A familiar red cloak-wearing reaper waved frantically at Chris to get his attention. "We saved you a seat!"
This had been his routine. Teach a class, eat food, mingle with his students, and pump iron.
And now have lunch with two groups of teens with enough training to beat several marines fresh out of Boot.
With a reluctant sigh, Chris trudged over to the bench. He planted himself beside Lie Ren and dug in his meal.
"So how was the class?" Yang asked the Colonial Marine.
"You should know, you sleep through it most of the time unless it involves hitting people or shooting things." The sergeant countered bluntly, munching on a celery stick.
The buxom brawler's cheeks flushed pink. "Uh, I can explain that."
Weiss decided to screw the girl over. "You mean besides the fact you keep checking out his posterior when he isn't looking?"
"Et Tu, Weiss cream?" Yang looked at the Schnee heiress with a look of betrayal.
"I told you to stop calling me that!" The white-haired girl shouted in irritation.
Chris noticed Blake wince from the volume of Weiss's shout. His crimson eyes narrowed at the gesture. His genetically altered pupils zoomed in on the bow atop her head and noticed the briefest of twitches.
"Something wrong?" The silent ninja of JNPR asked beside him, forcing Chris to blink his eyelids when a momentary flash of pain appeared. A small side effect of using his microscopic vision.
"No, no, I've just been thinking." He replied while rubbing his eyes to stem the annoying pain.
"About what?" Nora asked, her mouth stuffed with pancakes.
"Nora, please don't talk with your mouth full." Pyrrha scolded her fellow redhead.
A loud gulp followed by a small cough was all the indication that Nora had swallowed her food and nearly choked. "Sorry," came her small apology.
"I'm thinking about going into town to find a smith to construct several bullets for my weapons," Chris answered.
"Why? Don't you have enough?" Ruby asked innocently.
"Just because I'm limiting the number of rounds I use for them, doesn't mean I have an infinite supply. Dust rounds just won't cut it against most Grimm," The marine stated. "Among other things." He muttered that last part.
"What was that?" Weiss inquired.
"Nothing," Chris replied.
The marine continued to eat his lunch quietly while tuning out the incessant ramblings of Nora Valkyrie. Something about 'Ursa rugs' or 'boatloads of Lien'. He stopped understanding the redhead the moment he met her.
"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha's voice broke him out of his thoughts as he looked to see the Spartan girl and the red reaper of RWBY looking at Jaune Arc in concern. The said boy seemed to be playing with his food.
"Huh?" The knight blinked once then stared at his friends. "Oh, yeah! Why?"
"It's just that you seem a little... not okay…" Ruby answered.
Everyone stopped their distractions and stared at Jaune. Chris, however, focused back on his meal.
...Until a brief kick to his shin forced him to glare at the nonchalant amber gaze of Blake Belladonna.
She gave the marine a brief gesture with her head towards Jaune. Obviously, trying to get him to show some teacher support.
Chris sent the black-haired girl an inquisitive stare that said, "I'm not his fucking dad."
Blake shot him a small glare, "Don't care. Handle it." The unspoken message said.
"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" Jaune laughs nervously while holding up a thumb until he along with everyone else focused their attention on the members of team CRDL, standing around a girl with brown rabbit ears jutting from her hair as Cardin laughs at her and Sky holds up his hands to his head to mock her unusual features.
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes with disapproval, "Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!"
"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah…" Jaune waved off his partner's concern, despite the obvious depression wallowing in his eyes. "He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"
"He's a bully." Ruby pointed out with her cheeks puffed up.
The blonde boy scoffed. "Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me."
"He knocked into you and made you drop your books," Ren added.
"He turned your sheath on and extended it into its shield form to block you from leaving." Weiss jumped in.
"He also shoved you into a rocket-propelled locker and sent you flying," Blake stated.
Chris frowned. Jaune was obviously denying his apparent abuse. So why isn't he saying anything?
The leader of JNPR tried to laugh it off, even when the intense stares of his friends bore into him. "I didn't land far from the school!"
Jaune felt a hand on his shoulder. He turns his gaze to meet the concerned emerald orbs of his partner. "Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha offered.
"Ooooh!" Nora gets up from the table with an insane grin on her face, "We'll break his legs!"
'This girl is definitely out of her fucking mind…' The sergeant deadpanned.
"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone." Jaune retorted.
"Ow! That hurts!" The rabbit girl cried out when one of her ears are tugged on by Cardin. "Please, stop…"
Chris's attention focused intently on the laughing hyenas known as CRDL. Crimson eyes glaring furiously at the leader of the group, who only laughed at her pain and the tears that threatened to spill.
"I told you it was real!"
The green mohawk kid of CRDL added in, "What a freak!"
Blake held back every ounce of her animal instincts to keep from eviscerating the racist pigs that were hurting the rabbit Faunus.
SMACK!
The cat Faunus in hiding, her friends included, jumped when the lone marine sergeant slammed his fist down on the table with enough force to crack the frame.
The dark-haired man stood up and marched over to team CRDL with an icy, cold glare in his eyes.
"What's up with him?" Yang asked.
"I think he's mad," Ruby replied.
Blake honestly wasn't sure how to interpret the human soldier's behavior. Despite what he said about his origins, she thought he was like the rest of humanity. Racist bigots that hated those they deemed inferior.
Yet this man stormed over there like he had seen the most disgraceful display of professionalism in his life…
Maybe there was hope for humanity yet…
(Velvet's POV)
It hurts…
Of course, it hurts. This freshman is pulling on her ears.
She knew she should've used her upperclassman status or her combat training to stop the brute, but her timid personality always overrode her senses. Velvet cursed being born a rabbit Faunus. Especially when her sensitive ears were the target for bullies and racists.
"Please stop…" She pleaded with the leader of team CRDL. However, that only made him pull harder.
It hurts!
She could feel tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She wished Coco or Yatsuhashi were here. They'd put these jerks in their place.
But they weren't here. They were busy with school work or going over old mission records. Besides, no one would go out of their way to help a Faunus like her…
Cardin was laughing loudly as he prepared to pull her ear again… until someone grabbed one of his human ears and pulled it. "AGH!" He cried out in pain.
"Mr. Winchester," A masculine tone with a hint of malice spoke, "I hope you realize that bullying your fellow students in my presence is completely disappointing and disrespectful, especially with your betters."
Velvet looked past her assailant to see, to her initial surprise, the newest combat instructor that rumors say came from another world of humans. Sergeant Chris Alder, if she remembered correctly.
"I will ask this only once, Mr. Winchester," The look in the marine's crimson eyes were enough to kill even an ancient Grimm. "Let. Go. Of. Her. Ears." He twisted his hand to tighten his grip on Cardin's own human ear, causing him to yelp.
"Okay, okay, okay! Ow!" The brute released Velvet's ears, but the pressure on his ear didn't go away.
"Now apologize to the nice girl," Chris then removed his survival knife. The blade gleaming menacingly from the light of the sun. "Or you'll be spending the rest of your life with one fucking ear."
"I-I'm sorry," Cardin said quietly, forcing his pride down to keep from yelling at a superior officer.
"I'm not sure she heard you. I want you to say it nice and loud so everyone in this mess hall can hear you." The sergeant threatened by holding the edge of his knife against Cardin's ear.
"I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry!" the brute shouted, garnering looks of surprise from everyone.
Chris finally released Cardin and shoved him into the arms of his team. "Now get the hell out of my sight before I start using you for target practice."
Like cowards, they scurried out of the mess hall, trying to save face as the embarrassment of being treated like children appeared on their faces in the form of burning red cheeks.
Velvet looked upon her savior in awe, even as he sheathed his knife back into his vest. His crimson orbs bore into her brown ones. Her cheeks flushed when she noticed how handsome and dashing he looked, especially with that wavy black hair.
"You alright, ma'am?" He asked the Faunus, who squeaked in surprise.
"Um… y-yes," She nodded, cursing her timid nature.
The human soldier smiled.
Not a fake, cruel one or a smile of sad pity that she'd see on most humans that looked at her. This one was warm and friendly.
It felt… nice.
"That's good to hear. I can't stand a bunch of thugs hurting a cute girl like you." He said, not in a flirtatious manner, but good-natured.
At being called cute, Velvet released an adorable 'eep' and hid her face behind her hands in embarrassment. "T-thank you, Mr. Alder."
"Please, Mr. Alder was my father. Call me Chris." The marine said, patting her shoulder.
"O-okay, C-Chris…" She looked down shyly, unable to look at the man in the eye.
"Listen, if those guys give you trouble again, I want you to come to me and I'll set them straight." Chris offered. "There are a lot of things I can tolerate, but racism and bullying are definite problems in my book."
"O-okay, sir," Velvet nodded and watched as the marine patted her head then marched back over to the table with the two new freshmen teams: RWBY and JNPR.
Coco is not gonna believe this…
(3rd POV)
When Chris sat back down at his seat, he felt the many prying eyes of his students and somewhat friends.
"Is there something you want to say?" He asked them.
"You… stood up to Cardin," Jaune said with awe.
"He was bullying a student. I'm a teacher. There's no other difference other than I was simply doing my civic duty." The sergeant remarked.
Blake pursed her lips. "Not many would call it a civic duty if they helped a Faunus."
"Is there a difference?"
The dark-haired girl tried to speak but found that she didn't have anything to say about that.
"I stepped in because a girl was being harassed by a couple of thugs. I don't care if she's human or a Faunus. If a student is being bullied then I'll be stepping in." Chris stated.
"That's an admirable trait, Mr. Alder," Pyrrha said with a small grin.
"Meh, I had some good role models." He admitted.
"What about your parents? I bet they're really happy that you're an awesome soldier." Yang said with a grin.
Then almost instantly, Chris's good mood dropped somberly.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked.
The marine remained silent.
That's when both teams realized the fate of their teacher's parents.
"Oh man, I… I didn't know-" Yang tried to apologize, but the sergeant stopped.
"Don't. It was a long time ago. I've long since gotten over their deaths." Chris interjects.
Ruby looked sad. "Do you… still, remember them?" She asked timidly.
"Of course I do," He said with a sad grin. "I remember them in my dreams… and my nightmares."
"If you don't want to talk about-" Pyrrha offered.
"It's fine. Talking about it helps." The marine replied. "Last time I ever saw my parents was when monsters ripped them to shreds."
The eight teens felt horrified and terrible that their teacher would speak of his parents' demise with no problem save for the sad eyes.
Chris tapped a few keys on his TACPAD. "This is what they look like." A holographic image appeared, revealing a picture of two people: a man and a woman.
The man looked like a carbon copy of Chris, but with dark brown hair and green eyes. He also wore a black business suit and a pair of wired glasses. The girls definitely realized where the marine got his appreciatively good looks from.
The woman was beautiful. In fact, she could be mistaken for Chris's sister. Long, feathery black hair with sparkling onyx black eyes and pale skin. She wore a red spaghetti-strap dress and a pearl necklace. Jaune and Ren honestly thought that the sergeant's mother was beautiful.
"Those are your parents?" Weiss asked.
"Yep," Chris nodded. "This is a photo I managed to recover when my home was attacked by monsters. This happened during a company party. I wasn't there because I was still a toddler."
"What did they do?" Blake wondered.
"They were scientists. I didn't know what they studied, but they were important." The young man stated.
"It must've been horrible… watching your parents die before your eyes." Pyrrha said softly.
"Yeah," He nodded. "My mother was pregnant before the disaster. She said it was going to be my new baby brother or sister. Unfortunately, that child never got the chance to enter the world because it died with my parents."
Ruby seemed to whimper in horror. Yang quickly came to her little sister's comfort. "Hey, can we not talk about death for five seconds?" The brawler asked with a hint of annoyance while calmly rubbing Ruby's back.
Realizing that his past was upsetting the young reaper, Chris nodded in reply, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Ruby."
"Do you miss them?" Blake asked carefully.
"Of course I do," He answered. "I miss them every single day. However, I can't let their deaths get to me."
"But-" Nora seemed to want to speak up, but Ren stopped his friend with a shake of his head.
"Well, I better get going. I've got things to do and places to explore." The marine remarked while picking up his tray, dumping out his trash and leaving the tray on the collection left over.
"For a soldier, his heart is heavy with grief," Pyrrha said softly.
"I wonder how he was able to stay sane after witnessing such a traumatizing event?" Ren wondered.
"I feel awful for him…" Ruby whispered.
"Guess we know why he's such a hardass most of the time," Yang added with a grim expression, her thoughts drifting back to Chris's mom.
Jaune, along with Blake, seemed to notice the brawler's expression. "Uh, Yang, you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah," She nodded, pulling out her Scroll… and bringing up a picture of a woman who had a similar appearance to the marine's birth mother but with red eyes instead of black and a patch of white hair in her mane of black. 'How could his mom look like… mine?' She thought to herself.
Vale - Two Hours Later
When it came to shore leave, Chris had no problem going to a bar, grabbing a drink with his buddies, and partying the night away with a nice girl by his side.
Regretfully, this new world was different than his humanity. His study on Aura and Dust revealed that there was no possible way any of it should even exist. The birth of humans and Faunus. The brother Gods. The almighty 'Monty', whoever that could be. And the various different kingdoms, hair colors, color-based names, and hunter academies.
Which brought him to why he came to Vale. Mostly to find a bar to get a drink and to get information that only those of the 'ugly' side of this seemingly peaceful kingdom would know about. Oh, and to find a blacksmith to forge more bullets for his guns.
Call him crazy or paranoid, but Chris had a feeling that Ozpin wasn't telling him the full truth and the man was hiding something. Something critical that eluded the marine.
So he took his combat armor and strapped it on. He neglected the helmet since he hardly needed it. He took Hick's shotgun, his Money Maker, and a couple grenades.
A couple of the Valean citizens gave him a wide berth. Either figuring out that nobody should mess with him or they just didn't care, it mattered little.
The marine sergeant used his TACPAD to hack his way into the CCT Tower in Vale to upload a map of the area. Luckily, he managed to find a club that was rumored to have some rather unsavory characters mingle with the crowd. A perfect place to get a drink and to acquire information about the 'monsters' he hunted.
He stopped when he came upon the club. It didn't look like much, except it seemed to be under renovations.
"Well, better than nothing." Chris shrugged then marched inside. The sounds of techno-pop music rang in his ears while civilians danced the night away.
The marine strolled over to the bar and sat on the stool, waiting for the barkeep to arrive. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long as a middle-aged man with short, black hair, dark eyes, and a beard approached him dressed like a stereotypical barkeeper. He noticed the nametag on his vest: Junior.
"What'll you be having?" Junior asked, cleaning a shot glass.
"Scotch on the rocks," Chris replied. The man nodded and grabbed a bottle of the alcohol. The marine turned away to scope out the people around him. Most of them were either humans or Faunus that were either drunk or just dancing the night away.
The DJ… drew a lot of questions. Who the hell wears a bear head that big?
He felt someone poke his arm, almost forcing him to draw his pistol and put a bullet in their brains, but he held back when he noticed it was a girl or a small woman. Her hair was half pink and half brown, with white streaks on the pink side. Her eyes appeared to be pink and brown before they morphed to white and pink. Her outfit looked like something straight out of a classic Victorian-era television show complete with an umbrella by her side.
In all honesty, she reminded him of a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream. Good flavor, but not as good as cookies and cream.
His eyes caught the opening in her jacket, revealing a bit of her cleavage. And her ass wasn't bad either.
Chris mentally slapped himself and focused on the small woman's face. "Is there something I can help you with?"
She didn't reply but gestured to the bar. He followed her finger and found his drink in a shot glass.
He angrily looked at Junior. "Hey, I asked for a scotch on the rocks, not this little kid-sized drink."
"Deal with it, punk." The man remarked.
Chris snarled and visibly angry, anybody could see that. However, before he could make a scene and potentially kill a man over a drink, the ice cream-themed woman picked up a bowl of… ice cream? And threw it right into Junior's face.
"Agh! Neo, what the hell is your problem!?" The man yelled in frustration.
The girl gave Junior a pout but continued to say nothing. Chris immediately realized that she was mute. However, it seemed her message was getting across.
"What? Are you seriously standing with this punk? I thought you didn't like anyone else besides-" The club owner froze when he noticed the icy glare he received from the short woman. "Fine, fine. You win." He grumbled, skulking off to get the marine his correct drink.
"Uh, thanks for that." Chris nodded at the ice cream-colored girl, who merely smiled at him. The sergeant noticed the plastic bowl with the melting ice cream on the floor. "Sorry, you had to waste your treat on me."
Neo looked visibly disheartened that she had to throw her favorite ice cream at that idiot.
Chris pursed his lips then grinned. "I guess since you helped me, I have to return the favor." Neo looked at him in confusion. "I'll buy you another thing of ice cream."
Hearing this, Neo's eyes almost sparkled with glee (which confused the soldier) and gave the young man a gracious smile that made her seem rather adorable.
"Please don't look at me like that. I can't handle cute girls." Chris joked with a chuckle.
Neo pouts her lips, only doubling her cuteness factor, and pulled out her scroll. She pressed something on the screen and showed it to him.
The marine looked at it and realized she was speaking to him through the device.
"I'm not cute. I'm sexy!" It read.
Chris laughed openly just as Junior returned with a scowl and set the glass of scotch with a large piece of ice inside. "My apologies." He said, taking his drink and downing the alcohol in an instant, cringing from the burning sensation on his throat. "God, I fucking needed that."
Neo looked at her newest acquaintance with a small raise of her brow.
"Ah, I deal with kids a lot and sometimes, I feel like I need a drink just to get by with the everyday shit that they come up with." He explained.
The short woman typed on her scroll and showed it to him. "If it's work-related then why not quit?"
"Would if I could, but I don't have the luxury in doing so." Chris shrugged looking down at his empty glass.
"Why not?"
"That's a bit private." He answered then sat up. "Now, how about that ice cream?"
Neo's lips curved into a big smile as she hopped off her stool, took her umbrella, and hooked her arm around Chris's left.
The young man's cheeks flushed a bit from the close proximity of the small woman's well-proportioned breasts, but he ignored it. "I'm still a little new around here so… mind showing me where you want to go?" He asked.
She nodded firmly and led her new friend out of Junior's club to go to her favorite ice cream store.
Chris had no idea exactly why he decided to go with this woman. He originally came into town to find a smith that could make more bullets for him or maybe information on that terrorist organization: the White Fang.
He read the reports. Businesses were attacked, humans were assaulted, Dust was stolen, and trains were raided. A few of those reports detailed casualties that ranged from Atlas military personnel and civilians that were caught in the crossfire.
Originally, the organization was a peaceful protest group that comprised of Faunus that wanted to be treated equally to humans. Chris had no problem with that. In fact, he supported it. However, when the White Fang's methods changed from peaceful protests to aggressive retaliation, he deemed them as just another threat that needed to be taken care of.
It didn't mean he hated Faunus. He understood why they did it, but the actions of the White Fang were only further hurting their own people. Velvet was an example of their actions and human cruelty.
It was the 20th century all over again…
He felt a tug on his arm. Chris looked down and noticed Neo looking up at him with concern. He smiled reassuringly, "I'm okay. I've just been thinking."
Neo nodded then gestured ahead. Chris followed her finger and noticed the shop she wanted to go to. A place called Frozen Delights.
"So this is the place?" He asked his guide.
Seeing her nod, he allowed her to drag him inside as the door opened and a little bell jingled overhead. An employee looked at the duo that entered.
Chris noticed that the cashier was a young Faunus woman with auburn hair in a ponytail, a pair of bear ears on top, bright blue eyes, and fair skin. She was actually quite lovely, even in her pink-white striped uniform.
"Welcome to Frozen Delights. Is there anything I can get for you?" She asked the two humans with a professional tone and a forced smile.
Chris understood that she was used to being abused and insulted by humans. He felt powerless knowing he couldn't solve the problems for humans and Faunus, but he was just a soldier.
Neo released her hold on the young man's arm and pressed her face against the glass so that she could gaze hungrily at the many jugs of sweet, delicious frozen cream.
"Uh, hello, miss? You can't do that." The bear Faunus girl lightly scolded. Neo seemed to ignore her, which only seemed to irritate the employee.
"She's mute." Chris quickly answered, drawing the Faunus girl's attention to him. "And… she's got a thing for ice cream." He chuckled nervously.
"Oh, I understand." The Faunus nodded. "My boss told me that a regular comes in all the time with a hankering for ice cream. Guess this is her." She glanced back at Neo, whose mouth seemed to be drooling.
"Do you know what flavor you want?" The marine asked his new companion, who seemed to be pointing at one particular flavor. If this situation were an anime, Chris would be sweatdropping. "Neapolitan?"
Neo nodded vigorously.
"Why am I not surprised…" He sighed then looked back to the Faunus. "Three scoops of Neapolitan ice cream for her and a single scoop of mint for me, please."
Nodding, the Faunus employee ran the total on the cashier then looked at me. "700 lien, sir."
Chris reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a wallet that Ozpin had given him along with a few credit card-like chips. "Here you go." He handed her 15000 lien. "Keep the change."
The girl looked at the amount in the human's hand with wide eyes. "But… this is… I can't-"
He held up his hand. "It's alright. I understand the plight of the Faunus. Think of this as my way of helping them." He smiled sincerely.
The employee looked down at the money then back at Chris. "Thank you… thank you so much."
"Not a problem, ma'am." Chris winked at her playfully.
Blushing, the girl quickly placed the money in the register, grabbed an ice cream scoop, and piled three scoops of ice cream on Neo's cone and two for the marine's. She handed the cones to Chris, who took them with a grin. "Thank you… and have a great day." She said with a stutter.
"You as well," Chris replied then handed Neo her ice cream, who took it eagerly and started diving in.
After leaving the establishment, the duo sat on a bench at a park, watching the small lake as they ate their ice cream.
"So why did you help me?" Chris asked, licking his frozen treat.
Neo, while snacking on her own, typed on her scroll and presented it to the marine, "Because I was bored."
He raised a brow in suspicion. "You did it because you were bored?" He repeated.
The short woman nodded while playfully kicking her legs like a child.
This only set off a warning bell in Chris's head. Nobody in their right mind would help a total stranger from the kindness of their heart.
Chris shook his head. He was being paranoid again. After fighting with Wey-Yu PMCs, he's learned to be mindful of those around him since xenomorphs weren't the only monsters he had to be concerned with. However, there was no way that a short young woman like Neo would be dangerous, right?
He felt a hand over his own. Looking down, Chris realized that Neo was looking up at him in concern. She had already finished both her ice cream and the sugar cone. She brought up her scroll and showed it to him, allowing him to read her text. "Is something wrong?"
"Neo… did you want something from me?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't just help me out of the kindness of your heart and you certainly didn't bring me all the way here just for ice cream." Chris narrowed his eyes, slowly edging his unattended hand to Money Maker.
Suddenly, the marine found a blade inching dangerously close to his throat. A quick glance down revealed the weapon to have been a hidden sword… from Neo's umbrella. He looked back at the woman and found a sort of predatory gaze in her mismatched eyes. When she blinked, they became white and brown.
Chris growled as Neo began to smirk. "You tricky, little bitch!" He snarled, frustrated at both himself and at the woman for honeypotting him.
Neo typed something on her Scroll then presented it to the sergeant. "Now what's an Atlas soldier doing in a club?"
"Atlas? You have me confused for someone who doesn't parade around in those pussy suits they call uniforms." Chris remarked coldly. He had searched up the known militaries of Remnant and only found the Atlas Military. Right from the start, he absolutely despised it. No self-respecting military man would wear pure white, especially if the terrain they fight in isn't a snowy wasteland. Even the Russian Branch of the Colonial Marines would frown on those pompous bastards.
Neo's snug grin turned into a frown. She slowly pressed the edge of her sword against the man's throat. He forced himself not to swallow if only to avoid his Adam's apple from being cut by mistake. She brought up her device. "If not Atlas then who?"
Now it was Chris's turn to smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Before Neo could contemplate what the marine meant, she suddenly found a freezing, half-melting splat of ice cream in her eyes, forcing her to back away as she tried to wipe the sticky gunk from her vision.
Instincts and years of martial arts training took over as Chris went on the offensive, grabbing the petite woman's wrist that held the sword and twisting it hard enough to force her to drop it. Following that, he kicked the back of her knee and forced her to the ground. Pulling out Money Maker, he pressed the barrel of the pistol to the back of her head when Neo tried to struggle. She froze when cold metal pressed against her skin.
"In case you don't realize it, the gun I'm currently using doesn't have a lick of Dust in it," Chris explained to his prisoner. "I've studied the effects of gunpowder and Dust on Aura. I discovered that gunpowder bullets can actually break through a person's Aura. I know because I shot some stupid bastard in the foot with their Aura active and he had a nice little hole in it." He jammed his weapon hard against her skull. "So you're going to come along with me and give me some answers or I'm gonna put a bullet in your brain and dump your body in the garbage. Believe me, I've dealt with killing humans long enough to diminish my emotions."
Neo said nothing, which wasn't surprising since she was mute. She could try using her Semblance to escape, but she didn't want to take the chance that the soldier's gun would actually penetrate her Aura. As psychotic as she is, she wasn't willing to bet her life on a bluff.
"Now get up and start walking." He ordered. The way his voice growled and got rough sent a shiver down her spine. His hard treatment of her arm made her a little… wet between the legs. She always found men with a rather harsh dominant streak to be particularly arousing and this man was positively radiating with a sort of alpha-male demeanor.
Regardless, Neo followed with the crimson-eyed man's demands, if only to see if she could use her womanly wiles to sway him long enough for her to recover her weapon and either escape or plunge a blade in his throat.
A shame… he was cute and nice.
Atlas - Military HQ
General Ironwood, like all military officers, had a certain standard when it came to leading his troops.
He expected to receive respect from his subordinates.
He expected all of his orders to be followed to the letter.
He had no use for lazy soldiers.
And he especially wanted everything that wasn't in his control… to be under his control.
And right now, the video footage he was viewing from cameras in Emerald Forest proved that this wasn't something in his control.
His old friend, Ozpin, had sent footage of alien creatures that came from an alternate dimension and were residing within the caves while actively hunting Grimm to be used as hosts for parasitic eggs. At first, he wanted to dismiss the notion as simple ramblings of a crazy man, but then Ozpin brought up the topic of a soldier that came with the aliens. A human at that.
A human that is part of a military from another world filled with humans. With technology that could traverse the stars themselves and no sign of Grimm at all.
Such a world would be considered a paradise for the residents of Remnant. Ironwood had a feeling that the Council would want this soldier detained in order to find a way to this so-called planet 'Earth' and possibly colonize it for themselves.
Speaking of said soldier…
Ironwood looked over the files that Glynda Goodwitch, the woman he loved but could never have, managed to document and send.
Sergeant Chris Alder
United States Colonial Marines
Beacon Drill Instructor
Xenomorph Expert
The General believed it all to be a hoax, but the technology that this 'Earthling' had in his possession could prove useful for Atlas. Problem is, would a soldier from a foreign military power be able to relinquish such tools?
"General Ironwood," Came the voice of his most trusted subordinate, Winter Schnee. Like those in her family, she possessed the same snow-white hair and clear blue eyes. Years of training and physical fitness gave her a body fit for an Amazon with the hard-earned mindset of a military officer.
"Schnee," He greeted with a nod. "You have something to report?"
"Yes, sir," Winter nodded. "I've managed to round up the search party you requested to be shipped to Vale."
"Deep Eyes?" Ironwood inquired.
"Affirmative. One of the best special forces units of the military." The Specialist replied.
"Have them on a VTOL and in the air at 0700 tomorrow. And make sure they take the special equipment Professor Pollendina made for them." The imposing man ordered.
Winter raised a brow. "Any particular reason why, sir?"
Most officers wouldn't deem such a question worthy of being answered, but Winter had proven herself time and again that he earned his trust. "Headmaster Ozpin believes that Remnant may be facing a foe more dangerous than the Grimm. He wants soldiers along with this 'colonial marine' to deal with it before it becomes an infestation."
"More dangerous than the Grimm? What could be more dangerous than those beasts?" Winter questioned in disbelief.
"That's what I'm sending Deep Eyes to find out." Ironwood stated.
"Are you sure they'll be all that is required?" Winter questioned.
"From what I gather of Ozpin's report on Sergeant Alder's description of these 'xenomorphs', I have little doubt that the Deep Eyes unit will be able to find the nest and wipe it from existence before we have another pandemic like the Grimm on our hands." The hardened military leader replied. "See to it that Sergeant Alder provides as much assistance as possible for the operation."
"Yes, General," Winter saluted her CO and marched out of the command center.
Ironwood looked back at the identification photo of the colonial marine. The red eyes, black hair, pale skin, and slightly feminine features reminded the man of the Spring Maiden. The one that left the safety of Beacon and took to the wilds with bandit scum.
Perhaps he should regal Ozpin about this and see if he could get in contact with Raven. To find out if she had a son.
A son that could potentially inherit the powers of Magic.
A/N: That's it for this chapter. I apologize for taking so long. I've been busy with other projects and my own personal hobbies.
In any case, a lot of stuff went down. Chris went all drill sergeant on Jaune, he scared the fuck out of Team CDRL and helped Velvet, he revealed a bit of his childhood to RWBY and JNPR, and he met Neo. But why does Chris's mom look similar to Yang's own mother? What sort of special forces unit did Atlas just send to deal with the xenomorph threat?
Allow me to explain. I got the idea of Deep Eyes from an old CGI movie called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Not a good movie, but not a bad one either. No, what really fascinates me is the technology they possess. I'm going to utilize that for the Deep Eyes unit.
Instead of a team of four, they are a platoon consisting of fifteen soldiers. Fifteen OCs that you, the reader, can petition.
Information is as followed for OC requests:
Name:
Age:
Sex:
Race: (Human or Faunus)
Appearance:
Personality:
Backstory (if necessary):
Call Sign:
Profession: (Heavy weapons specialist, CQC specialist, scout, pilot, marksman, sniper, etc.)
Please note that when the assault on the hive happens, some of these operatives will die. I will not play favorites or anything like that. The deaths will happen random, but don't let that stop you because if they die then it won't be like wimps. It will be in a blaze of glory.
Review and comment. Love it, hate it, just know that you read it.
Peace out, everyone!