Arc 1: Prologue
Chapter 1: Song for Someone
Part 4: Chosen Paths
Jaune would be lying if he said he wasn't curious as to what sort of conversation Eric and Ozpin were having, but with Professor Goodwitch having just walked out, was glad he hadn't pressed his ear to the door like he'd been considering.
However, his heart froze when Goodwitch's eyes locked with his- there was no way she knew what he'd been thinking, right? She couldn't possibly read minds, could she? But her semblance was some sort of psychic ability, wasn't it? How far-fetched was it for her to really be able to do it?
"Team JNPR," she started, as the dread in Jaune's soul increased, and he screamed in his head 'She knows!'.
"Please return to your dorms immediately, no stopping on the way. You may come out in about half an hour. Business should be concluded then." Pyrrha and Ren locked eyes, wordlessly asking 'What business?', but Jaune didn't care, relief flooding his body.
Jaune got up, and, calling his team to himself, quickly walked into the elevator, waiting for his teamates to get inside so they could leave the waiting room below Ozpin's office and follow Goodwitch's instructions. He felt sorry for team RWBY, getting called into Ozpin's office with mind-reading Glynda.
Jaune would make it back to his team's dorm before he realized how foolish his thoughts were.
Ruby was surprised to be getting called back in, but had also kind of expected it. This problem wouldn't just go away with a conversation, would it? Team RWBY had all assembled in front of the headmaster's desk yet again, ready for whatever he had to say.
"Team RWBY."
Ruby spoke for her team, albeit reluctantly. "Uh... yes?"
"I've thought long and hard about this decision," Yang snickered and elbow nudged Blake, who rolled her eyes,"And I've decided that you are to all receive a new teamate."
Yang's grin fell, disbelief leaked through Weiss's mask, Blake looked like, (as Yang would say) a cat falling off a dock into a lake, and Ruby... had the most endearing pout on her face ever (also as Yang would say).
"Whaaaa! But why?" Ruby questioned, her voice reaching previously unknown octaves.
"Well, Miss Rose, it was recently brought to my attention that you are the one who brought Eric on to campus, and caused the whole ordeal in the first place, correct?"
"Well yeah, bu-"
"And don't you agree that those who cause problems and break rules should be punished?"
"Yes, bu-"
"No buts, Ruby. As a result of your actions your team will receive a new member effective immediately."
"But Professor Ozpin, team RWBY performs well as it is now, and adding a new member would only be a detriment to our progress as a whole." Weiss stepped in, ever the negotiator, and Ozpin sighed.
"I suppose I can give you all a way out of this, considering the circumstances."
The entire team seemed to relax for just a moment until Ozpin finished.
"The student will fight a member of your team, of his choice, in a one-on-one match. If he wins, he will attend the academy as a member of team RWBY."
"And if I lose this fight that was not a part of the deal we made?" A frustrated, familiar voice echoed from the shadowy edge of the room.
"Then, Mr. Line, the deal is null and void."
"He's the teammate you're giving us!? He was trying to kill us!" Blake outburst, just barely having beaten Yang.
"Don't flatter yourself. I was trying to kill the guys from Judicium, you just got in the middle of it. And if anything, I helped you guys! Knocked her out of the way of a sniper round for goodness's sake!" He said, gesturing to Yang.
"I would've been fine." Yang waved it off, attempting to make it seem like nothing had happened.
"Are you willing to bet on whether or not he was using Iridium Rounds? Because if he was then that shot would've torn through your chest like tissue paper."
"I'm willing to bet that you can all solve this tomorrow, in the match. A good night's rest, considering today's events, seems prudent. Team RWBY, return to your dorm. Eric, stay here for a moment so I can find you a place to sleep."
Yang caught Eric's gaze and sent a heated glare his way, one he heartily returned until she was in the elevator.
"Hey, Ozpin? Is that other offer still open? The one where I get executed?"
2:34 in the morning. Eric's hours, the ones where he did most of his work. All he had to do today was make a phone call. That, and stop questioning whatever insane train of thought Ozpin was following. Here, let's have him fight against somebody, and if he loses, let's have him get sent to prison, where he'll be executed!
The execution wasn't technically guaranteed, but with all the people Eric had killed, it may as well have been.
The old, practically senile professor set to guard Eric's room had fallen asleep long ago. As Eric slipped out of his temporary room, an unoccupied dorm, he made sure not to brush against the massive, round, mustachioed form of his 'guard'. Eric needed to go somewhere with no cameras to make the call, and what place better than a public restroom? No cameras in there, lest legal consequences befall Beacon. Eric, with a cautious glance both ways, entered the dark restroom, walked to the far stall, and, locking the door, pulled out his scroll.
A quick dial later, and he was on the line.
"Hey, it's me."
Sarcasm and cynicism oozed from the next sentence. "Oh really? I thought it was Perry. You know you should real- What? No, Perry, I wasn't talking to you, get back to work!"
"Things sound peachy there."
"As always. Mind telling me where the hell you've been?"
"The contract was a dud. Judicium was waiting for me, almost got me. Had a run in with Oculus, died, then ripped his arm off."
"That still doesn't answer my question of where you've been."
"You really don't wanna know."
"Can't be worse than one of Ironwood's cells, spent a month and a half there."
"No, it's worse."
"What place on earth could possibly be worse than a cell under control of an atlesian general?"
"Beacon."
"... Ya know kid, I normally don't just give up, but you win. Mind telling me how you got there?"
"Little Red riding hood found me bleeding out in an alleyway, dragged me all the way here trying to save me. Judicium attacked in the courtyard, place got demolished like it does every week, and Ozpin made a deal with me."
"The old wizard came down from his tower to talk with you?"
"No, made me go up, but the deal was I had two choices: Get turned over to the council or enter Beacon as a student and get 'rehabilitated'."
"Well, hate to say it, but that's great news! You'll be right under Ozpin's nose."
"I know. All I have to do is get to his room, and hit him while he's sleeping. An aura piercing attack'll kill him just like any civvie."
"But there has to be a catch, or you wouldn't risk calling me so late, in Beacon no less."
"You know me so well. He's trying to put me on team RWBY, but they don't want me, so he's having us settle it in the ring. I get to fight one of them, of my choice, and if I win, I'm on the team. If I lose, I'm gonna be taking a lethal dose of cough medicine."
"So you need to know who to go for. I'd almost say the kitty cat, just to give her something to deal with, but for you, a melee-fighter like you are? The Schnee. She can't take too many hits, and up close, if you're careful, she doesn't do much damage. You can probably catch her off guard with your rifle, too. You got any rounds for it?"
"No. I only have the gear I had for the mission, which means minimal for stealth. As far as straight combat goes I'm woefully under-equipped."
"What d'ya need?"
"The chains, my good cloak, rifle ammo, and the spare armor pieces. Gonna need some more quicksilver to work with."
"Send a picture of the bathroom to me, we'll have Miss Ice Cream bring it over."
A quick snap of a picture, and a few moments later the shattering of glass was echoing through the bathroom. Eric winced, hoping no one had heard, but had his immediate attention called to the person in front of him.
Cocky smirk, multicolored hair and eyes, Neopolitan was just as strange as ever. However, in the close proximity of the bathroom stall, dainty hands pressed against his chest were more than enough to cause the deep flush that overtook his cheeks. Her grin widened.
"Oh come on, cute girl pressed up next to me in a bathroom stall? What'd you expect me to do, call Roman and tell him about it?"
A tinny voice echoed from his scroll, "I heard that!"
Neo shook with silent laughter, dropping a few magazines of rifle rounds, a long chain, and miscellaneous pieces of armor on the ground in front of him, before, with the shattering of glass, vanishing without a trace.
"Thanks for the help Roman. I'll make sure to let you know how things went, if I get the chance."
"No problem kid. Remember, I'm getting paid for all this, and if I don't help you out I get fried anyways. I'm just glad I have to help someone I can tolerate, not like those brats Cinder has hugging a leg each. I swear, they may as well start feeding her grapes and bowing to her."
"Well I'll see you, I gotta go."
"Good luck kid. Neo says the same- well, not 'says', but you get the idea."
A click, and the scroll shut off. Now his problem would be sneaking all this stuff past the sleeping professor and into the room.
It would be much easier than Eric thought.
Morning. Eric had skipped breakfast in favor of fighting on an empty stomach, to avoid any sort of food induced sluggishness.
Eric was at the combat arena early, and was quite disheartened to see a crowd building in the stands. Apparently word had gotten out that it was closed today, for a bout- and Ozpin was letting students fill the stands. Eric was worried more because they'd see his face rather than any other reason. Unlike Neo, Torchwick, and any of his other criminal compatriots, when he was on duty he was no longer Eric Line- He was the Weapon Shifter, the cloaked and masked hunter who could take fatal wounds and shrug them off.
However, he could not be that now, and all the kids here would know his face, whether he won or lost. For someone with his job, people knowing who you really were was bad news. The only people who knew his real identity that were against him was Judicium, and he had clear evidence of how that had turned out.
Eric glanced at his scroll and saw that it was almost one, the designated time for the bout. He prepped himself, double checking his gear, as well as everything else. No matter what happened, he couldn't lose control in this fight, not like he did with Judicium's men or the people he fought on contract. He couldn't afford to show them his semblance, his one ace in the hole. If he did, then Ozpin would know what he was capable of- leaving Eric with no cards up his sleeve.
A voice came over the loudspeaker. It was Goodwitch. "All students in attendance, please behave yourselves. This bout was not originally intended to be held for an audience, so be grateful and do not cause trouble."
Eric watched the metal gate in front of him rise. It was showtime.
Team RWBY had been surprised, to say the least. They had been sure he'd mess up and pick Yang, over the petty grudge they seemed to have. That would have been a mistake, however, as the group unanimously agreed the blonde was their strongest fighter. They'd planned everything around him selecting Yang, and thus had been thrown for a loop when Weiss had been chosen. In fact, only Yang had showed up with her weapons- Weiss'd had to go back to the locker room to grab hers.
The entirety of team RWBY had given the heiress the same advice: keep him at a distance and hit him with dust attacks. If he couldn't touch her, he couldn't win, right?
Weiss was ready: to fight, win, and to put an end to the nonsense of the past few days. Now things would be simple, overwhelm him with superior skill, and end the fight before he could even hit her. After Goodwitch's brief announcement, the metal gate in front of her rose and she strode out into the arena.
"Both combatants will fight until their auras are in the red, and once one's aura enters the red, the loser and victor are declared accordingly. Are there any questions?"
A brief look to both of them before, "Then you may begin."
As soon as the words had left the professor's mouth Eric had dropped into a kneeling stance, metal flowing from his cloak to form a massive anti-material rifle. Eric wasn't a perfect shot, but with no cover, at medium range, and no wind resistance? It was hard to miss all five shots in a clip. The crack of the rifle thundered across the arena as Eric opened up, the shock on his opponent's face evident. The first round grazed that awkwardly tilted ponytail of hers, the next whistled over her shoulder, and the third sent her reeling, before she managed to put up an ice wall. The rifle melted in his hands, shifting into a blade as Eric charged towards her, intent on bringing the fight into close quarters.
A tenth of her aura gone from one shot, but that had really only worked because of shock factor. It had, however, given Eric a head start, something he was immediately thankful for as a stream of flame jetted past where he had been moments ago. Looked like getting to her would be harder than he'd thought.
His opponent stood in the center of a glyph, a clock face ticking ever faster, sending balls of flame and shards of ice at him at an incredible pace. Eric had only made it about halfway there when the first ice shard slammed into his shoulder, sending a spray of blood into the air. He didn't halt his charge though, knowing every second counted, and didn't even pause as he ripped the frigid thing out of his shoulder, discarding it on the ground as he ran.
A quarter of the way left. All the ducking and dodging had left Eric out of breath, but he was almost there. He was down to half aura from all the hits he'd taken, now way behind the heiress, who was still at ninety percent. As he closed in he just barely noticed the glyph under the girl's feet, the one that propelled her, incredibly fast, to his left, where she struck him once as she passed.
Forty-five percent now, but that was subject to change as Eric whipped his wrist and the blade in his hands distended and flew towards the rapier wielder, morphing into a chain that struck and wrapped around her waist. The sheer force of the jerk from the chain dropped her aura into the eighties and sent her stumbling backwards towards her opponent, an opportunity he capitalized on, charging forwards to slam a metal-clothed fist into the back of her head. The ridiculous blow sent her stumbling in the other direction, and sent her aura to the high sixties.
However, she was quick on the recovery and though it seemed she was weakest on her team in melee combat, she could still handle herself- the trio of slashes across Eric's chest and his now yellow aura in the thirties a testament to the fact.
But this was what he'd bolted through literal ice, thunder and brimstone for, and he wasn't going to give up because of some scratches.
He drew his blade and clashed with Myrtenaster, sending sparks alight in the air. He dug his feet in and began forcing her back, only to growl in surprise as she did the same to him in an instant, a red glow from the revolving cylinder in her blade the source of her strength. If Eric couldn't brute-force his way through her defence, then in a sword duel, (which, between aura users was a battle of attrition) he would lose... an outcome that was simply not an option.
However, a quick glance was enough to ascertain that her dust stores were on their last legs; the barrage she'd thrown at him before a horrendous drain on the little cylinder of near-magical powder. He needed to drain her, and quick, something a well-timed feint could do. He 'slipped' and let her blade slide to his leg, where it caught slightly on his thigh. Three percent, normally insignificant but with how low he was, the difference between victory and defeat.
He gasped in 'pain' and fell, clutching his leg. The other duelist did just what he needed: swallowed him with a gout of flame, a roaring conflagration that would have decimated his aura, an attack that ripped the last of the dust from her blade. Eric's aura dropped two percent. The sheer heat around him had done it, but his cloak had taken the blow. He shed the steaming, ashen thing, with it's little steel fibers now plain for the world to see. Flame retardant didn't mean flame proof if the fire was hot enough, he'd learned before. He'd need a new one, assuming he won this and wasn't dragged off to the council's dungeon.
He saw the frustrated look in her eyes when the little revolving wheel at her hilt spun uselessly, but gave her little time to plan, pressing his blade against hers with renewed vigor. He backed her blade up so that she couldn't escape, using height to pin it above her, then pressed with both arms, a hand on the hilt and another on the blade, gauntlet preventing a shredded palm.
Her defense broke and he got a massive slash in, one from shoulder to hip, one that had her hissing and gritting her teeth in pain. Sometimes Eric wondered what he was missing out on, not being able to feel pain from most things, but was certainly glad it happened in the end. It was one of his greatest advantages. Like it was now holy hell how much aura did he have left!?
The glyphs, he hadn't payed enough attention. She'd rocketed forwards and planted Myrtenaster straight through his left shoulder. Eric grabbed the hilt and kicked her away, disarming her, but that didn't matter if he'd just los-
Twenty-percent. One more hit, one more touch, hell, even moving his wounded shoulder the wrong way could push him into the red. The stab had to have been perfect, too, to slide through so easily. He needed to end this, now, but how? Weiss was a distance away, about six feet. She was disarmed, but a good shove could seal his fate now. He needed a guaranteed win. Eric was just about to pull out his rifle, the one he'd used at the beginning of the engagement, when the girl picked up a lengthy ice shard, a remnant of her prior onslaught, and dashed forwards. Eric couldn't move fast enough, he was screwed, the shard of ice was going to slam in between his ribs and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
'Nothing you can do... rather, nothing you're willing to do. You're weakening yourself, boy.'
The voice echoed, all around Eric, and the world slowed to a crawl. He could see the muscles tensing in Weiss's arm, the drag of the wind on her clothes, himself in her pupils. He went to move out of the way, but found he couldn't.
He spoke in his head, 'What?'
'So childish and foolish. Limiting yourself in such a manner. Your life is at stake, but you refuse to save yourself yet again, even though one blow could claim victory.'
'Styx. I'm not going to use it, no matter what you say.'
'But Eric, what I cannot wrap my- our- head around is why you insist upon not using your greatest strength when it could save your life.'
'Because it's not natural!'
'You're not natural! Compared to the rest of the world you're an aberration; you'd best embrace it lest your denial be the end of you. Besides, how are you supposed to kill Ozpin in his sleep if you can't pierce his aura? Without it you can't kill the man, can't complete your contract for Cinder. Without it you're useless, just a dead weight she'll cut loose.'
'Shut up!'
'Your enemies will tear you to pieces, Eric, but they won't be able to do much with you if you let her down. You'll be dead, the only one to remember your little family gone, same for your little friends, and for what? Because you're to weak to win? You're going to die a pitiful, weak death Eric, and the only thing you can do to stop it, you pathetic thing, is to be strong. But you're weak. So you'll die.'
'Stop it!'
'Stop what? Telling the truth? I'm so sorry, Eric, but you're going to die. Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, di-
"No!" A ferocious roar in a nigh daemonic voice ripped from Eric's throat as time sped up again. A halo of sinister black energy engulfed his right arm, and he swung it forth with tenacity rarely seen, upwards into Weiss's ribs, whereupon impact, a loud crashing, shrieking crack was heard as her aura flickered and shattered like glass around his fist. A loud thud, caused by the force of the blow, echoed around the arena as the slight girl was sent backwards into the concrete wall of the arena.
Eric checked his aura as the bleachers seemed to erupt in chaos. He caught the surprise in Goodwitch's eyes, the questions burning to be answered. They would burn for quite awhile. When Eric saw his scroll he almost laughed. Scrolls gave a more precise reading than the scoreboards, past a certain point the exact levels were deemed unimportant. His exact level, to the most accurate it could be read at the moment?
20.003%. Less than a hundredth from defeat. He'd been lucky. Even then, he'd pulled his ace out of his sleeve, his semblance: An Aura-Piercing blow. The attack had it's own drawbacks, to be sure, but he couldn't deny it was effective. People's aura ironically seemed to take more damage when they were hit rather than their aura being hit. He guessed physical damage meant more to the soul than aural damage.
A few people were beginning to enter the arena, considering the girl in front of him hadn't gotten up yet. No question as to why, her aura was completely depleted. He'd never known why he hit with so much force when he used the attack, but the few times he'd missed while using it he'd crumbled into concrete and metal with relative ease.
He approached the girl as she finally managed to pull herself up, a hand over the place where he'd hit. He'd bruised a rib or two, at least. He hoped it wasn't too serious, even he hated the outcome of his strongest attack. It was idiotic of him to lose control like that, but Styx... the little voice in his head knew just what buttons to push. But those were thoughts for later. Now? Setting the groundwork for the next few months of camaraderie.
Easy stuff.
He started out, "How you feeling?"
"Oh, what do you care?" She snapped back. Ouch.
"Well, considering I'm your teammate now, I think it would be worse if I didn't care."
"I'm fine, so leave me alone." She stumbled after her sentence, and Eric was just about to grab her when he realized Myrtenaster was still in his shoulder. A reminder of how close to screwed he'd been, how lucky he was he'd caught her off guard. When they next fought, he'd be sure not to make the same mistakes he had. Until then, though...
After ripping Weiss's blade from his shoulder and wiping the blood on his pant leg(as well as noting how his aura dropped into the red as soon as he did so), he slid Myrtenaster into the sheath at Weiss's side, before grabbing her arm and running it over his shoulder.
"Hey, w-what're you-"
"Helping out a teammate, I said it before. Besides, if we're going to be on the same team for the foreseeable future, we may as well get used to each other."
A brief pause, before "You know, considering your prior occupation, your personality is not what I'd expect."
"What did you expect? Cold-hearted, merciless killer?"
"Honestly, yes."
"Ouch."
"But you're not as awful as you seem... though there is still plenty of room for improvement."
"Thank you?"
"You're welcome. But don't expect me to behave this way all the time," a sharp, blood-freezing glare, "I'm only being kind because you assisted me."
Eric sighed.
Moving arrangements had been discussed. Team RWBY would have a half-day the next day to help their teammate get moved in, and he'd sleep in his same guest room for tonight.
"Eric, are you still there?"
He jerked, then cursed himself as he returned to his scroll call. "Of course, Cinder."
A voice, sultry, seductive, continued, "As I was saying, I am pleased. You've gone above and beyond my expectations in regards to this whole thing. You'll certainly be receiving a pay raise at the end of all this. Who knows, Mercury and Emerald might just need a new friend. But, in the meantime, while you root yourself like a poisonous vine in the hearts of our enemies, enjoy yourself."
"E-excuse me ma'am, but why?"
"Because, Eric, even though you don't know the full plan, I can promise you this: Now, you're still a child. But at the end of all this?"
A pause for breath before she continued, "No-one will have seen the horrors you will have seen."
Holy hell, I updated remotely on time! Certainly has nothing to do with the fact that this story, mind my french, fucking exploded. The few hours after the last update I got more follows and favs than I'd gotten for any other chapter. I don't know what it was, but maybe you guys greased up my fingers or something because the words just flowed right onto the screen. Really though. Thanks for all the support guys. I appreciate it.
In further news, the plot thickens! Story differences from the first attempt, anyone? Idk, maybe Eric wasn't working for the enemy in the first cut?
And who is this Styx fellow in Eric's head? Not like anybody who read the first version had it thoroughly explained or anything like that.
Also, new title, cover, and summary! I made the cover in about five minutes, just edited a picture with text (I swear I tried to find an artist or something to give credit to but I couldn't find anything cuz the image is a tattoo stencil!), honestly the title took me longer. Almost an hour of freaking brainstorming. Also, I'm writing this before I write the new summary as it is currently *checks clock* 3:08 in the morning. Thank god for summer.
I also tried to emphasize how Eric beat Weiss because a couple of surprises and a fighting style advantage, rather than just mopping the floor with her. Didn't want to have to change Eric's last name to Sue. Also, semblance, ask any questions you guys may have, regarding Eric's semblance or anything else. I think I've planned a way to explain pretty much everything at some point soon, without info bombing you guys, even though there were a lot of conversations this chapter. (btw, would love to hear whether or not you guys liked the conversations or would rather have more text.) But, to summarize, ask questions of anything and unless it's spoilery I'll answer.
Again, thanks for all the support guys, I appreciate it.
Sincerely, Sea Scorpion