Hello, long time no see.
So, yeah, it has been around 2 months since I last updated this fic and I'm sorry for the wait those of you who were looking forward to this chapter. January was a really busy month for me, I had a university project and the group I was in was sick pretty much the whole first week (myself included) which gave us less time to finish, which we did. Then after the stressful ordeal (I don't deal with stress well) I relaxed with The Witcher 3 pretty much every free moment in February.
But now I'm ready to give it a shot again and hope to update more frequently.
I am less than satisfied with this chapter. Like in RWBY we are at a plot building moment in time so not much action is happening and I fear to simply have Getsuga playing detective too much, but I feel it's necessary to explain what he does so as not to skip over him or have him magically discover everything. Things should improve next chapter or the one after, but I hope you like it.
On another note, I'm starting some new stories. Yeah, I know it might seem wrong when I have trouble updating only one, but I would like to get them out on the web. Rest assured that Black Birds, Slaying Moon will remain my main story and I will only take on one other story MAX to update regularly, the others will be written as inspiration strikes.
The stories are:
-Servants of the Multiverse-
Setting: Fate Series X Multi crossover.
About: So, this fic is inspired by Lord Mist's Infinite Paths and will take different characters from other fictions and put them as Servants in the Fate Series Holy Grail Wars. I find this a fun and interesting idea that I would like to play with. I plan on being serious with the Servants and will try to balance them so as to get a fair fight. At the moment, I'm all but finished with the first chapter, Ahzek Ahriman from Warhammer 40K as Caster in the fourth Grail War and have drawn up plans for characters such as: DOOM Marine from the DOOM game as Berserker, Geralt from The Witcher game as Assassin, Lich King from Warcraft as Rider and a few others. I might even take requests as to which characters I write.
-Remnant Annihilation-
Setting: RWBY X Planetary Annihilation.
About: Remnant gets screwed over when a robotic Commander crash lands on their planet and begins building a robotic army of doom to destroy everything. It's a one-shot and just for fun. I took some inspiration from Cyricist001's Grimdark and other fics were people meets something that they just can't handle.
-Only the damned are equal-
Setting: RWBY X DOOM
Plot: Blake Belladonna always believed in equality and fair treatment of all despite race or other differences, but an event changed her point of view. Spending years in a very literal Hell, Blake Belladonna returns with a new philosophy, that if you can't do something alone you don't deserve to reap the benefits. And if the Kingdoms won't accept the faunus, then the faunus will simply have to make a Kingdom of their own.
About: Perhaps a little inaccurate summary, but it was the best I could think off for now. So, this fic will be about Blake disappearing from the face of Remnant only to return years later (Still undecided on how many. Right now, I'm leaning towards her never getting to join the new White Fang and being away for 6 years) having survived in Hell surrounded by demons. Hardened by her experience and seeing how misguided the White Fang have become she seeks to carve out a place for the faunus on Remnant, using force if necessary. But first, she needs the influence of a huntress and must attend beacon. It will be less of a quite ninja Blake and more of a warrior queen Blake. Blood and gore will happen.
-Predator, not Huntsman-
Setting: RWBY X Alien vs Predator.
Plot/About: In this fic, the Arc clan is a powerful tribe of warriors that live in the extremely deadly forests of western Anima. So, deadly are these forests that not even huntsmen or Grimm dare brave them, but the Arc clan, through a long adaptation and evolution, have made it their home. Ruled over by strict clan traditions and having created a very advanced technology through the unique Dust found only in their forests the Arcs are a powerful and deadly clan warriors. Now the chieftain's son, Jaune, have been sent out to attend a huntsman academy and bring wisdom back to the tribe about the outside world. The story will be about HumanPredator Jaune attending beacon and all the fun/blood that follows.
Again, much thank goes to muratira. I simply cannot hope to explain how much having a sort of beta reader for my ideas mean.
See, what we call God depends upon our tribe, Clark Jo, 'cause God is tribal. God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from Daddy's fist and abominations. I figured out way back if God is all-powerful, He cannot be all good. And if He is all good, then He cannot be all-powerful. And neither can you be.
-Lex Luthor.
Streets, buildings and tiny people passed her gaze as she stared out the window.
From this height, the busy shoppers and store owners looked like ants, scuttling around in a controlled chaos, as they worked to make their colony, that was the Kingdom of Vale, function.
Yang Xiao Long had been watching this same sight since she boarded the airship that would take her to Beacon.
And her sister apparently?
Normally the news that her precious little half-sister would be attending Beacon along with her would have left her ecstatic. Ohh, she would have teased her and made a big deal out of its, most likely embarrassing cute little Ruby. What a sight to see.
But, on this day, on this hour, which should have been one of triumph, the culmination of years of training and preparation, Yang just couldn't conjure forth the energy and resigned herself to staring at Vale in silence and periodically placating her concerned sister.
The reason for the blonde's distress was twofold.
Last night Yang had gotten chewed out by her father like never before, standing paralyzed with fear as Ruby sat crying in her room, headphones on full blast, trying to avoid the sounds of their enraged father.
Taiyang was typically an easygoing man and father, fine with his eldest daughter's wild attitude and lifestyle and only required her to text him when she went out with friends. He had even been cool enough to bail her out when she got into trouble on her nights out. A huntsman's salary allowed for much compensation to Patch's nightclub owners.
However, last night had been different.
Having picked his youngest daughter up from the police station just the night before, the little rose having apparently tried to prevent a robbery, Taiyang was a bit surprised when he got a call from the same police officer, a nice lad named Jerry.
Whatever harmless expectations Taiyang had thought up died a quick death the moment Jerry started explaining his reason for calling.
The worry and terror for his daughter's safety grew during the trip from Patch to Vale and likewise his anger and rage built on the trip back.
Yang had been found on a bench outside of the Vale Central Hospital, unconscious but otherwise fine. The staff at the hospital had contacted the police which in turn had contacted Taiyang.
Taiyang's scroll had nearly not survived the seconds it took officer Jerry to assure him that there were no signs of sexual assault.
Taiyang had pick Yang up, not saying a word to her despite her tearful best efforts, and taken her home. And then the enraged rant started.
As Taiyang shouted in her face about her irresponsibility and nightmarish scenarios he had thought up Yang could have sworn his hair caught golden fire and his eyes turned red.
The next day, anger vented and with a good night's sleep, Taiyang was ready to forgive and comfort her before his two girls went off to Beacon.
But, the stress and fear of the whole situation still weighed on Yang's mind, which was the first reason for her mood.
The second was much more inexplicable.
Of last night Yang remembered most, the bar, Junior, the fight and all that. She also had memories, if blurred and fragmented, of the man responsible for her trip to the hospital.
And these memories tormented her.
Not with pain, but uncertainty. The fleeting image of the man in her mind tugged at her… instincts? Yeah, that's a good word for it. It tugged at them and filled her with strange emotions of respect, like… this man meant something her, were familiar somehow.
It felt as if it was at the tip of her tongue, yet eluding her with every step.
It was maddening.
One thing was certain, however, this man had triggered a reaction in her aura and that meant something, huge or minuscule, it meant something.
And by her mean right hook she would discover what it was.
"I'll… keep this brief." An amplified voice stated.
Ozpin looked out at all of them, gathered here in the hall. Children of different upbringing, Kingdom or race, all come together to become defenders of Man- and Faunus-kind.
And children they were, despite the general acceptance that huntsman students, future killers of monsters, were to be considered adults. Where others their age were only taking the first steps towards choosing a future, those within this hall had fully committed themselves to battling Grimm and the possibility of dying.
Well, maybe not all, Ozpin thought amused, as he looked at the young Arc. The boy's transcripts were good, but not good enough to fool him. Ozpin kept an eye on all major huntsman families and what young Jaune lacked in skill he made up for in potential. With time Ozpin was confident that he could become a fine huntsman, yet now he was out of his depth.
"You've traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you're finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He smoothly spoke, holding the attention of his young audience.
Ruby Rose, the young fifteen-year-old that he had specially allowed into his school. He had kept close watch of her progress. Being tutored by her uncle, an extraordinarily skilled huntsman, in the art of scythe fighting had raised her to a level beyond her peers and Ozpin was sure that she would not fall behind, despite her age. Of course, it was not her fighting ability that made Ozpin so interested in her, but rather those eyes of hers. With Salem on the move cultivating the Kingdoms strength was important now more than ever.
Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. He had been somewhat surprised that she chose to attend Vale's huntsman academy. Less surprised had he been by the bribe her father had offered to deny her entry, with the whole scandal about Winter and all. Ozpin had even prepared a measured reply, stating the unethicality about denying a qualified huntress, a protector of mankind, the right to study. It had been a short conversation. Her elitist nature would cause some initial friction with her teammates, but as she was allowed to behave like the teen she is rather than the Schnee she was expected to, Ozpin calculated that she would mellow out.
Blake Belladonna, faunus and former White Fang member. Glynda had not approved of his decision to allow her entry into the academy, but she had relented when confronted by a mixture of the intelligence he had on her and his calm stubbornness to give her a second chance. As for her value, Ozpin knew that she had the ability and potential to become a skilled huntress, but it was her relation to the chieftain of Menagerie and former high leader of the White Fang that had him interested. It was his hope that she could help bridge the gap between man and faunus and help them stand strong against their common enemy.
"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction." He said with an air of mystery and disappointment.
This was an important part of the introduction speech. Regardless of what these young hunters thought, being the shield of mankind meant more than simply killing Grimm, much more. A simple soldier or police officer would never be able to make a difference against the like of Salem and her underlings, they simply didn't have the skill, knowledge or intuition to battle against such forces. But a huntsman was elevated from such frailty. They were warriors trained to inhuman levels of combat powers, taught in the strength of their souls and tutored in sniffing out threats wherever they may be.
If hunting Grimm was all that were required most of the students needed only a year or two to be finished, already having proved quite deadly.
But the student here would train for four years at this academy before having the right to call themselves true huntsmen and huntresses, and during those four years, they would learn how to battle not only Grimm but more hidden threats also. That was, after all, the reason the academies were created in the first place.
He doubted anyone would comprehend the subtle clues in their lessons and realize that they were trained for more than they signed up for, but those that did were the most valuable and insightful. That was, after all, how he got his right-hand man in Qrow.
Purpose, direction.
Pyrrha Nikos. Graduated from Sanctum Academy in Mistral, four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, a girl of exceptional strength and skill. A future Fall Maiden?
That was too early to tell, but she was definitely a candidate. From what Ozpin had gathered on her Pyrrha's past told a classic tale. Gifted as a child, and with parents that encouraged her, Pyrrha had learned fast and risen quickly through the ranks of entertainment fighters. It was not long before she got her first sponsorship, which had only accelerated her growth, private teachers and hired trainers imparting her with skills and knowledge. However, the young girl she was were pushed aside in favor of her talent as a fighter and soon friends and family became drowned out by her fame.
Her isolation could prove both detrimental and beneficial in regards to her future as a Maiden, but her psyche would need to be evaluated to ensure that she could be trusted with the power of the Fall.
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." He continued, always in the same calm tone, yet there was an unspoken importance in his words. His eyes swept over the students and settled on one in particular.
Yang Xiao Long, older half-sibling to Ruby Rose and daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen.
And granddaughter of Getsuga Branwen.
A promising young huntress with sharp skills, an impressive amount of Aura and a potent semblance, Yang Xiao Long would no doubt develop into a powerful killer of Grimm.
Ozpin had no difficulty admitting to himself that his interests lay elsewhere.
Steel flashed and sparks flew as the two opponents clashed before they broke off.
On one side of the small arena stood a young woman. Clad in a lacey, knee length, pleated, black dress and with delicate heeled shoes, the figure stared, in concentration, at the enemy across from it. In one hand, it swung a length of chain connected to its wrist which ended in a crescent, backward curving, blade and in the other, it held a similar weapon by its handle. The figure circled the other, its black-tinted red hair revealed as the hood of its white cloak had fallen back.
On the other side stood its counterpart, confident and unworried. This woman wore a collared vest over a red, short sleeve shirt along with knee-high boots and a black, pleated skirt that went to mid-thigh. Her arms were bare except for the segmented, red wrist bracers and she had a long bundle of black feathers fastened to the right side of her hip. She shook her long black hair before she locked her red eyes with her opponent again, pointing the frost blue katana her challenger's chain weapon and giving a small smile as she saw the layer of ice still clinging to the crescent blade.
Summer Rose flicked her eyes towards her ice covered weapon before, with a special pull of the chain and the whirring of hidden mechanisms, the weapon erupted in flame, banishing the ice.
Raven Branwen scowled briefly before she charged again and the dance of death resumed as the combatants rejoined the fray.
Summer turned a full 360 degrees around and made her lazy swing into a powerful horizontal sweep which Raven ducked under, but was forced to halt her charge as the second, lightning covered, chain weapon too was swung at her.
Raven rolled to the side and, with power belying her slim physique, jumped over Summer and turned to slash her blade diagonally upwards in an executing strike to which the white cloaked woman narrowly managed to recall one of her blades to block.
Summer swung her other weapon as she jumped back, hoping to regain the advantage of her midrange weapons, but Raven dodged, not wanting to risk entangling her only weapon, and charged again relentlessly.
Her speed proved to exceed Summer's because Raven managed to close the distance before her opponent could find proper footing and struck Summer's arm in a downwards slash before she could fully dodge.
The signature electronic beep sounded to inform the fighters that Aura damage had occurred, a good thing since neither could afford to distract themselves by looking at their Aura meter.
This marked the fourth hit in favor of Raven vs. Summers own singular successful attack.
Ozpin looked over the Arena from a hidden vantage point, having taken the time to watch the students of his academy train with each other. The combatants were quite skilled despite being only first-year students, especially the katana wielding one, from the skill she was displaying she might be able to hold her own against a student two years her senior.
However, she seemed somewhat familiar. His eyes traced along her long, black hair and during the fight, he caught sight of her crimson eyes more than once, and memories began to stir beneath the surface, but he could never grasp it.
The match ended with Raven sliding underneath Summers guard and dragging her blade along her stomach draining her Aura to the minimum safety level, but Summer, in desperation, managed to get one final attack off as her two chain weapons, one coated and fire and the other in ice, was swung at the sliding Raven and the resulting steam explosion blasted her into a wall.
The referee called the match and the audience cheered at the two fighters which Summer accepted with a smile, but not Raven.
At the lack of response from the other combatant, the cheering died down replaced with concern, especially Summer seemed worried whether her last attack had somehow done more damage than should be possible with Raven's Aura levels.
The female Branwen knelt with one knee on the ground and seemed to support herself with a hand on the floor and her sword tip buried in the stone, all the while she drew long heavy breaths and trembled.
Before anyone could think to do something a young man with similar black hair and red eyes wearing a burgundy t-shirt under a grey, unbuttoned, dress shirt and black dress pants vaulted over the railing and with a quick calming hand gesture to the people around knelt in front of the girl and put his hands on her shoulders and started whispering something inaudible.
While to the inexperienced students its might simply seem that the boy was checking on the girl, Ozpin was an experienced huntsman and saw it for what it was. The tensing in the legs of the girl and the arms of the boy, the way the boy quickly transferred one hand to the hilt of the girl's sword, the trembling now in both of them.
The boy was restraining the girl for some reason.
And before the quiet struggle died down and the girl arose calmly with her brother, Ozpin felt a flare of dark power and saw a flash of very familiar golden eyes.
That was the first of many clues to follow that lead Ozpin to discovering the Branwen twin's ancestry and now before him was the grandchild of That Man.
Ozpin suspected that neither Qrow nor Raven had full access to their powers back when they attended Beacon and he had been too worried about the purpose of their presence at his school to take the time to further train them, but now he might have a second chance with Yang.
He would wait till she got settled so as to avoid causing problems to early in her development as a huntress, but at the start of her second year perhaps Ozpin might, with Qrow's help, persuade the blond to take 'special lessons'. It would be an experiment since he didn't know how to instruct her in the use of the power that flowed in her blood, but if he succeeded Ozpin might just possess the most powerful huntress in recent history, in all of history if luck was on his side.
"It is up to you to take the first step."
A granddaughter. A fucking GRANDDAUGHTER and that prick of a son hadn't seen fit to inform him.
Oh, he would have word with the boy when he saw him again, of that he could be sure.
Sigh. But that was a conversation for the future. As much as Getsuga would like to hunt his son down and demand answers he had prior obligations.
They sure are taking their time. Getsuga thought annoyed.
It had taken some time to find the informant, even with Junior's guidance.
Vale was something of a middle ground when it came to treatment of faunus compared to the other Kingdoms.
In Atlas, discrimination and racism toward faunus ran rabid. It wasn't to say all of Atlas hated the faunus, but the economic aftermath of the defeat in the Faunus Rights Revolution hit Atlas especially hard and the White Fang attacks on Atlas's largest workplace, the SDC, had resulted in reduced wages in recent years.
Mistral had much land, so a faunus family could find a home largely free of discrimination on the outskirts, but the frequent raid by bandits who might not share the same tolerance made this a risky choice.
Vacuo was the Kingdom who were the most tolerant of faunus, second only to Menagerie. This was the result of a cultural evolution that took place when the other Kingdoms discovered and invaded Vacuo. Stripped of resources the people of old Vacuo had been forced to band together to survive and that carried over till today were if you could contribute you were welcome.
Vale, in respect to faunus treatment, was quite accepting. A faunus could get a normal job, a home, food, and medical treatment. Compared to the slums of Vacuo or the Dust mines of Atlas this was quite an improvement.
However, the acknowledgment of their rights was there only in code, not in spirit.
A faunus could get a job, but promotions came slow and often only to a certain point. He could buy a home, but no faunus could ever afford something better than their fellows. In the hospitals, if it wasn't life threatening, most faunus found themselves the last seen to.
Most faunus learned to live with it, enduring the false smiles and the condescending stares.
With almost all faunus gathered in the same neighborhoods, sharing them with the under to lower-middle class humans, it had been difficult to distinguish which faunus in the specific area was the one Getsuga was looking for.
Dog faunus by the name of Adrian, clad often in blue jeans, black t-shirt, and a black nylon jacket.
It could have been anyone.
Luckily enhanced senses and careless individuals mixed perfectly.
Getsuga sat perched on the roof of a small discount supermarket, the shadows of the approaching night shrouding him from sight as he stared at the group of faunus five houses down the street. The six faunus had been conversing for some time now and despite the distance, Getsuga could hear them as if he was right there talking with them.
It had been a mostly harmless conversation between friends, but as the streets slowly cleared, people going home from work, and with a few paranoid looks around the subjects of their talks shifted to more confidential matters.
"…home after 2 AM last Friday. It was a drag but I got the tools nice and ready for when we should need them." A bear faunus in overalls spoke.
"Nice. Sorry, I couldn't be there, but Betty and I were celebrating Williams birthday and we had been saving up for six months to buy him that game console." A wolf faunus in a leather jacket said.
"No problem. I owed you a favor after you covered for me on that business travel." The bear faunus laughed it off.
"Well, it's good that you got those tools, Sage, for I've gotten a call from the boss. Our new 'partner' is coming to town again and need some help with some installations." A dog faunus said, spitting the word 'partner' like it was poison.
That resulted in a chorus of curses and groans.
"Awww, not him again. Seriously I know the Fang has been on hard times, but to team up with that bowler wearing racist isn't what I signed up for." A deer faunus with a turtleneck groaned.
"Well, you better get used to it because that just how things are in the company now." Adrian growled, stressing 'company'.
The deer faunus nodded and waved him off.
"…Anyway. Just go to the office to get briefed on the situation and be ready okay?" Agreements all around. "Good. Well, I'll see you when I see you. Till next time." Adrian concluded.
There were some handshakes and parting words before the group broke up.
The now identified Adrian headed down the street away from Getsuga.
Well, time to introduce myself I suppose. And with that, he vanished from the roof.
I hope Alice have the stew ready, I'm starving. Thought Adrian as he made his way back to his girlfriend's house with a smile, thinking on the small mouse faunus that he loved dearly.
Adrian was new White Fang, ones who agreed with the changes made to the organization by the new leadership. His father had gotten himself killed working with criminals in Mistral to provide a better life for his mother and him than his own father, Adrian's grandfather, could Dust mining in Atlas. His father had left some savings behind, but they burnt through them and Adrian's mother was forced to start working in the 'entertainment' business at night.
She always came home with fresh bruises.
So, Adrian felt perfectly justified in his hatred of humans and supported the new approach the White Fang had taken.
Alas, Adrian skill on the battlefield was minimal. Not that he couldn't fight he was quite the shot with a handgun, but… well… Adrian was a coward. To rephrase that: Adrian had a healthy appetite for life, as he would always say. This meant that he wasn't in the good graces of some of the more zealotry members of the Fang, but his skills at gathering information had kept him safe so far.
He rounded a corner and walked down the sidewalk of what used to be the old industrial area, steel mills and Bullhead assembly plants left abandoned and scheduled for demolition or renovation so new businesses could take over. Already apartment buildings had sprouted around it in preparation for the job opportunities.
With this shortcut he should be home in about fifteen minutes and could get some food, have some fun if Alice was in the mood, catch some shuteye and be up early next morning to receive new orders.
Yeah, life isn't great, but it sure isn't terrib-
Next, Adrian knew the light of the street lamp overhead went dark before he suffered a sudden case of extreme vertigo and found himself skidding across the uneven ground.
"Arggh! What the fuck?!" he howled, eyes clenched shut in pain.
"Hello, Adrian." Someone said coldly.
Fighting through the pain in his back and the scraped skin Adrian opened his eyes. It was much darker than before, but his enhanced faunus eyesight pierced the darkness to reveal that he was suddenly inside the old Dust processing plant and had seemingly moved half a kilometer in the time it took to blink.
"Adrian~? Focus please, I would like for you to tell me something and the sooner you do the sooner you can go free." The man before him said calmly. He sat crouched with folded hands four meters away in a black and red getup and only Adrian's faunus eyes allowed him to see the features in the darkness. He had a hood on which hid his face in shadow but not the single sharp horn or the two red orbs that shone through from within the darkness. He was obviously armed if the large thing on his back was any indication.
Shit. Adrian's head snapped back and forth, looking around for help he knew would not be there. Within the walls of the factory, they were completely isolated, the whole thing being abandoned and only criminals or junkies occasionally coming here.
Sweat beaded on his brow and adrenaline pulsed in his veins as fear filled him. Nightmarish scenarios played in his head as he considered who this person was and what he wanted.
"W-who th-the fuck ar-" The faunus began.
"I'm asking the questions here!" The man harshly cuts him off.
Standing up from his crouch his captor walked over to Adrian's left and leaned up against a concrete wall and crossed his arms. During the seconds when he didn't look at him, Adrian stuck his hand in his jacket pocket where he kept the small revolver he had for protection. The man was obliviously a Huntsman so Adrian didn't feel too confident in his chances, but if he could catch him by surprise he might wound him enough to get away.
Staring at him with that infernal glow the man began. "After overhearing your little conversation, cute with the 'code words' by the way, I have a few questions so let's get to it, shall we?" The man clapped his hands, folded them before him and leaned a little forward as he locked gaze with Adrian. "Question 1: Who's 'the boss'?"
…
Adrian didn't answer, his loyalty to the White Fang and the fear of what would happen when this man had what he wanted slightly outweighing the fear of what would happen if he didn't give the man what he wanted. Inside his pocket, he curled his finger around the trigger of the gun.
…
The man sighed and looked to the around on the ground for a second before spotting what he looked for. Picking up a steel rod used for concrete reinforcement he looked it over for a moment before, with a satisfied nod, he walked over to Adrian and held the steel rod a few centimeters away from his face.
Brief confusion quickly turned to surprise before it became fear as the steel rod, starting from the man's hand, turned red hot.
"The 'boss'?" The man repeated, his face cold.
Adrian kept his eye on the rod but held his tongue.
…
Tssss.
"Arrrrrrgggh." Adrian cried as his head filched away from the rod. He had been briefly tapped on the check by the near molten rod, giving him a small 3rd-degree burn.
Distracted by the pain he didn't notice his captors displeased scowl before he was picked up by the collar and thrown down on the floor, knocking the wind out of him.
Pinning him down by a foot on his chest his captor glared at him from under his hood and held the glowing metal rod a few centimeters away from his eyes. "Your boss if you please?" He growled, patience slipping.
"A-A-Ada-" wheeze "A-Adam Ta-" cough "Adam Taurus." Adrian managed to force out while trying desperately to recover precious oxygen.
The man stepped off his chest and turned away from him as Adrian rolled over, coughing and spluttering.
"Now that's better. Adam Taurus? One of the commanders of the White Fang? Okay, question 2: Know anything about a black hai-
BANG!-SHING-PLIIIING
Damnit, he blocked it! Thought Adrian as he got up and ran.
Moving with the speed of a man with the Devil on his heels Adrian sprinted blindly through a door-
BANG!
-and loosed a bullet blindly behind him as he fell into a short hallway with concrete debris on the floor. He started running along it-
BANG! BANG!
-in full flight mentality and seeing a shadow from the corner of his eyes he shot two times before taking a random right through a double door and into a broken-down factory floor. He vaulted over a conveyor belt, slipping and hitting his knee he ignored the pain-
BANG!
-as he got up and continued fleeing while shooting in the general direction of a sound he heard to his left. At the end of the room, less than fifty meters from him he could see the dark of the open night through the missing doors to the factory floor. Addicting hope shot through his veins-
BANG!
-before icy dread filled him as a sudden gust of wind from behind went just past him, pointing and shooting on reflex towards his rear, but hearing only the sound of the bullet striking concrete.
40 meters. He would soon be free of this nightmare.
30 meters. Coming home to his girlfriend and holding her tight.
20 meters. The moon and stars on the outside became visible. He was done with the Fang, never again!
10 meters…
Twin burning coals looking at him from the doorway, unempathetic to his plight.
Click.
Surprise, dread, terror.
Click… Click…
No burst of noise. No flash of fire. No smell of powder.
No salvation.
"…You really shouldn't be so reckless with your bullets Adrian." The Devil spoke unamused.
Rattle
Adrian suddenly found it hard to breathe as a chain manifested around his throat and lifted him to his toes. He attempted to grab the chain but found his arms also restrained by chains.
Wheeze "P-please, I have a-a wife, a ch-child." He tried, anything to escape whatever fate awaited him.
Walking towards him, hands clasped behind his back and black chains waving serpentine in the air, the man stopped a meter away from Adrian, regarding him with soulless eyes.
"… You will answer my questions and after that… Well… let's wait and see."
A chain rose like a cobra to eye level before Adrian and slowly began to glow with white heat.
Punches, kicks, and hugs were flying.
"Well, Ruby, Yang… it's a pleasure to-"
"What in the world is going on over here!? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep!?"
"Oh, not you again!"
Blake looked on, peeved, as the short two-way fight turned to a three-way argument… two and a half, Ruby wasn't really a part of it.
Sigh, was it too much to ask for some relaxing quiet time to herself, reading her book?
As they argued, the blond older sister and white-haired Schnee heiress while the dark red-haired younger sister desperately tried to break it up, Blake took a moment to regard the yellow-haired spitfire of a girl.
While the faunus tried fiercely to get their human counterparts to see them as more than intelligent animals the fact remained that faunus shared more than mere physical traits with animals.
Enhanced eyesight and benefits from their animal traits were well-known faunus boons, but they also shared, to a lesser extent, the animalistic instincts of the animals whose features they shared.
It had been subtle at first, and still, Blake refused to acknowledge it, but with the ongoing argument heating up Blake subconsciously felt wary of the blond girl. Even if she had been aware of it, she wouldn't have been able to put it into words. It was primal feelings and instincts, that only barely remained in humans, which flared inside Blake's hindbrain, warning her of a potential danger.
It was the dread felt by fish when sea monsters dwelt in the deep seas of ancient Remnant. It was the anxiety a mouse felt when the sky grew dark and the flapping of wings was heard. It was the angst felt by men of old when they pointed their spears at rustling bushes.
It was the feeling that came when in the presence of a superior predator.
Without really thinking Blake had gotten from sitting to standing, ready to fight or flee. Even if she didn't understand or acknowledge the feelings her body demanded she ready herself.
Blake didn't know the girl before her. She didn't know her personality, drive or dreams. There was but one thing she knew.
She would keep an eye on her.
Officer Jerry had been having a pretty good day. For one, he was out in the field again after a month of desk duty, having twisted his ankle during a basketball game. Second, he didn't have to deal with any more crazy huntress kids.
Sure, that Taiyang was a standup guy and probably loved his daughters, but with one tangling with criminals and another trashing a bar all in the span of 24 hours was… well… he pitied the colleague who would have to deal with them in the future.
And yeah, they knew about that episode at Juniors, but the man hadn't pressed charges, not wanting the police snooping around no doubt.
Criminal scum.
But seriously, he felt for the blond huntsman. Having daughters, TEENAGE daughters could be bad enough, but SUPERPOWERED TEENAGE daughters sounded like a special circle of Hell.
How do you ground your daughter who can teleport at will? Or what if you withdraw scroll privileges from your bad-tempered, little, pyromancer, sweetheart? Hell, Jacques Schnee has two daughters who, with the Schnee semblance, can summon Grimm with those Glyphs of theirs and that just sounds like a recipe for disaster.
But that was all in the past. Officer Jerry had been having a nice day of city patrol, mingling with the happy populace of Vale and had been prepared to conclude his evening patrol when shots were reported in the old industrial area.
So now Officer Jerry was sneaking about an abandoned factory, gun drawn, looking for the perpetrator.
Be a police officer Jerry. It's a respected profession, Jerry. Nothing bad happens these days Jerry. The Officer thought angrily. For Dust's sake, I have a Masters in Micro Dust Engineering. Why did I let mom talk me into this job? Stupid Atlas, saturating the market with Dust engineers!
"And screw that lieutenant, sending me in without backup that assh…" Officer Jerry whispered as he rounded a corner and trailed off.
He had been moving steadily through the building, checking offices and storage rooms as he moved so as not to be ambushed from behind. He had arrived at the factory floor only a few minutes ago and had been moving cautiously in the open space.
The entire time he had been here he had seen nothing that would imply a shooting had taken place and was beginning to consider the possibility that it was a simple prank by some bored kids.
But, as he rounded an extended wall what he came across had him paralyzed for a few seconds before, with a cry, he swiftly turned on his heel and sprinted to the nearest exit.
In doing so he left the victim of his discovery alone once again, silently hanging upside down from black chains wrapped around his feet. He had been burned multiple times and his face was painted red with blood which still trickled from his slit throat to the floor.
A dead dog faunus.
So, yeah? I hope it was okay. Adrian was a bit of a last-minute addition, but I wanted to give a face to the White Fang because in RWBY they are all just endless, faceless grunts. Adrian has motivations, fears, dreams and can therefore be sympathized with… And now he's dead.
That was a bit of an experiment from my side. A way to judge your feelings on the way I'm heading. Evil is an abstract concept. No one sane truly believes themselves 'evil', they merely perform a dark deed in service of a greater good or so they believe.
We all need to believe that we are good.
Adrian might seem like an okay guy, and he himself believe it, but he aids the White Fang in their stealing and killing.
Getsuga, I think, is a pragmatic person. He doesn't go out of his way to cause death and destruction, but he has no problem using 'evil methods' to move forward with his goals and he shows no mercy to the ones in his way.
Adrian was in his way.
Tell me what you think about it.
Now for the 'poll' for Getsuga's powers, it's looking something like this now:
Quincy Powers: ||||||||||| (11)
Kido: |||||||| (8)
Hell Powers: |||||||||||| (12)
Semblance (suggested): | (1)
Negative Emotion sensing (suggested): | (1)
I won't rule anything out at this point, but I doubt Kido will be a thing. It just has too many uses and would act like a semblance swiss army knife for Getsuga.
Quincy powers I can't say anything about right now, but I have to balance Getsuga's enemies so I can't make him have too many abilities.
Hell Powers is a thing now. Got many good arguments and while I hadn't figured out its powerlevel (mere chain and fire control or more) it seemed to be a good way to give Getsuga a little more choice than just hack and slash without giving him too many abilities.
Hollow Soul Eating was something a few voted for, but I decided it would likely paint a wrong picture of Getsuga's character.
There were also some suggested powers I will think about in the future.
Another thing is the general power levels in this fic, a problem in every crossover where the author wish to balance things. I've made some observations by studying fights from either series and for now this is what I think:
### Ichigo Kurosaki (The Substitute Arc) Yang Xiao Long ###
So Ichigo with Rukia's powers loses to Yang. He's unfamiliar with swordsmanship and Yang's power, skill and Semblance mean that she wins this fight.
###Qrow Branwen Ichigo Kurosaki (The Sneak Entry Arc [Kenpachi fight not included]) = Yang Xiao Long ###
Ichigo with his Shikai would be even with or defeat Yang narrowly. At this point we can see Ichigo tearing down stone walls in his fight against Ikkaku and he knows unnamed Getsuga Tensho. In a straight fight, they might be pretty equal and only the power of Getsuga Tensho would give Ichigo an edge. However, Qrow would still beat Ichigo through skill, speed and swordsmanship.
### Ichigo Kurosaki (The Rescue Arc) Qrow Branwen ###
Qrow would be unable to defend against the sheer speed and power of Ichigo's Bankai. A solid win to Ichigo.
This is what I see when I look at the fights. When you get to Captain Class Shinigami no revealed combatant in Remnant can equal them in strength, speed and destructive ability. At most highly skilled fighters (Qrow, Tyrian, Adam) or those with special abilities (Amber, Glynda, Cinder, Emerald) could hope to win against would be lieutenant level Shinigami with only Shikai.
Obviously Getsuga is going to be strong, and therefore both the seal and buffing the enemies he will face along the line, will be necessary. However, I don't think I will go for a passive boost in the enemy's power (a.k.a. just making them more powerful). It would be "unfair" towards the other huntsmen in RWBY if they had no chance. Instead I will toy around with ideas of different "activated" power which are temporary and shouldn't be used carelessly unless the user wish to suffer extreme consequences.
Lastly, what I have to say is about the flashback fight between Raven and Summer. This was an experiment to see how well I can write fight scenes. I don't enjoy endless repetitions of how a sword is slashed or a gun is shot so I plan to have small segments of fight description and mostly focus on the overall happening during the fights.
Omake (a treat to those of you who know FMA).
Jaune Louis Arcstrong
AN: From Vol. 3, Episode 2: New Challengers.
"Pyrrha, you and I are Arkos. It's the thing, where we take our shields, remember?"
"Arkos?"
"Yeah. It's our names put together."
"Right… no, I get it."
"What, do you not like it?"
"No, no, it's… good?"
"Mmm, I sensed hesitation!"
"Hey!" the tanned opponent with plum-colored scarf shouted.
"Huh?" team JNPR intelligently answered.
It must have looked very comical for outsiders. A huntsman team stopping a fight during a Vytal festival match to have a team meeting. It must've looked comical… were it not BECAUSE they stopped a MUCH MORE entertaining match from happening.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Trying to have a team meeting, thank you very little."
"Yeah! Team ears only!"
"We're in the middle of a fight!"
"And we're in the middle of a conversation! What don't you get about that?!" The blond team leader shouted, losing his temper with his rude enemy.
"Um, Jaune?"
"Yes Pyrrha?"
"I think he means that we're ALL in the middle of a fight?"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."
There's a moment in a person's life when it just says click. When pain, humiliation or plain annoyance at the people who pour the last coffee and then doesn't brew another batch boils over.
This was Jaune Arcs moment.
"… So, you want a fight, huh?" he whispered, but somehow the other team heard it.
"Yeah!" Scarf man shouted.
"…I see" Jaune said before he dropped his sword and shield and grabbed hold of his hoddie and breastplate.
"Then it will be my pleasure to demonstrate to you THE FIGHTING TECHNIQUES PASSED DOWN THE ARC LINE FOR GENERATIONS!" he shouted as he ripped the armor and clothes from his upper body.
…
"KYAAAAAAAAAAA! HE'S SO HOT!" Sounded the screams of every female in Remnant, the Vytal stadium especially.
When Jaune Arc upper body were revealed it was like holy light descended from heaven just to perfectly illuminate every part of him. His body was something from a perverted woman's extremely wet dream. His chest was carved like from solid granite, pectoral muscles perfectly defined. His biceps and triceps were like steel cables wrapped in skin giving a powerful look to his arms. His abdominal was like a hilly landscape, an eight pack of godlike proportions. His whole body, somehow hidden under his cloths, were that of a Greek war god, an Adonis of the modern age.
Husbands looked in shock as their wives transformed to dogs caught outside on a hot day, panting with open mouths and their tongue hanging out.
Boyfriends observed in worry as hearts spawned in their girlfriend's eyes.
"NOW THAT I AM PREPARED, LET US DO BATTLE!" Jaune Arc shouted as all members of team BENZ, expect the female member, shrunk in fear.
In five seconds the enemy team lay defeated, the males having been knocked through the protective barrier and into the sunset and the female falling unconscious when Jaune locked eyes with her, a silly smile on her face.
"ENOUGH. NO LONGER WILL I HIDE MY POWER, MOTHER, AND FATHER BE DAMNED!" He shouted before he turned to his team. "AND NO LONGER WILL I HIDE MY FEELINGS, PYRRHA!?"
The red-haired champion huntress looked on Jaune in a daze, her pupils transformed into pink hearts as they would forever stay. She would gladly give up all her aspirations as a huntress to become a housewife if Jaune would only say the words. "… Take me." She whispered.
"AND I SHALL!" He teleported to the girl and had her carried in bridal style before anyone could blink. "MY LOVE FOR YOU BURNS LIKE A THOUSAND SUNS! LET US MARRY AND RID THE WORLD OF GRIMM TOGETHER!" He shouted, holding a fist to the sky and a ghostly image of a waving Valean flag appearing behind him.
"I love you Jaune!" A spectator shouted.
"AND I LOVE YOU, RANDOM CITIZEN!" He shouted back.
He turned to look at the rest of his team.
"REN!" He shouted.
"Oh… uhm, yes Jaune?" The shocked boy managed to say.
"TAKE NORA AND LET US GO SHOW THE WOMEN WE LOVE HOW MANLY WE CAN BE!" Fire burned in his eyes at the proclamation.
Nora's smile grew and gained more teeth as she stared intently at Ren while she licked her lips.
"AND YOU!" He pointed at team RWBY.
Three girls squirmed on their soggy seats.
"WEISS, BLAKE AND YANG! MEET ME AT MY DORMS AND I SHALL SHOW PYRRHA AND YOU THE LOVEMAKING ARTS PASSED DOWN THE ARC FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS!"
And with that, he executed a jump that propelled him and Pyrrha over and out of the arena.
In the silence left behind tens of thousands of females glared daggers at the three girls.
Yang was the first to gather herself and rose explosively, her eyes burning red and hair on fire.
"I'm coming daddy! Save some sugar for your little sweetheart." She yelled and she stormed towards the hangar, knocking down walls as she went.
Next where Blake, her bow having disappeared showing her twitching ears and her eyes had become slit. She was flushed and panting.
"I-I better get, nyaa, down. You ne-never know when, nyaa, master desire his p-p-pet's presence, nyaa."
She poofed out of existence, revealing that she had switched with a shadow clone not long ago.
…
…
"W-w-well I better… m-make sure th-that they don't g-get in trouble." The red-faced Weiss stammered.
The cold glares she received enlightened her to what others thought and she waved her hand in panic.
"N-not that I-I like him or a-anything. N-no definitely n-not. Brutish b-barbarian with those o-oversized, ridicules, perfect, delicious…" She trailed off as she drooled.
The feeling of concentrated killing intent snapped her out of it.
"B-but I definitely don't l-like J-Jaune Arc." She fled with what little dignity she had left leaving Ruby behind.
…
"Wonder when Jaune had time to train?" The little scythe wielder asked innocently as she continued eating cookies as a cry of "IT'S HUGE." sounded in the distance.
So, that all.
Till next time. Remember to favorite and review and check out my profile to see what I have planned for other stories.
-OverDemon
