AU:
Hey guys, sorry for the longer wait than usual. Thanks for giving this story a read. It means a ton to me. Anyhoo, since school is back in full-swing, I don't have as much time to work on RWBBY: Remnants of a Heritage as I would like. So basically, I won't be updating as often as I did during the summer. However, I do plan to see this story through to the end and give it my all. This is the first full story I've written, and I'm open to all critique, advice, and ideas you have to offer.
Again, thanks a ton, and May the Force be with you.
Lots of appreciation,
-SubtleSaber
When Kebiin woke up, the others were still sound asleep. He lazily turned to view his clock to check the time. 7:45 AM. Classes start at 9:00 if he remembered correctly.
"Sweet" he grunted as he sat up, stretching his arms. "Plenty of time."
Kebiin showered speedily and got dressed in his new uniform as quietly as he could to avoid waking up his teammates. He was trying to figure out how to put on his tie when he paused and smiled for a moment. He realised something. This would be his regular routine now. His days of sleeping on cardboard and next to garbage bins were truly over. He tossed his tie onto his bed and instead wrapped his blue scarf around his neck.
Ruby was rustling under her sheets and sat up, rubbing her eyes and letting out a loud yawn.
"Mornin' boss. Rise and shine." Kebiin said playfully.
Ruby looked around, her silvery eyes just barely open. She turned the digital clock to face her direction, and her eyes widened slowly when she noticed the time. 7:54.
"So, what classes do we have to-"
"Everyone wake up! We only have six more minutes!"
The others jolted up and practically rolled out of their beds, rushing to either slap on some presentable clothes or head to the bathroom to wash up.
"Only six minutes? I thought we started at 9:00?"
Weiss walked out of the bathroom, her face was newly washed and her was tied back up, but she was still clearly drowsy. "We have early start today! classes start an hour earlier than normal."
"Well no one told- Mmfff!"
"Give a second." Weiss said as she reached for Kebiin's tie. She lifted the front of his scarf to reveal his neck, stuffing the cloth into his face as she started tying the tie for him.
"Wmmff uunnfff mmfff!"
"Hold still you dunce! Ahh, there we go. Now you're presentable." She said as she lifted her hand off his scarf, releasing it off his mouth and nose. "So what were you trying to say?"
Kebiin panted before responding. "I was trying to say I couldn't breathe." He took another deep breath. "Well, thanks Snowflake" he said in a hoarse voice while trying to loosen his tie and re-adjust his scarf.
"Hmph. I hope that name isn't here to stay… And you're welcome." Weiss pouted.
"And THAT class, is how I bravely defeated a horde of Death Stalkers with nothing but a broken broom and a cement-filled boot! Now, does anyone have any questions?"
Kebiin was just as bored by Professor Port's lecture as he and the rest of the class looked. Ruby was doing her best to keep her eyes open, while Weiss was taking notes diligently. Blake was definitely awake, but wasn't listening to the lecture in any sense of the word. Yang was simply rolling her eyes whenever the Professor tried to address the class by cracking a joke.
"I can see that you are all quite speechless. Now, I presume you all finished last week's assignment?"
Only a few people raised their hands. JNPR was the only full team who completed it.
"Ah yes, lovely! Good work team JNPR! I figured you would do well considering your defeat of that large Death Stalker during your initiation. Now, would two of you care to demonstrate what you learned in your assignment?"
Pyrrha raised her hand. "I will sir."
"Thank you Miss Nikos! Mr. Arc, would you care to join Miss Nikos for today's demonstration?"
"M-me?" Jaune stuttered. "But surely I-"
"Your prey will arrive any moment now. I suggest you two equip your gear."
"R-right sir." They stood up and walked down to the center of the room to prepare for whatever the handlers would bring in.
Kebiin turned to Weiss. "What was the assignment last week? I wasn't here for it."
"Grimm anatomy. Specifically insectoids."
Kebiin felt the presence of the Grimm before the handlers wheeled it into the room, still caged. And it sensed him too. It was a juvenile Death Stalker, roughly twice the length of a person. The moment it was brought into the room, it began to spasm and flail uncontrollably in its steel cage, doing everything within it's power to break free. The cage dented in several places, and the class tensed up, ready to bolt to the back or out of the room if need be. The feralness of the creature didn't seem to phase the Professor, who just carried on with his joyful tone.
"Now, let's see what you remember about the strengths and weaknesses of these giant evil scorpions."
Jaune and Pyrrha took their stances, and the Death Stalker was released from its cage. It bolted out, looking delirious and snapping its claws in every direction. Kebiin could sense the fear and anger radiating from its conscience. It turned its body around, trying to get a read on its surroundings. Death Stalkers and other non-mammalian Grimm typically had poor eyesight, but often made more than enough up for it with other senses that could be more reliable than the human eye. Kebiin felt it trying to detect his position, attempting to find the source of the strange energy it felt in the room. Its concentration was broken when Pyrrha and Jaune charged, both of them with their shields raised and their weapons ready to strike.
Kebiin remembered a technique Revan once taught him but never really came into use during his time on Remnant. He said that it was possible for some Jedi to momentarily mask their presence from other Force sensitives, acting as a sort of camouflage. Revan taught similar abilities to people who would become Sith assassins during his reign as the Dark Lord. Kebiin focused his energy inward, and did his best to distance his mind from the Death Stalker.
The Death Stalker stopped moving, surprised that the power emitting from the crowd had suddenly weakened. Pyrrha took the lead in the attack, bashing her shield into its eyes and flipping forward to land on its lower back, angling herself just enough to avoid the stinger. It tried to reach up and grab her, but Jaune bashed one of its claws away and stabbed at its face while Pyrrha drove her spear in between the backward-facing plates in its exoskeleton. If you couldn't get to the soft underbelly, the small gaps in the armor were your next best bet.
Kebiin felt the sudden burst of anger from the Death Stalker, effectively breaking his concentration on trying to make himself undetectable. He felt the powerful and repulsive emotions come from the Death Stalker, making it impossible to focus on anything else through The Force.
The Death Stalker grabbed Jaune's sword as he thrusted forward and angled it downward, causing the sword to slice off several mandibles. It wailed in pain, knocking Jaune across the room and smacking Pyrrha with the side of its tail, causing her to fly right into her teammate. It began to bash itself against the walls of the room, grasping at its mutilated mouth.
Kebiin's body temperature felt like it was being manually lowered as the Death Stalker continued on its pain-driven rampage. The Death Stalker was becoming more aggressive and active while he slowly felt like he was being drained. He could feel the ever growing taint of the Darkside around him. It was feeding off of him.
"Jaune, your shield!" Pyrrha shouted.
"Got it!" He responded.
Pyrrha threw her shield at the Death Stalker as it approached them, lodging itself between the claws on its right arm. Jaune stepped back behind Pyrrha, and held his shield up with both his arms. Pyrrha jumped onto the shield, and Jaune pushed forward, launching her back at the Death Stalker with her spear pointed towards it. Kebiin detected the slightest hint of a Semblance activate as Pyrrha launched herself.
Kebiin felt the draining sensation worsen as the Death Stalker's tail was impaled vertically by Pyrrha's spear, running down a good portion of the length of its tail. In a blind rage, it lashed out at Pyrrha with the spear that was still in its tail, using it as a club. She brought her hands up, and the swing missed just above her head, only to be knocked back across the room when it swung its free arm at her.
"Just kill it already" Kebiin thought. The sensation of even being near around an enraged Grimm reminded far too much of the Nevermore he defeated. "Put it out of its misery so I can stop hearing its thoughts."
Kebiin felt a nudge on his sleeve. "You look a little pale. Something wrong?" Ruby asked him.
Kebiin broke his gaze off of the Death Stalker and looked at his teammate. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just… bugs are pretty creepy, don't you think?"
"I guess. But the big ones don't really scare me that much. They're a lot easier to see which means you can hit them more easily. Better to concentrate on one big bug than run away from a ton of little crawly ones if you ask me."
Concentrating on one big bug...
The Death Stalker advanced toward Jaune, who was only holding onto his shield. His sword was still stuck in the ground, and the Grimm was between him and it. Jaune raised his shield up to defend himself, and the Death Stalker bashed it with the other shield stuck between its claws. The force of the blow caused Jaune to fall to his knees, but he kept his shield up as the Death Stalker continuously bashed it over and over.
Kebiin took a deep breath, and completely gave up on trying to hide or distance himself from the Death Stalker. This time, he knew what to avoid in the mind of a Grimm. If it could feed off of his energy, then it stood to reason he could do the same to it. He reached his fingers outward just slightly, and focused on whatever power the Death Stalker had. Maybe if he could weaken the Death Stalker by draining it, then perhaps it would give Jaune the time he needed to get back on his feet.
To the class's surprise, the Death Stalker stopped moving for a split second. It began to shake violently, and cried an awful and pained roar. It flailed backwards, snapping at the air in front of it, and what remained of its mandibles foamed up.
Kebiin was making progress, but it was resisting him. He reached out through the Force even further, probing its mind for weaknesses or anything he could exploit. It didn't matter how agonizing this experience would be for the Death Stalker. The moment Kebiin made contact, he wanted to prove he could overpower it. It was far younger than the Nevermore he had slain in the forest, and much less strong-willed. It wouldn't be able to retaliate.
In one final act of pained rage, the Death Stalker reached with it's functioning claw, ripped off the arm that had Pyrrha's shield stuck inside, and flung it into the audience. Kebiin's concentration was broken when he felt Ruby's arm grab him, and pull him to the ground. He looked up and saw the the large scorpion-like arm fly right over where his head would've been.
Still focused on the crazed monster in front of them, the class just barely saw Pyrrha leap into the air with Jaune's sword in hand, and thrusted it in between the Death Stalker's back plates, impaling it straight through the abdomen. It died with one last insect-like whimper.
"Very good Miss Nikos! That was quite the show." Professor Port said as he clapped his hands.
The rest of the class was too stunned to clap. It was common for Grimm to go berserk during combat, but why would one deliberately rip its own arm off? What was the deal with what happened during those last few moments?
"Alright class, let's give a big round of applause to Mr. Arc and Miss Nikos for bravely taking on this beast!"
The class came back to their senses, and started clapping. Pyrrha helped her teammate back onto his feet, and the bell rang.
"Remember class, I want that report on the uses King Taijitu venom within the week! now have a good rest of your day. Dismissed."
Kebiin stood back up and saw the arm and body of the Death Stalker beginning the evaporation process. Ren pulled Pyrrha's shield out of the dissipating claw, and walked down to give it back to his teammate. Kebiin winced when he saw the small crater the Death Stalker had created by throwing its own arm into the stands, realizing that had nearly hit his head instead.
"Woah… Thanks for the save, Ruby. I owe you one."
"No problemo" she responded. "Just another day in the life of a Beacon Academy student" she laughed nervously. A cold feeling hung in the air as the team exiting the classroom, ready to head off to their next period.
The room was dark, save for the light that shone on the sparring stage. Professor Goodwitch stood on the corner of the stage, taking notes as Jaune and Cardin fought one another. Kebiin found it hard to watch in the sense that it was pitiful. He had humiliated Cardin on his first day on that very stage, and now he was re-establishing his dominance by beating on Jaune. He flaunted himself with every swing, making it obvious that Jaune was out of his league. He was just toying with him because he had the power to do so.
The two of them clashed their weapons together, and Cardin whispered something to his victim. Kebiin couldn't hear his words, but it was obviously a dirty taunt. Cardin kneed Jaune in the gut, causing him to fall to the ground. Cardin was just about to smash Jaune's head in with his mace when the buzzer signaling the end of the round went off.
"That's enough" Professor Goodwitch said calmly. The class lightly applauded out of courtesy.
"Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura is in the red." She directed her hand to a projection of what resembled a video game health bar on the wall. The bar under Cardin's portrait was a full green color, while Jaune's had a sliver of red remaining.
"In a tournament style duel, this would indicate the Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and the official may call the match. Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gaging your aura will help you decide when when it is appropriate to attack, and when it is better to move to a more… defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf now, would we?"
"Speak for yourself" Cardin grunted as he walked off stage.
Jaune took a look at his scroll, sighing in disappointment while still seated on the floor.
"Remember everyone: the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long until students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament, will be representing all of Vale."
Yang punched the air while Weiss and Ruby jumped up and down trying to contain their excitement. Vale was finally hosting the Vytal festival this year, and they were determined to prove that Vale had the best Huntsman and Huntresses in all of the four kingdoms.
The bell rung, and the students cleared the classroom. Jaune slowly stood up, head tilted down in shame.
Team RWBBY was walking down the hallway after the all their classes had ended, discussing their class field trip with Professor Goodwitch to the Forest of Foreverfalls that was planned for later that week.
"I hear this time of year, the leaves of the forest look like big rose petals falling from the sky. Do you know how awesome that is!?" Ruby squealed.
"Oh, please. I've had enough rose petals flying everywhere to last me a lifetime." Weiss joked.
"Why are you so cold…"
"Care to explain the rose petal situation?" Kebiin asked as they turned a corner.
"Oh, you haven't seen any of our semblances yet, have you?" Yang replied.
"Can't say I have."
"Well, Ruby is our little speedster. Whenever she goes *WHOOM!*, she leaves a ton of rose petals behind. We don't really know why, but it's pretty neat."
"Sounds nifty." Kebiin said.
"And by nifty you mean obnoxious?" Weiss remarked.
"Oh, Weiss, you're breaking my heart here…" Ruby jokingly placed her hand over her heart and her arm over her eyes, pretending to cry. Everyone but Weiss snickered, who simply made a pout face. The group continued down to their dorm room when they ran into Professor Ozpin out in the courtyard, followed by Professor Goodwitch who was rigorously entering grades and scores into her tablet.
"Ah, team RWBBY. I trust everything is going well?"
"Totally!" Ruby beamed. "The more the merrier, right?"
"Yes, I believe I can agree with that. Friendship is one of those things you can treasure for an eternity after all." He said, smiling. "Remember the first day we met, Glynda?"
"Mhmm…" She said, barely acknowledging his existence.
"So Kebiin, I take it you've settled in quite nicely?"
"Elek! I mean, yes! It feels like I'm at a home finally."
"Glad to hear it." Ozpin said, taking a sip out of his mug. "So now that you've settled nice and comfortably, ready for our talk?"
The others looked at him, wondering what Ozpin meant. Kebiin remembered what he had said after his entrance exam. He moved his hand to his lightsaber, and then to the cube-shaped holocron in his pack.
"Whaaaaat? you have to talk with the headmaster again?" Ruby complained. She looked back at Ozpin, realizing he was still there. "Oh, uhh… I mean that you uhh… I'll just stop talking."
Ozpin gave her a light smile and readjusted his glasses. "Oh, that's quite alright Ruby. I'll be sure to return him to you before lights out. This won't become a regular occurrence, I promise."
"It won't take long." Kebiin reassured her. "I'll meet you back at the dorm. And when you talk to Jaune, tell him I said good luck."
Ruby nodded, and the others walked off, leaving him with the professors.
Kebiin followed Ozpin back to his office, leaving Glynda outside the door. The professor took his seat behind his desk, and propped his elbows up, folding his hands together in front of his mouth. He gestured for Kebiin to take a seat. He did as told.
"Well, regarding your Exam the other day, I have to say, your defeat of the Nevermore was quite impressive. But I'm not going to ask you about that just yet. First, I want to ask you about that device you have on your belt."
Kebiin tightened his grip on his lightsaber without unclipping it. He ran his thumb across the various grooves and grips aligned along the hilt, unsure of how to answer.
"Yes, that seems to be the one." Ozpin noted when he saw Kebiin grab the hilt. "I went to investigate the little mishap with our camera feed when I found that very item on the ground. I just so happened to press a button and to my surprise, a laser nearly singed some of my hairs. Care to explain where you got a weapon such as that?"
Kebiin moved his arm over the lightsaber as though he were trying to hide it from view. That wouldn't help at all, but how could he tell anyone the truth? this technology didn't exist on Remnant, and claiming it came from anywhere beyond Remnant would make everyone think he was crazy.
"Kebiin." Ozpin said a little more slowly. "You don't have to lie again. Trust me, I'll be able to tell. Whatever secrets you have are safe with me. You have my word."
Kebiin bit his lip. Could Ozpin honestly be able tell if he was being honest, even if the truth would be so outlandish? Perhaps that was part of his Semblance.
"It's just like I said, I'm just a foreigner. My mom gave me her lightsaber when…" Kebiin fell silent. Not only had he given away what the lightsaber was called now, but he had made himself recall that final day on Coruscant again. The day his whole world changed. He hated that he was so powerless at the thoughts of his past. A Mandalorian should be fearless, a Jedi should be strong-willed, and a Huntsman should be heroic. How could he ever hope to be any of those if he cried every time he thought about his mom? He gritted his teeth and forced himself not to cry like he did in front of Blake.
"A lightsaber? Hmm." Ozpin let the sound of the word settle as thought to himself. "What exactly is a lightsaber?"
Kebiin couldn't let Ozpin corner him like this. He had to try and sneak his way around the conversation, adapt his story to fit the context of Remnant better.
"It's… A lightsaber is an experimental weapon that my mom-"
"You're a terrible liar, young man. I don't need a Semblance to see that much." Ozpin interrupted. The speed at which he had seen through him felt like a bullet. He felt totally off guard at being struck and now helpless that he had been cornered.
"Listen." Ozpin said, now a little more calm. "When I first spoke to you in the hospital, I figured you were telling the truth about not being from Vale. Your language indicated at least that much."
Kebiin snorted. It was kind of amusing, really. He had ended in a whole different galaxy, but he had never forgotten a single word, phrase, or swear in Mando'a. No matter how good he got at english.
"I could tell your story was at least based on some truth." Ozpin continued. "But it wasn't the whole truth. Kebiin, as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, I have a duty to protect and care for my staff and students and help them in any way I can. But as a Huntsman, I also have a duty to Vale and Remnant as a whole to protect it from anything that could potentially harm it. Quite frankly, you and that lightsaber are a bit of an unknown. I just want to make sure I can treat you as Headmaster."
Kebiin let out a long sigh and looked back up at Ozpin. "Sir, if I tell you what I am, do you promise not to tell anyone?"
The professor nodded.
"Ok…" Kebiin took a deep breath once again. He had quite some explaining to do.
