An: Wait a minute? An Endangered species update? But it's Monday! It's early! Heresy right? Well here we go again, were about to see some in-depth looks into religionon and why people don't like it! Looking at you Blake. And a plot twist! MaybePossiblyly. Most likely! Kind of.
Ps. To address some coments about the admittedly rough romance and sex scenes Ie Weiss, I stood by them by saying they add to the story and this chapte should show you why the faunus seem a bit to gung-ho to jump our boy's pants. So here we go!
PSS having some problems uplosing this one. Don't know why but I'll try to work them out, sorry about that.
"Adam Taurus you are under arrest!" The small human said as Adam turned to him incredulous. He had no idea where this human had come from or why he had two faunus supporting him. As the trio approached them Adam lamented that his recruits appeared to be to flabbergasted to act as they let the three walk armed intruders just waltz right into their base and right to their leader. " New guys," Adam said under his breath as he sighed and looked to his trespassers.
One was a male swan faunus with long black hair and green robes and pink eyes. He was assuming sawn judging by his sharp features though he had no clue if he guessed correctly, the other a female rabbit. Who had long flowing brown hair with matching brown eyes.? She wore a long jet black skin tight jumpsuit of sorts, with a pair of shorts and brown jacket over it. Both betas and both armed. As they approached the stage for the white fang gathering.
"You are joking aren't you? I must say that if this is a suicide attempt is a very poorly thought out are far more pleasant ways to get your self-killed you are aware of this fact correct?" Adam asked the teenagers, children, indeed as they approached the stage he was on.
"Maybe but you are under arrest for crimes against the four kingdoms and Arcadia!" The human a blonde male with blue eyes and straight side said as he walked over to the stage with his sword held in a engard position. As he shifted his stance Adam recognized the symbol on his shield, twin moons? An Arc? What's an Arcadian doing in Vale? Adam wondered as the human stared at him.
"Adam Taurus I challenge you to a duel!" He said as Adam's mouth dropped open. "You... wish to challenge me?" He asked the blonde haired youth who had apparently hit his head rather severely and repeatedly with a blunt object before coming here.
I mean honestly! Here he was a single human with two betas surrounded by White Fang members and calling him Adam Taurus to a duel. "Sir let me handle this!" His second in command said as he stepped forward massive chainsaw in hand as he did.
"No, he challenged me to a duel so a duel he shall have," Adam said as he stalked forward. Despite being the leader of the Whtie Fang Adam was a man of Honore first and foremost if this human wanted a duel he would have it. "Let them come! I will see to his challenge personally!" Adam shouted as the faunus backed off the group of interlopers as the human smirked.
As they approached the stage. "Jaune we should run now!" Ren said as Jaune stepped foot onto the stage. " He has a point Jaune! We could get hurt or worse!" the bunny faunus Velvet said as she looked worriedly around them. Even though she was second-year huntsman in training, she was still quaking in her boots.
"You guys worry to much! I'm going to beat this guy in a minute!" Jaune said Happily, as he stepped on stage as he observed his opponent. He was a tall man wearing flowing black coat with matching jeans and shirt. He had short blood red hair on his head with a pair of bull horns sticking out of it. His weapon was along black sworn that he gripped in a reversed grip with a couple of dark gloved hands.
"Human, what is your name?" He asked as Jaune grinned at him."Jaune Arc!" Jaune said as Adam looked dead forward at him. Adam hated what as going to happen. He was trained to kill warriors not fearful children who had been excommunicated by an uncaring government. Even so, A duel was offered, Adam would give the human one chance to go home to whatever life he had in Vale before he sent him to his moon that he was so eager to see.
"Human... You have no crest. Is that why you are here? If so I guarantee you there are more peaceful ways for you to regain your honor. Leave now, and I guarantee you and your friends live." Adam said praying to the sun this human would the common sense to just walk away.
"Enough! You are a terrorist, and I'm taking you in!" Sadly it seemed this human was an Arcadian through and through.
"Very well then, though I fell it only sporty that I should warn you that your stance is all wrong. Move your feet to the side like this, so you can have better balance." Adam said as he mimicked the proper sword wielders stance as Jaune followed his instructions.
"Better?" Jaune asked only to see Adam and disappeared. "What the, where did he-
"Jaune Behind you!" Ren yelled as Jaune looked backward to see a mass of red hair behind him.
"Better." A voice a form behind him said as Adam brought down a crushing sword strike and sliced deep into his chest.
Adam hated doing this. He never enjoyed killing humans especially one like this who just wanted their home back. Adam sympathized with the human, he too knew what it was like to be banished from one's home to be called a monster, murderer, and extremist. As he sliced into the human, he cried out in agony as Wilt bit deeply into his chest, before Adam took his sheath out and shot him twice in the neck. Bang! Bang!
The boy screamed in pain as he fell backward neck bleeding viciously and Adam prepared o to deliver the killing blow as quickly and painlessly as possible. Before he could CLANG! A flash of sparks filled his vision as a pair of green smgs were suddenly in his vision as the swan faunus from earlier blocked the killing blow with his strange bayonets before opening fire point-blank range on him.
Rat! Tat! Tat! His machine weapons fired as Adam was briefly stunned by the sheer volume and flurry of the shots before he righted himself, taking his sword Wilt off of the boy's guns before driving a punishing blow to his face. Adam tossed the aura infused haymaker straight into the boy's face taking no joy in the obvious breaking of his nose in the process.
The faunus howled in pain as he fell backward, the human regained his self as his semblance fully healed him rendering any damage Adam had down to him null and void. As he charged him, his sword glowed blue and Adam grimaced.
He hated fighting aura infused weapons. They were always so challenging to parry and stop. He thought to himself as he ducked the blow and stabbed the human through the pair of loose blue jeans and into his leg. The boy cried out in pain as Wilt hit him for the second time that night. if he was lucky it stopped now.
Adam made sure to hit his femoral artery as he knew that as long as the human kept channeling his aura into his weapons, it would be spilt on the amounts between healing and offense, then his semblance would eventually run out of fuel. As the human cried out in pain as hot red liquid spilled from his legs another danger came.
Adam ducked the first swing of the scythes as the injured swan jumped back into the fight. The boy was good, fast and light on the balls of his feet. A few more years of training and he might have stood a chance. Might. As he prepared a vertical thrust, Adam sighed as he effortlessly disarmed the boy sending his green weapon scattering across the ground before bringing his sword up as he sliced the boy across his chest. Wilt sliced right through the boy's armor and into his bones.
The swan screamed in shock as Adam raised his sword to deliver the killing blow. Before he could end his opponents life quickly and without pain, another interruption came as a force came from behind him and sent him sprawling forward.
Adam cursed as the bunny faunus literally dragon kicked him as he was sent stumbling forward this moment did not last as the human charged him aura infuse sword swing as Adam reading to block he noticed the green swan rising from the ground and sprinting at him full force while the rabbit prepared to kick him.
It was like watching a swarm of piranhas killing a shark. As the students attack, they overwhelmed Adam on all sides, as Aura infused attacks came from his right, slashing rapid firing guns from his left and a series of high powered kicks peppered into him.
Adam was good, one of the best in the world. The leader of the Vale branch of the white fang even such some attack got through.
An aura infused blade cut him there and a flurry of bullets pepered him there as kicks smashed into his legs back and neck taking him off balance it was like watching a miracle occur, as the three students overcame the white Fang leader! Only in life miracles almost never happen, and this was no exception.
As Jaune and Ren came to finish off the leader, "enough of this." He said as he instantly stabbed his blade into Jaune's kneecap leaving it there, before grabbing Ren's wrist and snapping them like twigs. He ignored the pain screams that came from the young man's mouth as he slammed an aura infuse fist into his face knocking him he did he intercepted the rabbit's foot grabbing her leg.
Before twisting the long ligaments and slamming her into the ground. With a heavy WHACK! The faunus cried out in pain before he raised his boot and launched an aura infused boot into her stomach. Crack! Adam felt her ribs crack as the girl spat up fresh blood onto his black coat staining it red. He wasted no time in swinging his sword to end her life. His first strike missed by a fluke and only took off half of one of her ears instead of her head.
As she screamed in pain, Adam readied himself for the killing blow only to find that instead of hitting her his sword completely missed as he stabbed into the ground it was almost like he was being infected with bad luck as he withdrew Wilt only for something that had the weight of dust train to hit him sending him flying across the room.
"You kids ok!?" Qrow asked as he dragged the last student out of the now burning warehouse. Setting it on fire proved to be a genius idea as the remaining fang did not come to intercept them when they fled. As he looked at the battered students he couldn't help but grimace; the rabbit needs medical treatment now. Her ear hung on by a thread and bleed freely, he had no idea how much blood she could lose, but it would be bad if nothing changed.
The green swan as in much better shape his wrist were snapped, but besides that, the cut in his chest was shallow, and only some minor bones were cut.
Jaune was human with a semblance so he should be fine until something actually killed him. As Qrow turned around, he saw the bull Adam Taurus come from the smoking warehouse as he smirked.
"Adam! So nice to see you again! You look good you do something with your hair?" Qrow asked as Adam removed his blade. "Brawnwren. Why are you here?" He asked the human hunter as he took an offensive stance.
"Oh you know the usual, there's this bar in town and the waitress there has the shortest skirt length you've ever seen an-
"Enough talk, if you want to brag about your conquest do it somewhere else. I have an honor duel to finish so step aside. Unless you don't care about honor that is?" He asked as Qrow shrugged once.
"Never been much of a fan of honor my self," Qrow admitted as he took out his sword."So be it," Adam said as he drew his blade. The two men stared at each other silently as an electric current filled the night air.
Each refused to back down and each wanting the other to make the first move. In combat, the defender always had the advantage so they needed to wait to see who would take first and- now! Adam thought as he saw Brannwren's stance shift for just a second as he instantly dashed into him sword flying.
Qrow grinned as he parried the attack before blocking the not at all telegraphed follow up as the two engaged in a deadly duel of close combat.
CLANG! BANG! PHLOP! The two lashed at each other with such force, and such speed that it looked like they were blurs of red and white rather than actual combatants as they attacked each other it was impossible to tell who was winning.
Aura flashed in and out, and long lines of blood sprayed freely on both side of the fighters scored hits. Ther duel continued like this for several minutes as the sound of clashing metal and the waves fo sparks fill the air before they broke apart to catch their breath.
"Your drunk." Adam deadpanned Qrow who merely shrugged in response.
"I'm always drunk, what's your point?"
"I'll ask again Brawnwren why are you here? You have no ties to these children do you?"
"To the swan and bunny not at all. But that kid? Yeah, he's my apprentice, so I would appreciate if I kept him in one piece you know?"
"I see, so be it then." He said before striking forward once again the two clashed.
CLANG! BANG! THOP! The two weapons hit over and over again bathing the area in a shower of sparks and shredding metal as scythe met sword and the two fought. The battle was a stalemate. Qrow lacked the opportune window to deal damage to Adam and Adam couldn't finish off Qrow due to his semblance.
Seeing this, the two changed their tactics. BANG! Qrow fired three times at Adam using the gun on his scythe. Adam meticulous avoided the explosive projectiles dashing forward at the same time before shooting his own ranged weapon twice into Qrow. The human staggered giving Adam his moment. In a flash of red Adam brought his sword up and across Qrows jugular slicing the neck of his enemy in one swift strike.
Blood flowed freely from Qrows neck staining this loose shirt as he instinctively gripped a hand to his wounded body. Adam grinned as he took his sword and stabbed Qrow right through his stomach... As the human gasped in pain something strange happened.
As Adam apparently had Qrow at death's door, the battle tipped in Qrows favor when Adam suddenly and for whatever reason missed a shot from his gun sheath making Qrow find his balance. This was only utterly insane as Adam suddenly felt his feet trip he slipped on a loose patch of granite and fell forward. Qrow capitalized and slammed his scythe int his chest taking him to the ground.
"There we go that's more like it! Not so tough now are- FISSHTT! WHAM! Whatever victory Qrow might be short-lived as he was blown away and sent sprawling halfway across the ground in a shower of blood and bones by a red projectile as Roman Torchwick came onto the scene.
"Get up, will you? In case you haven't noticed we are under attack. Our evac is here in two so hold on until then will you?" Roman asked dryly as Adam snarled once before entering a combat stance.
"I'll fight the hunter you take the rest. That way I get the hardest opponent deal?"
"Sure why not? I got to talk to the blonde anyways."Roman said twirling his cane as the two broke off into their respective fights.
This is a bloody mess! Roman thought to himself as he surveyed the scene. It was utter chaos. The warehouse Roman had so lovingly cared for, and manned was in flames thanks to that drunk of a friend Qrow. The white fang recruitment drive was in shambles as the faunus flew like the panicked stricken animals they are.
To make things worse, it seemed the cause of his headache was his old subordinate are rare friend Jaune Arc who was current preventing Roman from executing the swan faunus in green...
"Jaune what did I tell you!?" Roman shouted as he grabbed the blondes face roughly gripping it by his golden hair and smashed it into his knee. To be fair Roman did admit that it was a good trick, tossing lose gravel at his face in an attempt to blind him. It was a decent distraction skill but! It was also one Roman had been doing by himself for years.
"What did I tell you about using my tricks against me!?" Roman shouted as he clubbed the blonde in the face with Melodic Cudgel making his features split into crimson blossoms as the cane broke his face in. As Jaune coughed once blood flying freely from his mouth, Roman suddenly stabbed him with a taser. A zapping sound filled the sky as the boy screamed in pain. Blue sparks filled the airs as the sound of cascading electricity frothed into the night, Jaune cried out in pain as the electric current racked his body.
"You know electricity interrupts our semblance right? At this rate, you semblance will not be healing you, you know?" Roman asked before he raised his weapon and shot Jaune once sending him flying backward as he blew his kneecap off sending the leg up at a completely unnatural angel. Making the bone pierce the skin in such a way it resembled a macabre fishing hook as the blonde was sent screaming on the ground as he bleed freely.
"Jaune... I don't want to kill you. But if You keep attacking the fang you and me will be enemies all right?" Roman asked as the blonde screamed in pain as he gripped his nearly severed leg.
"Roman! You don't have to do this! Plese! Come with me! Come back to Beacon we can help you!"
"Help me with what? Is old Ozpin going to save humanity? Or is Oobleck going to write another scholarly paper that will end all word problems? Cause if not I'm staying with the Fang capeesh?"
As Roman spoke a lightbulb flashed in his head. "Jaune I know! Come with me!" Roman shouted as he held out his hand to the bleeding boy. His semblance was not working as the blood loss was starting to make his skin lose color.
"Come with me and join the fang! There is a place for you, for me for everybody! Jaune don't let your compassion get the better of you! Don't fall prey to your emotions! We are Arcadians! We fight for the moon! And the Whtie fang is here to give us that!"
"So please Jaune I"m begging you! Come with me, there aren't a lot of 301st left, and it would be a shame to lose one now." Roman said as he watched the blonde's faces warring emotions.
Roman was desperately praying that Jaune would see reason! See how Roman was right, see the white fang maybe like a bunch of terrorists but they had goals! They were going to free everybody! Human, faunus they would end the caste system and save the world! They had to...
Roman thought darkly as the blonde despite the offer, despite the chance of redemption! Stood up, using his sword as a crutch as he walked stumbling bleeding halfway dead to block his friends with his shield up. I've lost him... Roman thought bitrerly as he looked to his friend.
"You're too far gone... I am sorry Jaune! I know you think you are right but you are wrong!" Roman said as he raised his cane at the boy. "I promised you once that I would see you through remember? If I can't save your body, I will save your soul!" Roman shouted as he aimed his cane at his friend.
"Ther's more than that! Roman! We have more than Ozpin or Oobleck! We have resources! Influential friends there are even other teachers! Port! Glynda-
"Did you say, Glynda? As in Glynda GoodWitch?" Roman asked as his eyes turned a dark, menacing shade of green. It looked as if all the light had suddenly exited his eyes as he aimed his cane at Jaune right as a bullhead appeared over him as he grabbed a fallen rope ladder.
"Jaune do me a favor will you?" Roman asked as the blonde charged him again. Well, a charge was a generous term as Jaune was barely able to stand let alone run as he hopped to his enemy.
" You tell that bitch, Glynda, that I! Roman Torchwick am many things! A killer? Yes. A thief? Absolutely! A traitor? Most definitely!" Roman shouted as he delivered a crushing punch to Jaune's throat that sent him sprawling bake ward before the thief slammed his cane into his chest cracking his ribs.
"You tell her I may be many things! Killer! Thief! Traitor and much, much more! I Roman Torchwick! May be many things! But! I'm no whore." Roman said as he pulled the trigger of Melodic Cudgel and sent Jaune flying...
Jaune woke to the sound of beeping machines, as the smell of antiseptic filled his nostrils. As he opened his eyes, he saw he was in the Beacom medical ward. Where his partner was laying on top of his lap.
"Pyr?" he asked as the tigress's eyes shot open, emerald eyes widened in relief. "Jaune you're ok!" She shouted as the doors to the infirmary opened as the remainder of their teams came inside as chaos ensued.
Earlier...
"Religion!" The professor shouted as he stood in front of his assembled students. Pyrrha was already grimacing at the prospect of another Oobleck lecture as she felt her tiger ears stick up. She missed her partner and despite what people said her future mate. As she looked to her right, her team had been cut in half as Nora was busy watching Jaune while he rested. I hope she's letting him rest. Nora can be quite... enthusiastic when she wants to be she thought as she turned her attention to the teacher.
"Now class! Before I begin, I must go over one thing! In this class, we are open to new ideas! We will not throw out an idea just because it sounds strange or appears different! This will be key for our upcoming lecture about world religion!" The doctor said as he took a sip from his coffee mug.
"Now as you know many if not all of you are followers of the light, the sun the guiding religion that almost all faunus without fail follow!" The teacher said as he bowed lightly as he did the sign of the seven striped star. The class as one reported the gesture as he took another sip of his mug and moved on.
"Now just for the class's sake, we must do a brief overview of what our religion is, where it came from why we follow it and how it affects our day to day lives!"
"Now as you know we all came from the Isle of Menagerie. A place where our ancestors lived by themselves until coming into the new world and meeting humanity! Now during this time, our ancestors were plagued by strife war and Grimm assault. The faunus were attacked day in and day out by larger ever more dangerous types of Grimm and our ancestors were being pushed to the brink of extermination!"
"Now during our darkest hour, when all the faunus gather together in the center of Menagerie to make the last stand of our species does anybody know what happened to stop our extinction and lead to our successful, for the moment war against the forces of darkness?"
"I do!" Pyrrha shouted as her hand shot up with a large smile on her face. "ah yes go on!" Oobleck said as he sipped his mug.
"Enlighten us please on what transpired to save our species from the brink of extermination!"
"It was the appearance of the one true prophet," Pyrrha said calmly and confidently as the teacher nodded.
"Yes, exactly! At the darkest moment in our history when our back was to the wall, and the monsters at our door the one true prophet came and set the battle to our side!"
"Now to this very day! No one knows who the one true prophet was or where he came from. All we know is at the height of the seventh day of the siege the sun broke, as it rays shone down on an unknown faunus and set him ablaze!"
"At this moment the faunus stared doing things no faunus should be capable of! He shot fire from his hands. He immolated grim by the dozens! He single handily led the charge the pushed the monster of the darkness back and won the day for the light!"
"After his appearance, the one true prophet picked four faunus individuals. All women and gave them all one gift each does anybody know what that gift was?"
"It was dust, sir," Pyrrha said again earing another confident smile from the professor.
"Excellent work! Yes! The one true prophet showed the faunus how to use and manufacture dust! Leading to our inevitable protection and banishment of the Grimm form our homes! Now the prophet did not just give us dust what else did he ask of us?"
"Yes! Miss Schnee!"
"The prophet gave us all seven rules to abide by. He claimed if we were to master dust and defeat the darkness all faunus must abide by these rules if they were to survive!" Weiss said making the professor nod once.
"Yes indeed! These rule began the seven commandments of the faunus religion! Now, who known the first one?"
"I do!" Pyrrha who was a devout member of the faith answered instantly.
"Yes! go ahead!" The teacher said as she grinned happily.
"The sun is thy maker, the giver, and taker of life. Worship and give tribute to me like no other, and you shall live a blissful life." Pyrrha said with practiced ease as the doctor smiled again.
"Excellent work! That was the first of the seven commandments who know the nest two?"
"Ah yes! Miss Xiao-Long! Plese, enlighten us.
"Give unto me like no other for I am a jealous creator and will not tolerate blasphemy? I think, and then there was Respect and cherish your fellow faunus like they were your own brothers for we are all the lights children in the sun's eyes?" Yand said as the professor nodded.
"Roughly put but one hundred percent accurate! We are to give the light first and foremost place in our hearts and we are to treat our fellows with dignity and respect! Now, who knows the last commandments!"
" Use my gifts well, for they were made for all of my creations betterment. The light is your path, and as long as stand firm nothing can bar our way."
"Yes, miss Scarletina that was excellent now who knows the final and most important passages of the text?"
" The only true path is that of light do not entertain false idols or black sheep. Keep true to your self and banish the horrors of the dark for they are inimical to the light."
"Yes, mister Ren! Now for the final and most intriguing commandment."
"Do not tolerate those who stray from the path, the light is true, and the light is just. When others stray from their natural place in the world, they must be brought back by any means. The light is our only way, do not fall onto the path of darkness or the serene temptress." Pyrrha finished as the doctor nodded once.
"Yes, exactly! We are to worship an give prise to the light as much as we can. We are to treat each with dignity and respect; we must banish the creatures of the night the game. Hold firm to the path of the righteous, forsake any and all other paths for they are wrong. Kepp out own honor proud and aloft, and last we are not to tolerate the existence of other paths. The light is true, and the light is all."
"Now normally these commandments are not an issue as the vast majority of the world all followed the same religion. There are some outliers who do not believe in anything, but they are rare and largely tolerated. Now! This becomes a huge problem when going over to other cultures and other religions!" The teacher said as a murmur of voices filled the class.
"But sir! What other paths are there? There is only the light after all." A tall fox eared faunus with green eyes brown hair, light brown skin a slim build asked as the doctor chuckled.
"You see class as much as you would like there is not only one religion in the world, there is two!" The man said as the whiteboard flashed as the room went dark revealing the shattered moon on it. The class gasped as many shouts and slurs were heard. "It's there!" "The serene temptress!" "Blasphemy!" All filled the rooms the doctor called for attention.
"There is the human religion! The cult of the moon!" The doctor said as the classroom exploded int chaos.
"Pyrrha was beside herself. Her claws extended and retracted as her heart raced out of her chest. Her tail swished back and forth as her ears went dead shot as her spine became ramrod stiff. The serene temptress?! The humans worship her? Jaune worships her!? Pyrrha thoughts her breaths became shallow and labored as she looked at the picture of the moon.
"Class!" The doctor shouted as he attempted to regain order only to make his thermos on his desk to gain some semblance of control in the classroom.
"I said it before, and I will say it again! In this class, we keep an open mind to things! So I will ask that you listen while I explain the other religion of the world."
"But sir! They are wrong!" "There is only one true path!" A chorus of voices began before the doctor silenced them all."Students this my class, and in my class you shall listen to me!"
"Now our next topic is the human cult I will not call it a religion for it lacks the principles of one! Now for you to understand humanities faith, you must understand humanity as a whole."
"Unlike our people, the human lands stretched across a large part of the mainland in a powerful kingdom known as Mantle. This was a largely prosperous time for humanity seeing as how they had driven off the Grimm form their lands, and now we're living in peace and harmony with each other. And humans hate that."
"Now class does anybody know what the word depression means?"
"When you're really sad?" Velvet asked as the doctor sighed heavily.
"It layman's terms yes. Depression is a continuous feeling of sadness and other negative emotions that are quite devasting to the individual's health. Now I am not surprised that you do not know much about this topic, for depression is almost unheard of in the four kingdoms."
"This is due to out rather proximity with each other most faunus share a highly communal nature and do tend to look out for one another as the light commands." "As the light commands." The class repeated automatically as Oobleck went on.
"Now humans, on the other hand, they do not play well with anyone, especially other humans. Humanity is cursed to be dramatic. When in faunus world depression is incredibly uncommon and almost unheard of. Usually taking traumatic life experience of years of abuse to occur, to humanity it's genetic."
"We do not know why, but nearly all humans report that after birth and as early as children! They report feeling a profound series of sadness in them. Like they are missing a part of themselves."
"This leads to sadness, isolation, depression and almost always suicide. Humans are born broken, and they do not feel complete as if they are missing some integral part of their being!"
"Now top scientists in Atlas have worked tirelessly to figure out why this sense of dread permeates them to a genetic level, but so far nothing has been found to even suggest to this feeling sadness, loneliness and despair."
"Now remember the fauns suffered Grimm incursions when only some of our people were saddened. But can you imagine if your entire population lived in a constant state of fear and depression? The Grimm flocked to humanity like moths to a flame."
"The battles between humans and Grimm were legendary, and due to Arcadia's formerly Mantel's secretive nature we know little how humanity survived these dark times. All we know is somehow humanity not only survived the Grimm they drove them to extinction!"
"Now the other part of their religion, I said humans as a whole fell empty, sad, broken and alone. Nothing seems to really make these negative emotions disappear except for one thing combat."
"It was said that many, many years ago a lone human walked the ice fields of what is now Arcadia. After traveling the fields for days on end until he was ambushed by Grimm. The human barely fought them off but was fatally injured in the process. As he laid bleeding out dying on the ground legends says he looked up into the moon and it spoke to him... This humans name was Ferius Arc..."
"I'm going to die," Ferius said aloud as he walked the cool ice caps of the northlands. It was a bitterly cold night and the harsh wind stabbed into him like daggers as he walked barefoot through the ice caps. The wind stung and bit his exposed extremities as he barely kept moving forward.
The pale ice below him was dyed red with his blood as he kept his intestines in with one hand. His other bloody appendage gripped his long sword. It's twin yellow moons glared out at the night looking for any would-be challengers. Not that it did him any good. The internal organs once so safely nestled inside of his stomach now hung loosely out courtesy of a Grimm attack earlier. He killed them all of course like any human would although now he wished he hadn't. He wished that death claim for him there and not made him walk half a mile bleeding out first.
As he walked his feet shot in pain as the feeling of the freezing ice beneath them stabbed into his soles. He wanted to cry, wanted to scream he wanted to shout to the stars above about the unfairness of his situation, but in the end, all he could do was collapse and fall into the snow back of north Mantle.
"It's beautiful," Ferius said as he looked up to the shattered moon that hung in the sky. It was indeed a magnificent sight to behold. The large white celestial body broken into many pieces as the hypnotizing ethereal light reflected down to him.
He coughed twice as his body started to spasm as the last of his blood flowed freely from his torso coloring the ice scarlet. "This is how it ends? Fitting." Ferius said as he looked up once more unto the starry sky before closing his eyes.
Ferius was not surprised his life was ending like this. Almost all humans died like him and he was no different. Cold, alone, afraid. In truth, it was no different than how he was born. From his earliest memories, Ferius felt like he was missing something. Like something vital had been stolen from him, and he was desperate to get it back.
Like some intangible part of his existence was ripped out from his core and forcibly taken away from him. His life reflected this, he lived a sad, miserable life alone and isolated. He had no real friends to speak of and no close relationships. Even that of his immediate family felt more like connected strangers than actual kinship.
As he felt the last of his blood leave his body he let his face finally fall into the snow as he let one last smile enter his face as he looked up to the moon one last time. " Beautiful," Ferius said before he closed his eyes for good..."Open your eyes." A voice said as Ferius heard a smooth melodic voice in his head speak to him. " Open your eyes, my child."
The voice repeated itself as Ferius was now sure he had gone mad. I'm hearing things now. It must be the blood loss making me imagine things. I just need to close my eyes and wait for oblivion to take me. "It need not be like this my son. Now open your eyes." The voice repeated itself as Ferius forced his eyelids open. It was hard work getting them to open up. Each lid felt like it weighed a ton as he pushed the things open only to see the shattered moon in his vision.
"Great I knew I was hallucinating," Ferius said as he prepared to close his eyes again. " Not so fast my son. I have a purpose for you yet." The voice said again as the moon began to glow.
Ferius was sure he imagined things as he watched as the moon took on a brilliant silver glow as it began to pulsate. Ferius watched in awe as the light continued to rise in volume as it began to shine a blinding white before it condensed itself into one final pulse of silver as the moon descended into a form onto the snow. It was a woman.
She was a tall woman, who stepped out of the glowing sphere of energy. She was easily six feet tall with skin the color of pure snow. So light was her skin that if it were not for the crystal clear sky and see-through ice, she might have been invisible.
Looking up Ferius saw she had long silver hair that stretched down past her waist, as she was clothed in a series of dark red robes. The thing that stood out most to Ferius was her eyes.
They were the color of blood. Redder than the most passionate crimson and darker than the most sanguine of scarlets. Her face also looked as if it had several blood-red veins running through it as she walked over to him.
"My child you are injured, and in need of guidance. Would you like for me to give that to you?" The woman asked as her melodic voice sung to Ferius ears.
"Who, what are you?" He asked the strange woman who only smiled beatifically to him in response.
"Who I am is not important my son. What is important is the message I have for you and your fellows."
"What message is that?" Ferius asked as he spat up another pain filled what of scarlet phlegm.
"I know how you well my son. I sense your pain you anger your frustration. I know how much it bothers you to have to suffer every day, in excruciating pain that none of the healers can fix." As the woman spoke her voice was rich and silk like. And every word felt like it was positively dripping with sweet nectar. Ferius had no choice but listen to each one.
"Your every day is miserable. You spend your time searching for answers to fill that unfathomable void in your soul, but you never come any closer to it then you were before. I am here to end your suffering my son. I am here to show you a better way, another path."
His breathing hitched as the beautiful woman walked over to him. She was gorgeous, in a way that no human woman could ever hope to come close to, even if her appearance should have been unsettling, there was something about seeing her in the pale moonlight, as her pure snow-like skin reflected the waves of light from the moon that made her appear simply breathtaking.
The woman said as she knelt down next to Ferius's bleeding form and put a hand to his head and cupped his chin in her cold, pale hands.
"My son, listen here. Your life has been miserable. Unfulfilling filled with not but disappointments and loss. And you have felt your whole life as if you deserved it and you did. But I am not here to tell you how you deserved your suffering. Oh no, I am here to offer you redemption."
At the woman's words, Ferius felt a fire burst in his chest. It was like his heart was being into overdrive as he stared at the hauntingly beautiful woman in front of him.
"Listen well, my son. I am here to save not only you but your people. You live long bloody lives and die long bloody deaths. But I am here to put a stop to that I am here to teach you a better way all you need do is to listen."
"The first thing you must learn is that the moon is your savior. Its lights will purify your souls even on the darkest nights. Know that any who pay homage to me three times a night at my peak will have their burdens transcended"
"The second is that all of you species is cursed, and in need of redemption. And the only way to absolve that sin is through me, through the moon. I do not ask you much. Only that you shed the shackles of flesh you call a prison and seek your atonement in battle. You must all redeem your selves through honorable deeds. And there is no deed more honorable than death in combat."
"Third, the darkness is your friend. It is your closest ally and most revered companion. And all creatures of the darkness are your allies to an extent... They may be different than you, but they are here to save you."
"But, the Grimm hunt us! How are they are allies?!"
"My child fear not death, for your body is transient. You are born cursed remember? Your body is damned form the start but your soul is still there, shattered but present. The Grimm seek to free you from your prisons of flesh and bone and send you to paradise. But know this, you are all in need of redemption so you must never go willingly into the dark. You must fight and fight well, make the enemy earn you deaths so you may all earn your place at the great feast."
" You must go home, my son. Go tell you, people, to stop their pitiable struggles and squabbles. Stop their fighting for their own wasteful deities and give homage to me. I am not a jealous creature, so I do not mind if they pay homage to others but know this. The only way for humanity to reach redemption is to live an honorable life and to die, and honorable death, and there is no death more honorable than one done in battle."
"But how will I tell my people? I am dying in this field how can I hope to get back safely and live long enough to speak."
"Worry not my son for I have seen for all possibilities." The woman said as she put her hand firmly on his neck and began to chant.
"You who have been born into a cursed existence fret not, your sufferings end is here. For it is in passing that you shall achieve redemption. Unbidden and freed from all. No longer shall you flesh be your prison, may your soul be free and your atonement commence. With this, I release your soul."
The woman said as bright green light enveloped Ferius as he gasped in shock. Instantly all the pain and despair he had lived with vanished, as he looked down even his wounds were gone wholly erased and repaired. "What did you do?!"
" I unlocked you aura Ferius. And I have also given you the ability to do so with others now go. Tell your fellows what I have taught you. Show them that death in battle is the only hope humanity will get at redemption. Show me my faith was not misrepresented! And more importantly, tell them about me."
She said as the man stood up. "Please tell me your name!"
"My name? You can call me Salem. To you, I am your queen. But to those you tell of me simply refer to me as the moon. Until then Ferius take care." The woman said as she smiled beatifically at him before she winked out of existence and Feris collapsed onto the ground.
When Ferius awoke hours later, he found himself encased in a thin layer of snow as he looked down. His wounds had completely healed, and he was in perfect condition. Not believing his luck yet too afraid to jinx it he instantly sat up and set way for the nearest town with a message in tow.
" To this very day! We have no idea what the moon really told the man. Or if he was even sane when he woke up. All this is documented was that he ran to what would later become Arcadia and told everybody that if they followed the moon's teachings their suffering would be over! And you know what's the crazy part of this class? Whatever he said it worked. Humans began praying three times a night to the moon on every full cycle and their rates of depression dropped like a rock."
"There is something about humans that makes them gravitate to combat. Whenever humans are fighting they speak of their depression vanishing in an instant. That all of the pain and suffering disappears and they feel like they are alive again!"
"It is said in combat humans truly figure out who they are and what their purpose is on Remnant. And they then went to spare the word to others."
"Now like out faith the moon told this man several things, unlike our faith, however, all we know is the rough translation of what the moon said. What we do know is that is that moon claimed that not only himself but his entire species! And declared that all humans were cursed at birth and must seek honorable deaths if they want to gain access to the afterlife. The only guaranteed honorable death is one in combat. Anything else and their afterlife is uncertain."
" Now humans in Arcadia must look out for one another and see to it that their eternity is safeguarded and protected. This meant humans must make sure that other humans go to the afterlife safely and securely with no chance for error. "
" Although most importantly the moon was said to say that there is more than one path for the afterlife. And that humanity must tolerate the existence of other faiths. Even if they disagree, the human path is for humanity only."
"This has led humans to become one of the must adaptable but hostile species on Remnant. They fight each other constantly day in day out in attempts to save one another. Humans believe that any death that is not especially done on the field of battle will not be sent to the afterlife."
This is not acceptable to them. And as an odd byproduct humanity shuns almost the entirety of physical pleasures as a whole. They were taught the body is a transient thing and that their souls matter much, much more than that."
"Humans often shun pleasures of the flesh making their society look down on things like alcohol, tobacco and especially sex, and any other physical pleasures are discouraged if not outright banned in Arcadian society. They are focused on making strong soldiers who will go out fight hard and earn her place in the afterlife."
"All this based on the words of a dying man who thought he saw the moon speak to him..."
Oobleck sad s his grip tighten on his thermos as he glowered at the ground.
"So much death, so much destruction so much pain! All because the words of a half-dead man who thinks he heard the moonspeak to him!? He was probably hallucinating from wandering the damned ice fields for so long! Then he goes back and tells the rest of humanity making their once proud people into a bunch of jumped of cultist who is intent on dying in battle or committing suicide!"
"This has led to most of our problems in dealing with humans. The light was specifically against the temptation of the moon, and that humanity has fallen so far into them does not bode well for our future, not. At. All..."
"Jaune you're alive!" Nora yelled as she crushed him in bear hug making him a cough."Nora please!" Jaune wheezed the air was choked out his lung the girl stooped only for Yang to take her place as she cracked his bones in her scaly arms.
"Jaune you dumbass! What the hell were you thinking!?" She growled at a jet of flam came from her nostrils making him flinch.
"I needed to stop a terrorist?" Jaune said weakly as the dragon's eyes glowed red. Luckily for him before she could act the nurse came in.
"That's enough students" The calm, collect voice of the nurse Kira said s the raccoon faunus walked into the room.
"Mister Arc semblance is damaged, so his aura is not helping him heal, and after the leg injury, he had? If he wasn't a human he would never walk on it again and if it doesn't heal right we will need to amputate it. He needs a lot of rest and-"What did you say!?" Pyrrha said as she and the rest of he friends suddenly turned as one to the nurse who sighed.
"I'll say it again for the time being Jauen Arc has no semblance."
When Qrow woke up the first thing, he thought was why he had a headache like an all-night bender but none of the good memories to go along with it.
As he opened his eyes to see familiar white walls and beeping machines. " Ah, that's right." He said as he looked for his trusty flask only to see it was nowhere to be found. As he looked down his bed cot a comfortable weight that went hand and hand with a familiar wad of light blue hair was resting in his lap.
"Winter?" Qrow asked as the snow leopards cat ears shot up at once as bolted upright. "Qrow your ok!?" she as instantly went to check up on her mate.
"I'm alive if that's what you mean although saying I'm ok is a stretch," Qrow said as he shrugged his shoulders at the red-eyed snow leopards. "Now do you have any idea where my flas-WHAP!
Qrows face exploded, in pain that is. As he felt the stinging sensation of a fresh hand across it as WItner slapped him hard.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you!? Do you have any idea about how long and hard I looked for you!? Why didn't you come back after you got captured?! How long were you in their interrogations for?! What else... did they do to you..."
WInter said the last words softly as Qroe noticed a faint drop of water falling on his chest. "What else did they do to me?" Qrow asked as he reached out and grabbed abed side mirror. Ah shit.
He thought as he looked into the bedside glass as he saw that somewhere along the line his shirt had become undone exposing his lower torso where a plethora fresh scars were that began at his groin and worked all the way up to his chest. Thanks, Roman. Qrow thought darkly as he looked up not the face! He thought as the once flawless in his opinion. The face was now marred by two long scars, at least chicks dig scars right? He thought as he scratched them.
"What do you mean his aura isn't working!?" Weiss asked as the raccoon nurse sighed.
"He was injured in such a way that for the next few days he will have no semblance to heal him," Kira said as she waved a wand of some sort over him staring at its reading and sighing to herself.
"His aura's in stage three of its protection. His healing will not be aided by it for the next few day, but we should have him out of here in two. It will offer him light protection from attacks so he'll be cleared for combat class and can participate the moment he leaves."
"He will do no such thing!" Pyrrh sais instantly as she dug her claw into Jaune's flesh. Only to relinquish her grip when she heard the cry of pain that escaped his lips as he claws dug into his flesh leaving deep holes in his arm.
"I"m sorry!" Pyrrha said instantly as let got a line of blood came off from his left arm. "It's ok Pyr! It just hurts!" Jaune said as he grimaces before the nurse sighed as wrapped his arm in a bandage.
"Miss Nikos please do not try to kill your teammate. He is already in a bad enough position without you injuring him further." Kira said as she worked on Jaune's fresh injury mak the tigress panic.
She hurt him!? Hurt her partner?! Pyrrha's tail went stiff as she watched him grimace. She felt the heat rise in the room a tad as Yang's eyes watered as they stare onto her. "There you go, that should do try not to fight any more terrorist ok?" Kira said as Pyrrha saw her out.
"Just what were you thinking!? Going to fight a known terrorist alone without team backup!?" She asked as Jaune gave up a sigh as he prepares to tell them a quick but sad story.
earlier...
"This is the av room?" Jaune said aloud as he knocked door to the inside. "Leave it to Nora to literally carry me here in her arms but drop me off with no crutches." Not that he needed crutches they just made things a whole lot easier.
"Open!" Said a voice from the inside as Jaune pushed the door open.
"Hello? I'm supposed to be doing the announcements for this time." Jaune said as he stepped inst the medium sized room and froze instantly.
Infront of him standing around his height was a fourth-year student. His hair was coarse and black and his eyes light brown, and he had a bright silver collar around his neck. As he stared at him, both their mouths opened in shock as Jaune saw the boy. He was human, and he had no crest. As the two stared at each other in shocked silence for two minutes, the boy spoke first. "Is this the part where we kill each other?"
I'm ok."
"No, you are not."
"I'm ok."
"No, you are about as far from ok as possible!"
"Winter I'm fine. I don't need you to worry about me."
"Yes, you do! This is all my fault an-"Stop. You think this is all your fault but trust me the fault is probably mine. It usually is real." Qrow admitted as the snow leopard fussed over his left and right.
"Stop. You think this is all your fault but trust me the fault is probably mine. It usually is real." Qrow admitted as the snow leopard fussed over his left and right.
Ever since he got up, she had been taking care of him in soup. Bringing him food water medicine even. Apparently being an Atlas specialist came with a degree in nursing. Who knew?
"You need lots of rest-"Winter stop, you are worrying too much. This is nothing to me, I've been through much worse than this.""Don't you think I know that! Don't you think I know you've been through worse in your life? Do you really think I never noticed your scars? And don't even try to tell me they all came from battle!"
She said as Qrow sighed heavily. WItner had him. He was a runway after all. Living in a tribe of dragons as one of the sole humans was rare enough but getting out of the said tribe and then going to Beacon before running away again to join a now-defunct last-ditch military unit?
Yeah, he earned some scars along the way. Mainly because Arcadia has their own initiation rites which he participated in, although he was drunk through most if half of those memories still kept him up at night sometimes.
"Winter I know what your thinking but calm down ok? Bad thing happens especially to me. For one I'na human two-"Stop. Just because you are a human does not mean bad things have to happen to you! I know you were not born in Arcadia so stop talking like you were!"
"I know you want to be a hunter, I really do, and I do not want to stop you fro being one! I just want you to let me help you. I Just want to be apart of your life Qrow can't you understand that?" Winter asked as Qrow finally broke.
He hated himself for this. Not because he made a woman cry he did that fairly regularly, to be honest, but for the fact, for he had to give the damn north bastards credit where credit was due. He knew Winter loved him. That was clear as day, but was not so clear was why he had to fell for her in return.
I mean she stalked him, drugged him, kidnapped him, hypnotized him and basically did every damn thing in her power to make him a damned house husband without his consent or permission.
But despite that despite all the weird techno bs and implied rape there was something about her that he just well he liked. He couldn't explain it he couldn;t justify it he just liked her, she did it for him. In her own weird twisted semi nonconsensual way. She wormed her way into his heart like a plague and refused to let go. It was just like Arcadians always told him, love makes you stupid, and that will get you killed, the bunch of hypocrites.
He couldn't explain it any words he just knew he liked her. Maybe was because he grew up with a controlling woman in his life that he was immune to much of her charm? Raven had not been the most open-minded of siblings, but she had been dutiful in her protection of him.
Even up till the point where he finally broke ties with his family and ran she looked out for him regardless of situations. As he stared at the snow leopard, one other thing bothered him. It was probably the worst part of the faunus as a whole especially in Atlas was that they were not necessarily bad.
That's not to say that Atlas didn't do some messed up stuff. They did. But the problem with dealing with snow leopards in particular at least to Qrow was seven times out of ten they thought they were doing what was right. They honestly believed in that they were doing was not only for the best but was simply the right thing to do.
As Qrow looked into the crying face of Winter Schnee. He felt no anger towards her or any ill will. In fact, he felt warm as his hand instinctively grasped hers. She let out a quick intake of air before he laced their fingers.
"You remind me so much of my sister you know?" Qrow used As Winter blushed then gained a piercing look.
"You have a sister?! Why didn't you tell me?! I have to meet her! What part of the free colonies does she live in? I'm sure she a reasonable hu-
"Dragon. My sister is a dragon." Qrow said as he watched the expression on Winters' face go from one of cute irritation to outright panic.
"Your... your sisters a dragon faunus?"Yup." "And you are..."Twin siblings. Born at the same time no matter what she says about being born earlier." Winter looked like she was about to have a panic attack as her body shook like someone had put a live wire into her.
"You... haven't told her about me have you?"
"Told her what? About you like to drug, kidnap, hypnotize and hold captive her little brother and only living relative? Nah not yet."
Qrow practically cackled as he watched the entirety of the color drain from Winter's face her mouth hung open like a bass.
"But don't worry, after that spectacle with the fang I'm sure she's on her way to Vale as we speak. Although I doubt she'll be happy when she gets here let me do the speaking ok? The last thing we need is a new hole in the damned grounds, Glynda still hasn't forgiven us for last time you know?"
You're human!" Jaune shouted to the fourth year who sighed and rolled his shoulder as his shiny collar sparkled int he light. As Jaune looked at it, he saw the words Property of Alice Reinschnee. If found, please return safe and unharmed to top floor fourth-year dorms in Beacon academy DRM # 217.
"And you can see!"The boy said as he rolled his shoulders. "look, man, I got to be honest with you are we going to be doing the whole fight to the death thing or not? Cause if we are I got to call my girlfriend to tell her that I'll be late for dinner. She gets real angsty when I'm not on time. Snow leopards you know?" He asked as he brought out his scroll and put it to his face.
"Wait! You're a human! Which clan are you from!?" Jaune asked as he felt his pulse race as he finally found hope. Another Arcadian! Another person from his home! Even if he had no crest which was certainly a boon in this negotiation. Jaune needed his help as the boy cocked his head.
"So... Are we fighting to the death or can I put down my scroll and go back to my room?"
"No, I don't want to fight you! I need your help you see-
"You ran away and took off your crest right? That means you are probably here to regain your honor correct?"
"Yes! How did you, what clan are you from!?"
"In that order? Same. Moulder. You can call me Venke, but that's only if you want. It's only my last name lost the rest with my crest you know?"
"I Know! Clan Moulder? That's great! I know I just met you, but I need a favor! What are the states of the clans?"
At this, question the boys face dropped as he reached under the desk he was standing in front of and pulled out a bottle of what appeared to be Arcadian whiskey.
"You might want to sit down kid this is going to be a long talk." He said as popped open the bottle.
Jaune was beside himself. "There's a clan war coming!?"
"Yup. It's big too, looks like Moulder and Eschen."
"Again!? Why can't those two get along for once in their damned lives!?"
"Because were Arcadians. You know that Arc." He said as he took a shot of liquor and shuddered as it went down his throat.
"Oh hell, that's the good stuff." He said as Jaune took his shot and nearly fainted. The drink felt like lave going down his esophagus as he fought the urge to gag.
"Easy kid, don't kill yourself yet. I know I just killed your life prospects, but that doesn't mean you have to die yet dose it?" He asked as Jaune stared into the bottom of his glass, a clan war...
This was terrible. If the clans fought, it would last for years. If that happened, the original plan for Jaune to come to Beacon win Vytal and gain enough honor to come home went down in flames. If he couldn't win Vytal there was only one way left to regain his honor, and that was to die. As much as Jauen hated to admit he was a coward, he did not want to die...
"I know this is a hard break kid, but I might have some good news for you. If you really want your honor back and aren't too attached to your limbs one of my old contacts in Moulder sent me this."
He said as he slid a data slate to Jauen. The thing was like an Arcadian version of the scroll but eight times more powerful. As he picked it up one picture was on its display. It was of faunus man with red hair bull horns and a long sword with the words wanted 500,000 lien next to it.
"Arcadian bounty hunters incorporated? You want to become a clan Moulder mercenary again!?"
"If you want some honor by fighting a strong opponent? Then there's your mark." He said as Jaune smiled to him, it was good to see a friend again. Even without his crest.
" I have nothing." Jaune said as he stared into the slitted cat eyes of his partner. Pyrhha looked down with a deeply concerned expression in her eyes as grabbed his arm. Pyrrha was going through a war in her head. Her partner, her mate was a blasphemer! She needed to save his soul and she needed to do it soon. If she could not convert him to the true path of the light his eternity may truly be forfeit after all!
"Jaune that's not true, you have me you have friends."Pyrrha there's a clan war going on. That means that there is no way even if I win Vytal that I will get my crest back. And if I don't have my crest I am damned."
"Jaune this crest thing can't be that special right?" Yang said as she tried to lighten the mood as her clawed hand gripped his arm supportively.
"You don't understand. All of you guys came here for some reason. Whether it was for glory honor or duty! I came here for a final chance. I needed to do something so honorable that the entirety of the clans would agree to let me back in. But with a clan war, I will never gain that audience. I didn't just lose my crest. I lost my afterlife."
"My eternity was up for the balance and when I failed to take down Adam. I lost everything..." Jaune said as he looked down into his cooling pizza. " I have no eternity..."
"Humans are so frustrating!" Winter nearly shouted as she paced back and forth in her Beacon quarters that Ozpin had so generously given her. A dragoness!? Really Qrow!? Your sister is an Oum damned dragon, and you never tell me?! She thought as she took a deep breath. "Calm down Winter. Qrow is your mate and you will be damned before you let anybody take him from you." She said to herself as looking in a mirror. "I wonder how Weiss is doing?" She thought as checked her reflection.
Weiss was actually doing quite well. Her plans had all worked more or less correctly and now she needed to wait. As she watched Jaune talk at the cafeteria table, she sighed internally as she kept up her appearance. Weiss was well aware Jaune had gone after Adam last night. Her scroll beeped instantly as soon as he left Beacon grounds.
As she checked it, she initially panicked seeing how he was going after Adam Taurus of all people. Thank Oum for whoever put that tracker in him gave it full vocal audio. Making it so that whatever Jaune heard Weiss also heard, also what he said ate and was doing every second of every day...
It really was a stunning piece of technology indeed. As she looked at the boy, after all, implanting any devices in humans with aura unlocked was usually an effort in frustration as their damned semblance rejected most implants right off the bat it was like profess Peach said herself...
"When a human unlocks their aura their semblance takes a picture! Click! Like a freshly booting computer if you will. It will look at a humans body the moment it is unlocked heal it for any injuries and then save what the body looks like. Just like a computer would save a file or a document!"
"Now after it saves this file the semblance will work tirelessly to make sure that the body will always mimic what it thinks the body should look like. It constantly tries to make the body revert to whatever form it was when it was unlocked. Which explains their prodigious healing abilities. This makes it hard for most humans to grow muscles although if they weaken their semblance muscle improvement does become possible and is exponentially stronger then faunus in that regard."
As Weiss watched, Jaune the human Roman Torchwick had done just that. He had weakened Jaune's semblance making it unworkable for several days with his electric attack.
A worrying prospect to be certain but a minor threat overall. He was surrounded hunters and huntresses in training he would be fine. Although learning about the human semblance never stopped there. As Weiss grew to know that the human semblance was not infallible it could be tricked, manipulated and downright bypassed if you were well trained.
Like the chip in his neck was proof of. Whoever put that in him used an electric current to destabilize his healing abilities then implanted the custom Atlas chip which went to work.
It transmits a signal to the brain tricking the body think it is part of it so when the semblance reboots using the computer metaphor it will take another picture of itself and then try to keep whatever it feels as its self together. All in all, it was one of humanities greatest strengths, and also one of their weakness the other weakness humanity had was-
"Sex," Winter said aloud as she did her personal log. She had just ended her log journal and was currently busy reading about human culture for her nightly reading. Doctor Malroque had been kind enough to send her his latest books on Arcadian culture and she was entertaining him with reading it as she thumbed through the passages it was currently deciphering humanities one true weakness.
It was ironic in the extreme that the most powerful military force on the planet, with the most advanced and deadly technology that has ever been seen, could be brought low by something so simple. You see Atlas never ever submitted to Arcadia they just knew when one approach was no longer working and a new one was needed.
It was well known that you could not beat the Arcadians in a fight, you could not beat them in technology their economy was neigh unstoppable and they were immune to most of the faunus conventional weapons. So how do you overcome Arcadian dominance? Asked as she read the book, if you can't outsmart, outfight, or out produce them? You fucked them. The book read as Winter grimaced. It sounded crude but the truth in the matter was clear as day.
Arcadians for whatever reason seemed to have an extreme displeasure for pleasures of the flesh, they often went so far as to outright ban them altogether in their territories.
No one is sure why they have such an adverse reaction to these things. The culture that we know of shows no history of them disdaining pleasures of the flesh but they do.
The Arcadians do not have sex for love or emotions. To them, it is simply a means to produce more offspring who will then go on to become great soldiers in time.
It is not something to look forward to, it is not something to pine after and it is certainly not something to be enjoyed. Arcadians disdain of sex is so harsh that some clans almost banned it for any purpose other than reproduction.
To Arcadians if you love somebody you do not have sex with them you challenge them to a... Arebant herbae et choros.
Loosely translated meant Dance of the blades. It is a ceremonial ritual like a collaring for the Faunus, but instead of a symbol of love in a collar, this is the time where two love-struck humans enter into a dueling arena with twin pairs of swords. They will then proceed to kill each other.
The two humans will dance and clash around one another striking through their semblances as they clashed. stripping flesh from bones and taking limbs from their partners. All the while singing poems to the others beauty. Only stopping to catch their breath. This fight can take hours and will go on till one in the past, now both of them are dead.
This is due to advances in Arcadian science where both participants be they man woman, woman woman, man man, will have a heartbeat monitor with a minor explosive stitched into their chests. When the others heart rate reaches zero their bomb goes off killing them both.
Now this seems barbaric and it is a primitive customs but you must remember to humans their body is transient.
They see the physical world of as one of suffering and fear. The afterlife is the goal and what better gift can one give to their lover than that of eternity?
Now when the first fertility contracts were established faunus partners were surprised when their new mates who were perfectly amicable to them during their meetings showed almost little to no interest in recreational copulation.
The humans would mate with their partner only for the sake of children, this behavior was considered as strange until specialist Alurne found a critical weakness in the Arcadian psyche. They were unaccustomed to the pleasure of the flesh and it was their weakness.
She was married as it is called in human customs to her partner a proud Arcadian commander named Sterling Hark. A veteran of the great war and a mighty Arcadian soldier.
He was known for leading his troops personally time and time again, against many faunus tunnel positions and coming out unscathed even due to his lack of powered armor.
She was assigned to spy and learn any secrets she could from him. At first, their marriage was going well. They were happy if a somewhat forced couple. Although her attempts to get any information from the man was met with failure after failure.
After two years of this Alurne learned something about him. He never seemed to want to have sex with her. He would always do so when asked but never took the initiative himself. And when they were intimate it was always a forced rushed affair.
Like Hark was trying to get it over with as soon as possible. Not because he didn't like her or she wasn't his type. We did extensive psychological background on him before assigning Alurne to be the breeding contractor. He just seemed bothered by the act of copulation.
Deciding on another course of action she decided to actively initiate intercourse with him, to attempt to seduce him. At first, she reported it being like romancing a patch of bricks.
But then after some time, she broke him. It took her less than two weeks to make the once strong proud man crumble in her grasp all she needed to do was to have regular sex with him, as it turned out after a life without the experiencing the pleasures of the flesh having it thrust upon you so quickly was quite addictive.
Humans are honor bound creatures but if they feel as if their reputation has been compromised they will almost always submit to their conquerors. This is an insight gleamed off of the very strange human aversion to sex and most other physical pleasures.
Human society is deeply rooted in the bases of free will and they see sex and romance in general to a lesser extent though as going against their free will. They think that anybody that can force your body to do or feel something is wrong, which leads them to a particular distaste for orgasms in general. They believe that anybody or anything that makes your body do something without your explicit consent is to be denied and shunned at all cost.
They despise the notion of anything forcing them to do anything and this is reflected no more than in their love life. The Arcadian weakness to flesh was soon documented compartmentalized and exploited. After Alurne's successful conquest of Hark, the amount of military secrets we gained and garnered form him at little to no cost to us put Atlas ahead of all the other kingdoms by decades!
Although we are still far behind the Arcadian technology that is quickly changing. The amount of breeding programs was increased, and their objective changed from pure lineage continuing to espionage.
We will now impart all trained snow leopard breeders to merely seduce and extract as much information from our allies as we can. Targeting generals, scientists, the rare Arcadian politician. So far as we can tell the A.D. F. is well aware of our strategy but not all of their clans do not wish to fight us. They are still debating on our soul's destination in the afterlife, so they refuse to take action militarily.
As Winter read her thoughts shifted to the sleeping form of Qrow in his cot. He never seemed to have an adverse reaction to the flesh, maybe it was just an Arcadia tradition not to be applied to humanity as a whole? She thought as she put the book down and went to sleep in her beacon given mattress.
Neo was frustrated. As she paced back in forth in their hideout. Roman was going over some maps alone so she had time to think. And only one thought was one Neo's mind, the blonde human from before. Jaune.
She almost stopped and shuddered as she licked her fangs as her ear perked up on her head. She wanted that blond back in her life so badly she could kill for it. And she would, ounce Roman was in a better mood and assuming the blonde survived the last encounter with him. Who Neo was still in a bad mood over but not too irritated about. Roman was still the number one human and entity in her life and nothing would change that.
Assuming he was alive she would petition him to take the blonde form Beacon and forcibly bring him back here.
Where he would need to be of course forcibly restrained and cared for a task she would, of course, selflessly volunteer for. Neo knew she was not in love with the boy, but she loved him in the way that any pure breed loves humanity. Despite their weakness.
Atlas would like to say same some fancy crap about how it's genetic and their just biologically attracted to humans and that may be true! But!
It was not the real reason why alpha faunus liked humanity oh no! The real reason was much less for a and much more primal.
All faunus especially the alphas have a need to dominate. To control to force their way onto others. Especially in relationships. Alphas established dominance first and foremost then they go about getting their mates to submit to them before finally settling down.
Now, this may seem fine but it's not. Faunus like humans ironically enough does not like the mundane. After a while when the nonalpha has learned their place the alpha especially a pure breed, starts to get an itch. They want to dominate their partner.
They want the thrill the rush of taking from somebody! It's infinitely better than just getting what they want. They want their mates to fight back! to resist to struggle! Problem is after a while the nonalpha learns to submit and the fight goes away and with it half the fun! You need two to tango after all.
Faunus need the fight they need the struggle they need the constant of taking and being battled against. And to be honest, where is the fun in kicking a dead horse? Eventually, a nonalpha learns their place and the struggle ends. Now with a human that's a whole another story.
You see you can break humans. Especially ones with their aura unlocked. You can beat them, you can mount them. you can especially maim them and do all sorts of things to establish your dominance and the humans especially a human from Arcadia will fight you one hundred percent of the way. They will never give up never stop and most importantly, they will never surrender.
Even when it is clear you have the obvious advantage they never stop trying, never stop fighting and never stop struggling.
Even after you break them beat them to drain them and leave them as nothing but a writhing virtual husk of the thing they once were they don't stay that way oh no. They're not like faunus.
No matter how bad you beat them, no matter how bad you hurt them a human will just keep getting up, there stubborn like that. It might take them a day or two maybe even a week depending on how rough you are with them but they always without fail to get back up and will challenge you again just as strongly and fiercely if not stronger. And that look they get on their faces!
Neo couldn't help but tremble as her knees quivered and quacked. She had to fight to keep her voice down as she repressed the urge to moan aloud, as she remembered that look on the blonde boy so fondly.
As she fought the urge to dip her hands down the front of the leotard, one Roman was in the same room. Two! She liked this pair of pants. As her mind took her to her past.
Oh, how she loved that look on his face as she bounced on top of him. Those crystal blue eyes that stared up at her wilt looks of pure anger as she rode him and brought her aura infused fist down to his face, again and again, turning it into red paste. He should be grateful she was so nice! Neo had heard some absolute horror stories about faunus and their mates, as there were apparently some especially sadistic snow leopards especially in Atlas, who had the habit of actually blinding their mates before they forced intercourse on them.
They would literally stick their claws into their human's eyes male or female it mattered not, blinding them rather painfully before teasing, taunting them before forcing themselves onto the injured humans. This tactic works especially well on humans with their semblance unlocked as they will actually heal the damage done to them. Now Neo could sympathize with the snow leopards she really could!
The thought of blinding her mate and watching him run helplessly around trying clawing desperately to get away from her while she sauntered after him at her own leisure taunting him seductively all the way? The idea was orgasmic. But alas that was not Neo's way, Neo, liked to look into her mates eyes and feel their emotions. A task made significantly harder when you gouged them out beforehand.
The looks of utter confusion, helplessness, hatred, arousal, and despair on his face. As his once proud look turned to shame and despondency as she forcibly brought him to climax over and over again. She could tell he hated it.
He hated it so much she saw that he wished for all world for her to stop and would do anything to make her so do. And that look! That perfect look of despair mixed with anger mixed with defiance was enough to bring her over the edge time and time again...
Neo wanted that boy now more than ever. Once Roman would stop brooding she would take him with or without his permission. And she would make him hers. As she looked to her boss, friend an brother, to use an analogy of humanity that Roman would approve of.
To the faunus and especially to the pure breed alphas, humans were a gift that just kept on giving. They were like a cigar that never lost its size or its flavor, no matter how long or how hard you sucked.
"Is this really necessary?" Jaune asked as he sat down on the uncomfortable chair tied down with ropes in the chair.
"Yes, it is. Now stop talking we are in a library." Blake said smugly to the tied down human who shifted uncomfortably in the heard woo chair while she got the comfy beanbag.
"Well, this is fun," Jaune remarked sarcastically as Blake gave him a look. As her golden eyes regarded him with something that looked dangerously close to arousal"Read a book," Blake replied as her tail swished back and forth.
"You tied my hands to a chair," Jaune added as he struggled to get them undone."That's to prevent you from doing something stupid. Again"
"LIke what? You think this chair will protect me? what if I tip it over like this!" Jaune said as he began to rock the chair.
"Jaune if you fall off that chair I will personly turtle bondage you before taping your mouth shut and using your body as my new bean bag chair for the rest of the day," Blake said calmly with a matter of fact tone that let Jaune know she was absolutely serious.
"I'd bet you like that wouldn't you?" He asked her as the faunus smile coyly up to him.
"Not as much as you would.'" She said being back, and briefly showed him a bit of her upper chest." Can I at least get some chips?"VERRRTT The sound of stretching duct tape filled the air as Jaune sighed he was in for a long day...
An: There we go! Another chapter of Endangered species! Did you like it? Yes? No? Let me know feedback is always welcome!
PS Jaune Torchwick is next for those you follow me. Can you smell the chimichangas? I know I can! Until then farewell!
PSS Next chapter is Jaune and Blake. Let's see how these crazy kids get along yes?