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PARTIAL_FILE_RETRIEVED
RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth
Chapter 9: The Monsters We Become
"Let me get this straight. You were a member of a peaceful faunus rights group from a young age, for reasons I assume are mostly due to some sort of relation, possibly familial, with the former leader, right?"
"Yes."
"The group only became violent and terroristic after the former leader stepped down. That is when you got out by stopping a dust train robbery. Ever since then, you have been hiding your faunus heritage to not be linked with the fang. Did I miss anything?"
"No."
"If that's the case, then why run? Can you not accept the fact that you might be wrong about the White Fang?"
Silence. Blake just glared at him. Dorian raised his hands in surrender. The sun was high in the sky by this point. Blake's tale was quite the long story. The fact she hid being a faunus confused him somewhat. Dorian could understand wanting to avoid people being racist against him, but to hide for seemingly no other reason than to avoid being connected to the White Fang? Quite frankly, it confused him. Of course, he couldn't just tell her not to hide, that would be quite hypocritical of him as he was hiding in plain sight as well, just for a different reason.
Might I offer a solution?
'Depends, what is your solution?'
Prove to her that the White Fang really are behind the robberies, or that they aren't. Either way it should give her peace to reconcile with the rest of the team.
'I think she only needs to reconcile with Weiss…'
Probably, but you should still go with my plan.
'It is a good plan.'
I know.
"Well, Blake, it seems that there is only one solution to this dilemma that you are currently facing." Dorian said.
"And what would that be?" Blake asked.
Dorian grinned "How about we prove who really is behind the dust robberies."
"How does that solve the problem?"
"Think about it, if we prove that the Fang aren't behind the robberies, you can show the team and work on clearing their name. If they are behind the robberies, then at least you will have peace of mind knowing the truth, you can reconcile with the team and we can work on bringing them down. What do you say?" Dorian explained.
Blake sighed. "It could work, but how would you know where to find the White Fang?"
"Blake, we don't need to find the Fang, we need to find the thieves. That means we need to know where they will strike next." Dorian explained.
"And how will we find that out?" Blake asked.
"With this and some old contacts." Dorian answered bringing out his encrypted scroll.
"That is not a Beacon scroll…" Blake stated.
"I know, I went to a scroll store yesterday, remember?" Dorian asked as he input the number he wanted to call. "On a side note, I'm kind of hungry. Do you want to go pick up some breakfast? I'll pay."
Blake raised an eyebrow at Dorian, before taking the money and jumping off the roof. Dorian smiled as she left, the Harpsiclone that he planted on her with the money would be unnoticed for a while. He was sure she'd be back though, he did promise her answers. Dorian dialed the number of his inside contact. The line rang for a few seconds before someone picked up. The voice on the other end of the line sounded somewhat panicked.
"Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?" the clear voice of Roman Torchwick came through the line.
"Simple, Candlestick, you gave it to me." Dorian answered. "And I've decided you can start repaying your debt to me."
"Gin?" Torchwick asked.
"That is correct my friend. Now I would like to know where your next target is." Dorian said.
"Why?" Torchwick asked before getting defensive. "You aren't turning me in, are you?"
"Absolutely not. What use is an informant if they are imprisoned?" Dorian asked incredulously. "Look, I am trying to get as many allies as possible, from both sides of the coin. It just so happens that some of those allies happen to be students at Beacon academy, one of which just so happens to be having an existential crisis. I need the location of your next hit to assuage the mind of said Beacon ally. I can guarantee that you won't be killed or arrested if you promise to not directly kill any of my Beacon teammates, sound good?"
"How much of my debt will this pay off?" Torchwick asked after a moment of silence.
"100."
"300 minimum."
"150, take it or leave it."
"No, it will be 250 or no information."
"Final offer of 200, you know I won't go higher."
"Fine, 200." Torchwick sighed. "We will be at the docks, after dark. If the cops show up, you are personally getting me out."
"Don't worry, with the huntresses and I there, cops are unlikely to show up until after the deed is done." Dorian responded.
"Then goodbye, Gin." Torchwick hung up.
Dorian pocketed his encrypted scroll with a smile. He turned and saw Blake had joined him with some breakfast burritos.
"Gin?" She asked.
"Pseudonym for my black-market dealings." Dorian answered as he took a bite of the burrito.
"You work for the black market? Isn't that illegal?" Blake asked.
"Yep, but I don't have many worries." Dorian answered nonchalantly. "My tracks in the market are well covered. My contacts vast and even with a direct confession from me, there is no evidence to link me to the market."
"But that still makes you a criminal." Blake said.
"Maybe, but I have never done anything morally wrong." Dorian responded. "My black-market dealings are mostly in Grimm commodities. Weren't you paying attention the other day after story time with Nora?"
"Not really, but couldn't that still get you expelled?" Blake asked.
"Unlikely." Dorian deadpanned. "Even if Dorian and Gin could be linked, Ozpin would be unlikely to expel me."
"Why do you say that?" Blake asked skeptically.
"Ozpin has placed a few black-market deals with me before." Dorian answered.
Did we ever figure out what Ozpin wanted with the Nevermore feathers and Taijitu scales?
'Nope. Although, that would be an interesting inquiry.'
"Really?" Blake asked.
"Yes, but my black-market dealings are not the answers that I promised, now are they?" Dorian responded. "So, what do you want to know?"
"What is your semblance exactly?" Blake gave him a hard stare.
Figured this would come up. Just tell her the truth. Besides Ruby already knows.
"My semblance is the ability to shapeshift into a Grimm by using the blood of said Grimm. Injections only give a partial transformation, such as, for example, injecting Nevermore blood into my neck to give me wings." Dorian explained.
"That explains the wings, and initiation, for that matter. Does anyone else know?" Blake asked.
"Aside from you, Ruby, Ozpin and I would assume most of the professors at Beacon know." Dorian answered.
"What happened to your arm?" Blake asked.
"My arm? Whatever do you mean?"
"You always have it wrapped in those bandages and there is no way that tape could hold Beowolf claws on your hand like that. So what injury could you possibly be recovering from?" Blake retorted while indicating said appendage.
"Nothing happened to my arm, per se. It is a... side effect of shifting." Dorian answered slowly.
"Can I see it?" Blake asked.
'Should we show her?'
I don't see why not.
'Just the arm though.'
Yeah, keep the eyepatch on.
Dorian nodded and started unwrapping his arm. It took a few minutes, but Dorian had to admit it was quite amusing to see Blake's reaction to his Grimm arm. She stared, wide eyed at the black appendage. The intricate details of the Grimm markings on his hand, the bone spines that extended from his elbow and shoulder, even the short black fur that grew along the entire arm. She made a special note of the three broken spines on his elbow.
"Any questions?" Dorian asked after a few seconds of staring.
"Yeah...what happened to those?" Blake asked indicating the shortened jagged spines.
"Initiation. I figured the shock absorbing armor of a Boarbatusk would make a fine landing strategy. It did, I just hit the ground wrong. The impact snapped off the ends of those three spines." Dorian withdrew three small white daggers from his belt. "I fashioned them into these small daggers."
"Ok then." Blake lapsed into silence.
"Don't worry, Blake. I will explain everything better with the rest of the team. I think they deserve to know. As for now, we have some thieves to catch." Dorian said.
"You know where they will strike?"
"And when. They will be at Vale's docks after dark." Dorian answered. "I would say to head over there now, but we still have some hours of daylight. Who would have thought talking could kill so much time?"
Blake shrugged as Dorian started wrapping his arm back up. When he had his arm covered again, the two dropped off the roof. They started walking in the general direction of the docks, with a few pitstops on the way. Most notably, Tukson's Book Trade and a seafood restaurant. The sun was going down by the time they reached a suitable position to wait for the dust thieves. Torchwick's intel was quite helpful. A massive shipment of dust from the Schnee dust quarry had recently arrived in Vale. One container was suspended on a crane at the far end of the dock. It was the perfect hit for a group of thieves.
While they waited for the sun to descend, Dorian messaged Ruby on his Beacon scroll.
Dorian: Found Blake. Don't worry, will see you soon.
Ruby: Where are you?
Dorian: Docks. Friendly meeting with some not so freindly allies tonight.
Dorian: *friendly*
Ruby: We'll be there soon.
Dorian: Or you could not. I don't want Weiss to blow up and I have to chase our teammate down again.
Ruby: Fine. We'll split. Yang and Weiss take the long way around.
Dorian: There's going to be no keeping you away from this, is there?
Ruby: Nope
"Who you messaging?" Blake asked.
"Ruby. Just letting her know that we aren't dead." Dorian answered with a cheeky grin. "Oh look, company."
Dorian pointed up in the sky. The sun had gone down, and two bullheads had appeared on the horizon. Dorian smiled as he watched the airships descend. When the ships landed, several members of the White Fang disembarked from the ship. Dorian watched the despair in Blake's eyes as she saw the Fang.
"You really hoped it wasn't them, huh?" Dorian asked.
"Yeah, but deep down, I kind of always knew it was them." Blake answered.
Dorian didn't say anything as he continued to watch the White Fang grunts. They were hooking up the crates to be taken away. Then Roman made an appearance.
"Come on you animals. We aren't exactly the most inconspicuous group of thieves now, are we? I'd be surprised if there wasn't already someone on the way." he yelled at them.
"This isn't right." Blake muttered as she ducked down. "The White Fang would never work with a human, let alone, one like him."
"Well, maybe they have a mutually beneficial…" Dorian started before looking to Blake, only to find her gone. "Blake?"
Said faunus had dropped onto the docks and snuck up behind Roman. Dorian knew this was going to end badly. He dropped down and snuck his way onto the dock as well. So much for planning.
"No, you idiot, this is not a leash." Roman said to one of the White Fang. Blake put her blade to his throat. "What the? Oh crap…"
"Nobody move!" Blake yelled as the White Fang trained their guns on her.
Dorian had drawn his own blade and was hiding in the shadows.
What is she doing?
'I have no idea. Clearly she has no clue how to handle a hostage.'
Obviously, but that is beside the point. We can't let her kill our informant.
'No, but how do we do that without tipping her off to the fact that Roman is on our side?'
We could…fight Roman ourselves? Maybe?
'That could work.'
One quick side note, I know this isn't important at all, but where is her bow?
Before Dorian could respond, the sound of two more bullheads were heard. Dorian watched as the two airships descended on the dock.
'Great, as if our work wasn't already cut out for us. Grimm shift?'
Not yet. We may need a quick change later.
'Alrighty then.'
A loud explosion was heard. Blake was thrown back from Roman. She was relatively unhurt, dazed but fine. Dorian unholstered Noblesse Oblige as Roman started taunting Blake. He rotated the barrel of the weapon to VDD and jumped in front of Blake.
"Greetings Torchwick! Remember me?" Dorian yelled, announcing his presence.
Dorian didn't give Roman a chance to respond as he immediately started shooting the surrounding White Fang. In a few seconds, Dorian had downed five of the grunts before locking blades with Roman.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Roman asked, somewhat confused.
"Someone you owe." Dorian began. "We met at From Dust till Dawn. It was you, me, some worthless goons, and the red hooded reaper."
"That was you?!" Torchwick exclaimed as he disengaged from Dorian.
Dorian didn't respond as he started attacking Torchwick. Torchwick swung his cane at Dorian's head. With a quick block, Dorian parried the blow and unbalanced the criminal. As Roman tried to regain his balance. Dorian spun himself behind Torchwick and brought his blade to Roman's neck. In that span of time, he saw Blake dealing with other members of the Fang.
"Dorian, don't! He's mine." Blake said.
"Try not to kill her, Roman." Dorian said to Roman as he pushed the criminal toward Blake.
Blake ran toward Roman and locked blades with him. Dorian was content to sit back and watch the fight.
What I wouldn't give for some popcorn right now.
'That does sound pretty good.'
While they were fighting, Dorian noticed something on the ground by his feet. Blake's bow had wrapped itself around his left leg. Dorian picked it up and pocketed it before returning his attention to the fight before. Unfortunately for Blake, she was losing. Roman did have quite a few years' experience on her, and he clearly knew how to use his weapon. Roman had his cane locked with Blake's blade. In a flash Roman forced Blake's weapon to the ground, effectively disarming her. He aimed his cane at Blake and prepared to fire. Dorian knew it wouldn't be lethal, but he never got a chance to see if he was right.
"Hey!" Ruby had appeared.
Dorian looked to the roof of the warehouse that she was standing on. To her left was another girl with peach colored hair and a strange techno looking green and black dress. To Altdor, her movements seemed to mechanical, almost as if she wasn't real.
'Her timing is impeccable."
Indeed, it is.
'Something wrong?'
That girl next to her. She doesn't feel right…
'How do you mean?'
I am picking up nothing from her.
"Well, well, well, Red. Isn't it past your bedtime?" Torchwick taunted.
Ruby didn't respond as the other girl dropped down onto the dock. Dorian watched in fascination as a series of black swords emerge from her backpack. They appeared to be controlled telekinetically. That is what Dorian would have assumed had he not been able to, barely and with Altdor's help, see the super thin strings that connected each blade to the girls back. Dorian shrugged and continued watching. The girl was mowing down the White Fang as if they were nothing more than the grass for which this metaphor references. A happy, almost sadistic smile graced her face.
The sound of more bullheads capture Dorian's attention. Three more bullheads had entered the airspace of the docks. One of them was armed with heavy ordnance. Dorian groaned in annoyance as it fired a missile at the girl. She nimbly dodged the explosive and refocused her attention on the approaching aircraft. Dorian didn't spare her a glance as he rushed in and locked blades with Roman again.
"How many of those do you have?" Dorian yelled as he ducked a swing of Torchwick's cane before returning with a thrust of his own.
"Enough." Torchwick answered as he sidestepped the thrust.
Dorian followed through with the momentum of his strike by twisting around to slash at the criminal. As he completed his turn, he saw Ruby and Blake working together against the White Fang grunts. Blake had just thrown a guy into the air as Ruby, using her gun's recoil for extra impact, tackled the unfortunate grunt. A loud explosion sounded across the docks. Dorian and Roman watched as the odd girl fired a massive green laser from a ring of her swords. The beam destroyed one of the bullheads.
That would have been fine if she had hit the aircraft with explosive ordnance. The aforementioned airship fired a missile at the girl while she appeared to be recovering from the attack she had just used. Dorian barely had any time to think as a red blur, that Dorian recognized as Ruby using her semblance, came from nowhere and tackled the odd girl out of the way. The blast threw the two girls toward the crane at the edge of the dock and knocked Ruby out. The odd girl was just severely dazed. Blake was still dealing with the White Fang and Dorian returned to fighting Torchwick. Sirens could be heard in the distance.
"Roman, if you want to get out of here, give me a reason to let you go." Dorian said quietly.
Roman just nodded. A cheeky grin graced his face as he swung his cane around and blindsided Dorian. The blow was enough to daze Dorian as Roman took aim with his cane. When Dorian had recovered, he looked up in time to see Roman fire an explosive from his weapon at the suspended container. Dorian could only watch as the suspension rig was hit by the projectile. The container started swinging. Even without knowing much about the crane, Dorian knew the cables wouldn't hold for long and he wouldn't have enough time to get Ruby and the other girl out from underneath. Unfortunately, Blake wouldn't be able to reach them in time. Dorian stood up and started running.
Roman retreated to the aircraft that had a container on it and watched as Dorian ran toward the girls. For a brief second, he worried that Gin would not be willing to maintain their uneasy alliance. Those worries were assuaged at what he saw happen next.
'Altdor, any ideas?'
Shift! We must undergo a full shift!
'Great. Just what I was hoping I wouldn't have to do. Good idea to not use a partial shift might I add.'
Can it. We need to start the shift now. There is no way we can get them out from underneath that crate in time, we'll have to hold it up!
'I know! Just help me maintain control!'
Dorian uncorked one of his vials and downed the blood. The taste was awful. He hated full shifts, mostly for the pain, secondly for the awful taste of Grimm blood, and thirdly for the price he paid with each full shift.
As he ran, Dorian felt his body hunch over. He barely noticed that he had shifted from running on two legs to four. The pain was unbearably excruciating. Dorian yelled in rage and pain as he continued running toward the girls. His own height was increasing. More bone spines were growing out of his arm and down his spine. Several of the spikes curved around his abdomen and formed a rib like armor. Bone plates soon covered his entire face. The symbol that was on his eyepatch now wound around his entire right eye while a red crosshair was over his left. His muscles increased and his skin darkened. Black fur soon covered his entire body. He reached the girls just as the cables broke and the container began falling.
Ruby regained consciousness in time to see the container falling. She closed her eyes and braced for her inevitable end. If only it came. A rush of wind and a loud grunting could be heard. A roar of defiance sounding along the dock as Ruby looked up in fear. A massive Alpha Beowolf, easily thrice as large as a normal Beowolf stood above her holding the container up so that they weren't crushed. The beast shook its head toward the shore. It took a precious second, but Ruby understood that it was gesturing for her to get out from underneath the crate. The beast watched as she grabbed the other girl and dragged her toward shore. On the shore, it saw that Blake had already arrived, as Weiss and Yang ran up to them. They stood back, horrified as they watched what the massive Grimm would do. When Ruby and the odd girl were out from underneath the container, it roared again and pushed it up enough to give it a chance to escape. The container slammed back down onto the dock. The massive Beowolf turned toward the remaining White Fang that opened fire on it.
The beast didn't hesitate. It ran at the first guy and skewered him on its claw. The second fell just as the first. The third member ordered a retreat before his head was severed from his body. The white fang ran at the last bullhead left. The massive Alpha Beowolf cut through each member it could as the grunts fled before it. When the White Fang had boarded the last bullhead, the ship lifted off. The Alpha wasn't about to let his prey go. It crouched down, and before the bullhead got too high, the monster jumped.
It latched itself onto the airship and started hacking away. With several strong blows, the beast destroyed one of the bullheads engines. The engine caught fire, was dislodged and the ship started spinning out of control. The massive Alpha Beowolf leapt back to the pier as the bullhead crashed into the water. The monster roared in victory.
The leaking fuel caught fire and many of the White Fang were drowned or burned alive. One of them looked through the smoke and flames toward the pier. The Beowolf stood there on its hind legs. Staring at them as they died. Through the smoke, that one faunus would have sworn that it looked more human than beast in that moment.
With the White Fang taken care of, the beast, with greater dexterity than should have been possible, withdrew a small vial from the belt that still wound around its shoulder. It carefully uncorked the vial before drinking the blood inside. It turned and started walking toward the girls on shore who had just finished viewing the massacre. As he drew closer, the girls focused their own weapons on him and watched as the beast shrank back down to human size. The bones spines shrunk and disappeared. It slowly shifted from a beast like walk to that of a human as his legs straightened out. His face flattened, an eyepatch reappeared, and his left arm returned to normal.
His right arm still held the Grimm qualities, but now they had advanced. Blake could see there would be no more hiding it. More spines grew along his right arm. Now, there was a row of short but still noticeable spines from his wrist to his elbow. The spines at his elbow now numbered seven and the spines at his shoulder had shifted into a single white shoulder pauldron with red markings on it. The most noticeable markings being those that matched the design on his eyepatch.
The shift had finished its reversion by the time Dorian reached the girls. He watched as his team stared at him with a mix of revulsion, confusion, awe and terror. Dorian sheepishly smiled at them as he swayed in place, the adrenaline in his system slowly ebbing.
"I have some explaining to do, don't I?" Dorian asked.
Yes, we do.
'Hey, Altdor, why does the world look so fuzzy?'
"D, are you ok?" Yang asked.
"Yabsolueely, peferctly fine..." Dorian slurred as he started to stumble.
Dorian stumbled toward Blake. He reached into his pocket and held out her bow to her.
"I bleeive tihs is yuros." Dorian struggled to speak clearly as the world started listing.
Dorian reached for something to lean on. The world was going dark. Part of the price he paid, unconsciousness. Full Grimm shifting cost a lot of energy, energy that his body just didn't have. If only the same thing happened with Overlord shifts, oh well. Dorian stumbled forward and fell to the ground as the world faded to black. The last thing he heard was Ruby calling his name.
And down we go.
ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY.../...
Data Log SH110
Repeat_Request- This is the last repeat request for ideas on Grimm shifts for Dorian to undergo. If anyone had any ideas I can use, feel free to PM me or leave a review. I just need ideas. Feel free to continue with suggestions, though. Thank you.
Information- Please leave constructive criticism. Updates to the archives take it into account, and it is greatly appreciated.
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Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.
End Log S.T.K.