RWBY: The Dark Hunter
ACT TWO: New lines drawn
Chapter 11
"The damage is done"
[June 5th, 2558]
[Headmaster Chambers, Beacon Academy]
[12:38 AM, two days later]
Ozpin sighs solemnly after seeing the damage report for the twelfth time already, eighteen Atlesians are dead, Team CRDL are in the infirmary for a few more days while another team reports only bruises plus numerous others that were injured during the initial attack, and sadly one huntress was placed in critical condition and was on her way back to Atlas where the people there will tend to her wounds. 'Poor Penny . . .' he thought to himself.
He wasn't too concerned about the structural damage of the academy however, a few blown holes as well as torn down doors, because he was fortunate enough to have Glynda to tend to the damage and repair them with ease.
But was made him worry the most was finally realizing who they were dealing with, a fourth generation augmented super soldier belonging to a galaxy spanning empire consisting of an unimaginable amount of worlds with the power to easily overwhelm their defenses and conquer the planet in mere hours. However there were several questions that had been churning about in his mind: Why send only one soldier? Why abandon that soldier? Who was in charge of the operation before it went sour for them?
His train of thought was eventually interrupted when he heard footsteps approaching him, he looks up "Ah Glynda . . . thank you for repairing the damage."
It was obvious to him that she was exhausted, though visually she displayed no evidence of this, and she replies "Yes well fortunately Deimos had only acquired low-yield explosives though I'm afraid he could've done more."
"As do I."
The two sat there in silence, enjoying it while it lasted until the terminal in front of the headmaster chimed displaying the message [INCOMING TRANSMISSION]
"I wonder who that could be?" Ozpin asks sarcastically, hoping to lighten the mood for the two, before he presses the answer icon.
A window opened up and showed three shadowed figures standing behind a large table with the flag of Vale represented behind them, "Councilors . . . I figured you would call soon."
"Yes well the recent situation with this terrorist has just come up to our attention" the center figure said calmly, just before becoming more serious "I wonder how in the Grimm you allowed him to infiltrate your academy and cause havoc among the troops and students!?"
"The general-"
"We're fully aware of what General Ironwood was doing at that time, he briefed us as he was returning to Atlas for the time being. And not only did this Deimos get through his security measures, he also shown that he's more than capable of engaging your hunters and survive to fight another day!"
"I assure you Councilor, we're doing everything we can to contain the situation."
"No Ozpin. It has become abundantly clear that neither the general or you can handle the situation, therefore we have decided to postpone the Vytal Festival in order to ensure the safety of the people until this problem is dealt with."
"Councilor, I understand the need to protect the people but this is becoming too extreme. The students have been waiting to show their skills in the tournament for a long time now. Not to mention you'll be disappointing the entire world."
"Well it looks like everyone will have to deal with it Headmaster, we've already spoken with the other councils across the world and they believe that the Amity Coliseum is too much of a risk to lose. We can't afford to have any more destabilization between the kingdoms."
'No sense in trying to stop this' Ozpin sighed "Very well, do what you wish. If you'll excuse me I have a SPARTAN to capture."
The display screen disappeared prompting the headmaster to turn his chair around and face the windows, seeing a single Atlesian airship hovering over the city, before he solemnly says "You've done what you can Ms. Goodwitch, get your rest for today . . ."
"What're you going to do?" she asks.
"I have an announcement to make to the entire academy, I am more than capable of arranging the event."
Glynda made no further comments and bows her head lightly before walking towards the elevator. Ozpin remained silent as he stared out the window thinking of what he could do, but time passed on and he figured it was time to let the students know much to his displeasure.
[1:12 PM, Emerald Forest]
SPARTAN Deimos was leaning his back against the trunk of a tree, whilst sitting on top of a thick branch, as he checked over the broadcast frequencies wondering if he could find the channel the prowler High Up was using, unfortunately there's been no signs of it prompting him to give up. It stands to reason now that the prowler had either left the system or encrypted their communications in order to block him out. He gave a small sigh before staring out into the trees ahead of him, thinking now he's in a world he can call home, a monster in a world of monsters, he liked the idea.
He decides to check on his wound one last time before heading out, he looks down at his torso to find that the titanium nanocomposite bodysuit had sealed itself up, courtesy of the nanobots, but he could still feel the stinging sensation of where the blade had gone through. He knew that he needed an edge over the hunters now more than ever without High Up's orbital support, he knew that he already has the means to kill them ruthlessly and effectively but it just wasn't enough. He needed something more than a mere weapon, an upgrade to his own physical prowess.
The longer he thought, the more he grew frustrated, until he remembers something in his waist bag. He reaches back and pulls out the small glowing crystal of bright orange dust, he holds the crystal gently in his gloved hand feeling the warmth radiate from it. During his eleven years on Remnant he has learned of tales that people that thrived for power would use unorthodox methods to augment their strength with dust, some weave the mineral into their clothing while others took more radical steps.
For once the SPARTAN hesitated, looking down at the crystal wondering what would happen if he tried, good chances are he'll experience excruciating pain and possibly even death. Then again he'll gain a decisive enhancement to his combat effectiveness and eliminate the hunters with ease, the very advantage he needed, and the reward outweighed the risks.
'Nothing ventured. Nothing gained . . .' his mind told him.
He gave his final thoughts before firmly grasping the crystal and plunge it into his body, piercing the bodysuit where his wound existed, lodging it deep inside him. The next moment became nothing but undeniably agonizing pain for the SPARTAN, roaring out to the sky above loud enough to be heard for miles. It wasn't the matter of jabbing the crystal into his body that made him scream, it was the fact that the radiating contents of the crystal was coursing through him, radically changing his entire biology and genetic makeup with a burning intensity. Deimos couldn't stop screaming even if he tried, the pain was enough to easily kill a normal human, a SPARTAN-lV was still up for debate, and he couldn't keep control his arms and legs as they spasm out of control.
The sheer pain was starting to overwhelm him and he eventually begins to lose his grip becoming semi-conscious before falling off the tree limb slamming hard onto the forest floor. He struggles to reach out for anything close by but he eventually succumbs to the pain and blacks out.
[1:21 PM, Amphitheater]
"Please everyone find your respective teams and wait" Ozpin asks as he observes the assembly of students and staff that were coming into the amphitheater after hearing that the headmaster has an announcement to make.
Team RWBY and JNPR stuck to one of the back walls wondering what could this possibly be, Ruby had to ask so naively "So you guys think this is about last night?"
Weiss scoffs "Obviously. I almost died because you all left me alone with that freak!"
"But you didn't" Blake remarked.
"And besides you had Zwei" Yang adds.
"He threw Zwei out the door remember!? You found him all scratched and bruised!" Schnee replies angrily.
"Oh yeah . . . well he's fine now, he's use to this stuff."
"Getting thrown out the door or dealing with destructive sociopath?" Belladonna wonders.
Their attention was then immediately taken away by Ozpin, standing on the central stage, who tapped his cane on the floor and spoke "Everyone if you would kindly listen to what I have to say."
Every single being in that room turned their attention onto the headmaster, silently wondering what this was about, and he continues "I'm sure you are all aware of the events that transpired last night here at Beacon, but for those that have the vaguest idea allow me to explain. This was no mere Grimm attack some of you would like to believe, in fact the assault was done by a lone individual with impressive capabilities, men were lost and even now we're hoping for Penny Polendina's safe recovery . . ."
Ruby immediately felt the heart wrenching sorrow of her friend's critical state prompting her to lower her head.
"The man was well organized, tactically adept, and carried some of the most sophisticated equipment we never thought possible making him a grave threat to us all. That is why . . . with the deepest regret, that I must inform you the Vytal Festival has been postponed . . ."
This sudden news immediately caused an uproar among the students, many complained and bickered while others remained silent in disappointment
"What!?" Yang barks out loud, her hair flaring up "That's not fair!"
Ruby quickly tries to calm her "Yang don't worry, we get Deimos and we'll have the tournament again."
"But how long will that take!? How many times do we have to fight him before that happens!?"
Blake steps in "We'll get him the next time, all of us."
JNPR comes in with Pyrrha adding "We were caught by surprise by that flashbang, but we're ready for him now."
Long's hair soon lulled and she was calm once more "Well this just ruined my day . . ."
"Well it's not all that bad" Ruby comments with a friendly grin as she gestures to Schnee "Weiss is awake now . . ."
"Yeah no thanks to you" the heiress retorts swiping Rose's hand away.
Ozpin continues, trying to calm down the upset crowd, "Now I know most of you have been waiting to compete in the tournaments for so long but hopefully you all realize that the Amity Coliseum is a large potential target for this man, therefore we, the Kingdom of Vale, cannot risk losing such a treasure."
The crowd slowly settled from loud complaints to scarce muttering as the headmaster goes on "But rest assured we have our best teams of hunters and huntresses on the case as we speak, supported by Atlas's finest men. This man will soon have nowhere to run or hide and he will be brought to justice for what he has committed . . . you are all dismissed for the day."
The students slowly made their way out the doors just when Team RWBY and JNPR were caught by Ozpin "Students, a word please."
The two teams gathered in front of the headmaster with Pyrrha asking kindly "What is it?"
"I understand how all of you feel about this sudden announcement but I'm also aware that you understand as well about the safety of the festivities. You eight are our finest yet to be seen here at Beacon, and for that I am thankful. But what Deimos has done last night showed us that he isn't willing to back down just yet either."
Ruby comments "But he was just after us, he didn't bother to go after anyone else before. Why else would he do something like that now?"
"To send a message, his attack on the academy was his way of declaring war against you."
Blake then asks "So it's us against the UNSC?"
Weiss shot her a look "The who?"
But Ozpin lets the question slide "I doubt it, if the UNSC had been maintaining secrecy for so long why ruin it now? Why target a single kingdom when they could strike all the others at once? I fear Deimos may have gone rouge and made this matter very personal, I advise you all to be ready to face his wrath when the time comes."
"We'll be ready Headmaster" Jaune states rather confidently.
"Good . . . I've also notified the other professors that you will not be attending their classes for the duration of this crisis."
"But wouldn't we get behind on our work?" a concerned Yang asks.
"Not to worry, this will not go against your academic grades. Consider this extra credit" he replies with a gentle smile "You may go . . ." and heads off on his way out.
The two teams made their way back outside into the main avenue where they gathered and began discussing a new strategy to find the rogue SPARTAN.
"So . . . is anyone going to explain to me what happened while I was out?"
But first they had some explaining to do.
[Ten minutes later . . .]
"So . . . we're fighting a rogue soldier from an alien inter-stellar empire that might as well be sitting high up above us and we wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for the night at the pizzeria?" Weiss summarizes.
"Yeah pretty much" Yang states.
"Except they're not aliens . . . they're human too . . ." Ruby puts in just to make sure Weiss knew, only to receive a sharp look.
But Blake retorts "Technically they are aliens, given their foreign status to our world."
Nora steps up to Belladonna "Do they have green skin? Big heads? Make weird sounds like 'beep bop boop'!?"
Ren sighs and explains "They're not that kind of alien Nora."
She turns to him "But she said they are!" then she gasps "What if they look like humans!"
Ruby was immediately caught off guard "Wait- aliens can do that?"
Yang shrugs "I dunno . . ."
Weiss immediately intrudes on the matter "Does it really matter!? Aren't we going to talk about how we're going to catch this thing?"
Arc answers "Well we do have a strategy . . . we just haven't been able to use it yet."
"Then it's best if we start searching for him, with RWBY back to full strength we can search for him and fight him on fair grounds until the other arrives" Pyrrha states.
Yang pounds her two fists together "Sounds like a plan, let's get going."
[3:28 PM, Emerald Forest]
"Adam . . . finally good to see you again . . ." a soft feminine voice spoke to him.
"What?" the SPARTAN asks himself.
The woman giggled "C'mon Adam don't play dumb with me. It's been awhile since the last time we saw each other."
Deimos opened his eyes, or so he thought he did, and finds himself not in a forest but instead inside of a neatly furnished living room sitting in a chair. He quietly looks down at himself finding out he still had his black GUNGNIR-Variant armor and his LOCUS-Variant helmet sitting next to him on a small coffee table.
He then looks up to see this beautiful young woman with long blonde hair standing next to him, she was showing the early signs of pregnancy, she asks "You want anything dear?"
But he quickly comes to realization "You're not her . . . she died nineteen years ago . . ."
"What're you talking about? I'm right here" she then walks over and sits down in his lap wrapping her arms around his head "The police commissioner is holding a big ceremony for the cop who took down that drug cartel a week ago. You going?"
He speaks to himself "No this isn't happening . . . I'm a SPARTAN now . . ."
"SPARTAN? You mean those super soldiers off fighting the Covenant? Adam are you alright?"
This felt all wrong to him "You're. Not. Her."
The woman's worried expression turned to a bitter frown, then her voice changes tone "You're better than this Adam, stop hurting these people and just let it go . . . there was nothing you could've done for me."
"No. I could've done something but I made the wrong choice, I got her killed . . ."
"One of these days you're going to get hurt or worse because of this. You need to let it go, change your life around and do some good in it. If you don't . . . you'll die like the monster you are . . ." the woman says just as she, her voice, and everything around them faded into black.
"I look forward to it . . ." he replies.
At that moment his eyes slowly flickered open, seeing nothing but his helmet's HUD and the dirt he was laying on, his body ached and moaned in pain from the stupid idea he done hours earlier. He slowly began to become aware of his surroundings, trees, ground, animals, no Grimm, the usual, so he started to slowly get back up despite his body's protest.
That was until he suddenly hears a woman's voice right behind him "Found ya."
And just like that, he was knocked back into the blackness.
[4:03 PM, Industrial District]
Team RWBY and JNPR were back at the warehouse where Ruby and Deimos made their temporary alliance against the White Fang after the police had granted them entry, they were now searching through the building hoping to find whatever the SPARTAN had come for or at least clues to help find him. So far they were having no luck as of yet until Blake managed to find a shipment roster among the debris.
"So let me get this straight" Weiss asks "You followed two guys to this warehouse, finding it full of White Fang?"
Ruby replied "Yep."
"Got captured and suddenly Deimos was there to save you?"
"Uh huh."
"You two teamed up and took down everyone including their mech?"
"Mhm."
"And to top it all off, you somehow got him to disarm a bomb that was intended for who knows where?"
"That's sounds about right."
"What else did I miss?" Schnee now asks seemingly curious about recent events.
Yang was returning from a brief search answering "Deimos has a thing for Ruby."
That comment struck her odd "Wait- really!?"
"No!" Ruby snaps back defensively.
Belladonna added as she carefully looked through the roster "Not that sort of thing Weiss."
"Wait wait now I'm all confused" the heiress sighs as she presses her hand against her forehead "He has a 'thing' for you. I'm not following."
Ruby explains "He said we've met before but he doesn't remember when or where. I don't either."
"That's a little weird if not scary, how could the two of you met so long ago?"
Nobody answered, neither had any rational explanation, and it worried them.
"Maybe when we catch him, he'll tell us" Yang remarks.
Rose nodded to that unsurely "Yeah . . . maybe."
It wasn't long until Ren appeared around the corner and called their attention "Girls. You might want to see this."
The girls looked at one another before the followed their friend across the ravaged warehouse where the rest of Team JNPR stood. The group ventured through the damage, pieces of debris here, a spat of blood over there, until they found the others standing around a small empty crate with the lid forcibly ripped off.
"Was this it?" Ruby asked.
Jaune answered "Looks like it, it's empty."
"Well obviously" Weiss remarks.
Pyyrha looked up at the shelf, where the crate was once situated, and saw the identification tag [R7] then she asks Belladonna "Blake, could you tell us what was under R7?"
Blake went to work, flipping page after page, until she came to a stop and read out "It says here there's a crate of communications equipment, transceiver, short-range relay, channel terminal. Nothing that would blow up a building as far as we're concerned."
"Why would he need something like this?" Weiss asked.
Nikos answered strongly "It's just like Professor Ozpin said, Deimos is sending a message."
"What did he want in the first place, why did he go through all the trouble just to get at us?" Yang wondered.
Ruby thought back to the attack on Beacon, more specifically when Yang and Blake were both incapacitated by the SPARTAN, and recollected "He said that we should've let him go when we first met him at the pizzeria. If we hadn't stopped him then none of this would've happened."
Blake's curiosity began to take hold "So he's punishing us for getting in the way? He killed all these people and launched a one-man assault on the academy just to make this look like our fault?"
"That sounds about right . . ."
The group fell silent, their minds filled with thought and concerns, the question continued to linger in their minds. What was Deimos planning next?
[8:21 PM, Unspecified location]
His mind was beginning to come to, his vision was dim and blurry but he could barely make out his surroundings, he tried to move his arms but for some reason he felt they were being restrained to something. His body ached badly from what was probably the worst decision in his life, most notably around his abdomen where he plunged the dust crystal into his body.
He lets out a small groan "Ergh . . ." as his vision gradually became clearer.
Then out of his line of sight he heard a male voice, one he couldn't recognize, "Oh finally . . . I'll go tell the boss."
Another voice responded "I'll keep watch."
Shortly after he could hear a door open and close before it was filled with silence once again. He was beginning to see again now making better notes of everything around him, he was situated in a steel chair tied up with an industrial steel linked chain, cliché but effective. The room he sat in was purely made out of concrete with no visible distinctions other than a couple of LED lights hanging off the walls. This was too close to being a typical interrogation room but he couldn't complain, he was here for a reason and he needed to know why.
Then by cue he heard the door open once more, his ears picked up the sound of the heavy metal door creak open as if rust was taking over, followed up with a male's voice calm but strong "So . . . this is him?"
Not a moment later a woman replied, one he recognized all too well by now, "Yes. This is the one that attacked your men and Beacon Academy. He's been a real busy man."
"I bet" the man answered with agitation in his voice.
Deimos was beginning to regain some clarity in his eyes just as he spots two individuals step in front of him from to different sides, the first to his left was a tall male with red spiky hair that was swept backwards, he wore a black long-sleeved trench coat with a red and white design over his left pec and shoulder, black pants, boots, gloves, and finally a white and red mask that obscures his eyes and upper face and closely resembles that of a Grimm creature. The second figure on the right was the woman he saw back at Beacon, only this time she was wearing a dark red dress with yellow designs running from her chest to the edge of her sleeves and black high-heeled shoes. The man stepped forward and kneeled down next to the SPARTAN, somewhat looking carefully at the LOCUS helmet that Deimos was donning, and as expected Deimos looked straight back at him helmet to mask.
"Strong silent type aren't you?" he asks only to receive silence as his answer.
The woman adds "I believe this soldier could be the solution to our problems. Wouldn't you agree?"
"The only problem right now is: Is he willing to work for us?" the man wondered as he stood back up, Deimos didn't bother to look up at him.
"You just leave that to me."
The man backed off while the woman took a step forward and caught his attention "You remember the business proposition don't you?"
He looked up to her in response, he could see the confident grin she had on her face.
"You've been abandoned by your kind, left here to die while they run off to do other meaningless things. Tell me, how does that make you feel?"
The SPARTAN flexed his arms, testing the chain's strength, and finally answered "Positively livid."
"I thought so" she said calmly as she approached him within arm's reach "But what would you say if we could give you a purpose again?"
Deimos stared at her silently waiting for the next part, she continues "We understand that you want to exact your revenge on the huntresses and in time you will, but only if you come with us and work for it."
The SPARTAN growled "I serve no one."
The man argues "This is a waste of our time, we don't need him."
The woman turned on him "That's where you're wrong Adam, we need him as much as he needs us" she then returns to Deimos "Wouldn't you agree?" as she waves her hand across the chains and heated it to a high degree.
With the extreme heat the metal became considerably 'softer' therefore it allowed Deimos to suddenly break free, snapping the chains, and stand up showing his towering height over practically everyone in the room. Adam instinctively places his hand over his weapon, a sword that is currently sheathed in a rifle, and stands ready just in case. Deimos was beginning to wonder why the woman was doing all of this, but in the end after understanding her intentions he only had one question.
"Why me?"
"Why not? You're the perfect soldier for our cause, you are the living embodiment of fear and death itself, and that is all I've could've ever hoped for. With you we can achieve our goals and you will be able to take revenge against that pitiful band of children that ruined everything for you."
"I will deal with them on my terms."
She steps forward again, now practically chest-to chest with the SPARTAN, and caresses the side of his helmet with her hand "And in time you will, but thanks to what transpired that night the academy is on high alert. You've certainly scared everyone with your ability to cause damage to one of the most secured facilities on the planet, even the councilors of other kingdoms are afraid."
"They have every right to be afraid."
"Then take advantage of the fear you've instilled, join us and you will send fear sweeping over the weak and arrogant like a tidal wave. You will truly be the monster you desire."
That caught Deimos by surprise, despite the short amount of time she was able to work through him and find out what he craved for, to be a monster that shows no fear, no regret, and no mercy, the ultimate soldier. He went into deep thought, it was true that the academy was on high guard ever since the attack so it denies him another chance for a long time, and while his enemies are recuperating and regaining their strength he needed to do the same as well. Only this time he'll have allies and supporters to actually aid him rather than watch and observe much like ONI and the UNSC, this was the one time something actually turned out good for him. This was as strong as he'll ever be . . .
"What is your name?" he asks.
The woman takes a step back "Cinder . . . Cinder Fall."
He then turns to the man who then spoke "Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang."
The SPARTAN-lV turned back to Cinder and finally falls to a knee with his head bowed "I am yours to command Cinder Fall. What will you have me do?"
Cinder grinned with satisfaction, she finally has a SPARTAN on her side.
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