"Gold Trailer"
(Music: This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars: /watch?v=wrXm47i9xb4)
"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind."
"Unit Alpha, this is Atlas-C67. Approaching rendezvous point."
A large bullhead soared through the sky over the vast desert landscape. Vacuo was hotter than expected. A boy in a dark brown trench coat and denim jeans looked out from the side of the chopper. His eyes lit up as he stared into the village ahead.
"What do you have for us, Aurum?" A guy in a white vest patted him on the shoulder.
Aurum Luculentus adjusted his vision. His contact lenses glowed as thermal signatures showed up. "Dozens of White Fang and faunus villagers. They're loading them on airships."
"Why would they put them on airships?" a boy with a light blue shirt said.
"Faunus labor most likely…" A girl who sported long flowing yellow hair walked up to Aurum. "We need to treat this mission with caution, especially you, Aurum. You're our youngest member yet. I don't want you dying on us."
Aurum nodded. The girl, Dawn, was always watching out for her teammates. She led the taskforce made up of Atlas Academy students who stood out and excelled from far more than the rest. Aurum had only started his first year when he was chosen to join. This meant leaving Meroch and Ace, the friends he had made on his first day, and meeting new people who were at least one year ahead of him.
Dawn was the leader who was not only a good commander but also an excellent fighter who had beaten Aurum dozens of times during their sparring sessions. All of this despite being only one year older than him, making her the second youngest member as well as the only female of their twelve-man team. This was why Aurum had developed feelings he never thought he would have.
"Ms. Trost, we've reached the drop zone," the pilot said from the cockpit.
"Understood." Dawn reached for a walkie-talkie. "Alpha Unit, this is Beta Unit aboard Atlas-C67. We're above drop point."
"Copy, Beta Unit. Standby for infiltration," a voice replied.
This is it. The Vacuo Siege mission. The ground units were to lead a large squad into the north part of the village in order to draw the attention of the White Fang's forces, while Aurum's team parachuted their way to the south and made their way up north.
"Alright! Final reminders!" Dawn got everyone's attention. "Once you reach the ground, make your way towards the south oasis of the village. If you encounter any hostiles, you are authorized to use lethal force. Of course, you can just knock them out if you don't want anything on your conscience. Make sure to rescue as many civilians as you can on your way there. Their lives are our top priority, faunus or human."
"Beta Unit you are authorized to drop." The walkie-talkie buzzed.
"Copy that. Over and out." Dawn put the talkie down. "Alright, I'll give the rest of the orders when we meet up. Until then, keep comms on."
She pointed to the earpiece in her ear. "Good luck, everyone!"
Dawn was the first to jump out. The rest went out one by one leaving Aurum. This was done in order to scatter them around so they wouldn't be a big target. Aurum took a deep breath and attached his shield, Radiant Shard, to his left gauntlet before he hit the sky. The wind ruffled his yellow hair wildly as he plummeted towards the sands. Squinting his eyes, he focused on his landing point. The contacts showed him a thermal image of the ground. Most of the White Fang soldiers were focused in the northern part of the village leaving only a small amount in the south. Just as planned.
Aurum waited a bit before releasing his parachute. As he glided towards a roof, he felt a tingling sensation to his right. He quickly moved his head back as a bullet flew past his face. There was a White Fang soldier standing on the roof of a house to his right. Aurum leaned towards the assailant as he drifted lower and lower. He swiftly cut the chute with the sharp blades of his shield as he plunged at the soldier with incredible speed.
Aurum landed on the White Fang with Radiant Shard out. Rolling forward, his shield clicked and divided at the center. A handle shot out as Aurum grabbed it and flipped it around, aiming its muzzle outward. Looking across, he spotted a truck full of faunus along with four White Fang soldiers below him. They were still loading the faunus onto the vehicle which had a straight path towards one of their airships. Suddenly, Aurum spotted a couple of figures nearby being brought to their knees. He noticed that they weren't faunus.
'People! And they're about to get executed.'
"We have no use for humans. Kill them," one of the White Fang said.
As they aimed their guns, Aurum fired the first shot, taking out one of the soldiers. He quickly leapt towards the other three. Bullets flew towards him as he spun his axe and deflected them. With his semblance, he knew where the bullets would fly, making it easier for him to plan his attacks. He fired another shot, blowing back another one of the White Fang. He lunged and swung down the heavy blade of Radiant Shard. He was met with resistance as the remaining soldier drew his sword and blocked his strike.
Aurum leapt backwards, taking a brief moment to analyze the current situation. He stared at his opponent as the two other White Fang painfully got back up and walked towards their ally.
"Aren't you a little too young to be in a battlefield, kid?" One of them mocked the Atlesian, who only gave them a smirk.
"I don't know…" The boy took on his battle stance as he transformed his weapon back into a shield, attaching it to his left gauntlet. "…you tell me."
He gestured at them, taunting them to fight. Immediately, the soldiers aimed their guns and fired. Bullets ricocheted off of Aurum's shield as he ran towards them. One of the soldiers intercepted him with a quick downward strike, only for his attack to bounce off of his shield. He kicked the staggering soldier's thigh and landed a swift blow on his head that knocked him out cold. Two more swords swung down, connecting with the boy's shield. Pulling out a pistol from his right pocket, he fired at both of the White Fang's stomachs. They staggered back due to the impact.
'Now's my chance!'
Immediately, Aurum roundhouse kicked the soldier to his left and knocked him down, catching the assailant to his left off guard. The Atlesian immediately drew the hrip from Radiant Shard and sent the remaining soldier flying with a swing of his axe.
As the heat of battle died down, Aurum attempted to catch his breath. He noticed that there were no more opposing forces in the vicinity. He rushed towards the human captives and freed them from their bindings.
"Head in that direction," the boy pointed south. "The Atlas military will see to your safety"
"Thank you!" a woman told him as she and the rest ran away.
He turned to the truck where the faunus villagers were held captive and pulled off the doors from its hinges. The faunus inside the vehicle all stared at him.
"Look, I know I'm not one of you… but please, trust me when I say I'm here to help." Aurum's eyes had a stern gleam. "Head south. Other Atlesian soldiers are waiting to help you."
One by one, the faunus exited the vehicle. A young wolf boy and her mother were the last to get out. The child gave him a side long glance in awe. Aurum smiled back as the mother told him to hurry.
"Aurum?" Aurum heard Dawn's voice through his earpiece. "Aurum!"
Putting his fingers to his right ear, he spoke. "Right here, Dawn. I'm okay."
Dawn let out a sigh of relief through the intercom. "Thank god… everyone's gathered here but you. I was worried."
"Don't be. It'll stress you out and degrade your awesome leadership skills," he chuckled.
Dawn laughed. "Alright, do we wait for you here?"
Aurum's contacts spun around as it displayed the time. "No. We need to push now. I'll meet you at the rally point."
"Copy that… and Aurum?" Dawn called out to him in a softer voice.
"Hm?" Aurum stopped walking.
"Stay safe, alright?"
Aurum smiled. "That's a promise."
"Over and out."
As the comms shut off, Aurum looked ahead of him. He had someone to live for. Nothing could stop him now.
Aurum ran ahead, casually taking cover to check if the coast was clear. As soon as a White Fang patrol passed by, he sped forward, breaking into a sprint. He needed to reach his teammates before he started attacking. His semblance suddenly activated. Stopping in his tracks, a mechanical suit suddenly burst through one of the houses and ran in front of Aurum. Its guns were aimed at the boy.
"What the…?!" Aurum immediately tumbled into cover as a steady stream of bullets flew his way, breaking the ground he was standing on just a moment ago.
The mechanical behemoth was allegedly an Atlas mechanical prototype said to be in its testing phase. Standing on two legs, the suit was about five meters tall and had a white body with the White Fang symbol hastily painted on the front. Both arms were equipped with their own chain guns while an RPG launcher was mounted on its left shoulder. The pilot sat in the cockpit at the center whish was encased in clear bulletproof glass.
"Like my new toy?!" a gruff voice came from the mech. "Shows that Atlas security isn't as good as they say!"
Aurum remembered the report that was filed in a couple of weeks back. A shipment of these suits along with other Atlas prototypes onboard a train were hijacked by two White Fang members.
'Guess they made a good use out of the equipment.'
A hail of bullets were fired once more as Aurum raised his shield in hopes of defending his head as he dashed out into open fire.
"You think you can get away that easily?!" The mech's left arm came down in front of the boy.
He paused at the last moment, right as the arm slammed onto the sand in front of him.
'Too predictable.'
Aurum jumped onto the mech's arm and ran up the side, extending Radiant Shard into axe mode. He leapt into the air and brought the blade down onto the glass of the cockpit. Radiant Shard dug through, but only partly since the glass was made to withstand bullets.
Aurum quickly pulled out only to be bombarded with more fire. The bullets hit him and knocked him back into a stone building, depleting his aura severely.
The White Fang pilot laughed. "They should learn not to send kids to battle!"
Aurum stared up at the technological behemoth in front of him. The hijacked suit was going to fire its RPG launcher in about five seconds. Closing his eyes, he planned out his move. Five seconds to live. However, Aurum wasn't going to die today. He made a promise.
"Five." Aurum counted.
He bolted up and swung his axe around.
"Four."
The chain guns fired as he shot the ground and leapt into the air.
"Three."
The mech aimed its RPG up towards him.
"Two."
Aurum saw the spark as the cannon lit up. Aiming Radiant Shard at the hole, he shot a bullet.
"One."
The rocket within exploded before it had even left the barrel, sending the suit teetering backward and leaving nothing of what was its left arm. Aurum landed on the ground as the mech stumbled and crashed into a nearby stone building. He exhaled deeply as he tried to catch his breath.
"Aurum?" The boy's intercom rang in his ear with Dawn's voice.
"Right here," the boy responded, still breathing deeply.
"The Atlas military has ordered our group to retreat. This fight is getting too dangerous for us. You need to meet up at the rally point exactly three hundred meters east from the center of the city."
"Copy that."
"Hey!" It sounded like Dawn was talking to someone else. Aurum could hear yelling and gunfire in the background. "Who's that?!"
"Dawn?!"
"Gotta go, Aurum!" The comms shut off. Aurum felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his forehead as a worried expression crawled onto his face. He shook his head and adjusted his vision. He had an objective. Aurum started running east towards the location of the rally point. All around him, guns fired and explosions erupted across the sandy terrain.
So far, Aurum's time in the squad had been a blast. He managed to perform small operations alongside his newfound friends and eventually wanted a bigger mission. This was the answer to his prayer.
Aurum paused as he saw a couple of dead bodies on the side of an alleyway. Blood trickled beneath them. Maybe this was too much. He had always thought about how a normal life would be like and how he was going to have one. That was until they pulled him out of Atlas Academy.
Aurum shrugged it off and kept running. Ahead, he could see the rest of his teammates. Thankfully, all of them were okay. However, Dawn was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, where's Dawn?" Aurum said between heavy breaths.
"She went back," one of them answered.
"There was this psycho dude with gray hair going around and killing a bunch of soldiers from both sides. He even took out some of our Atlesian Knights."
"The Atlas military gave the order to take him down but Dawn insisted on helping him," another member continued.
"No…" Aurum looked at the village where Dawn was supposed to be. It was a total warzone.
"Dawn?! Dawn!" He accessed his earpiece as he felt the tears forming in his eyes. "Please! Answer!"
"…Aurum?" The voice that came from his earpiece came with some static. Aurum flinched lightly as he adjusted the volume.
"Dawn! Get out of there! It's not safe," the boy said, his words coated with worry.
"Hold on. I need to help someone out. He looks about the same age as you. I guess I couldn't resist."
"Dawn, let the military unit handle that! We owe that guy nothing!"
"Isn't the job of soldiers to safeguard life and combat those who want to end it?"
Aurum bit his lip. He could only stay quiet at the painful truth she had spoken.
"Look, it's either I help him or the Atlas military guns him down. I'll be back soon, alright?"
"Yeah…" Aurum trusted her. She was the strongest person he knew. Maybe he'll confess his feelings after all this was all over. However, he heard a loud scream coming from Dawn's side. It wasn't her though.
"Oh god…" Dawn's voice rang in Aurum's ears as he felt his stomach twist.
"Dawn?!"
"Au-" the connection cut off. All he could hear was static.
Aurum didn't know what had happened. Suddenly a dark shadow loomed over the Vacuo landscape. Looking at the center of the village, Aurum saw what appeared to be a black hole expanding and sucking dozens of structures into its center. The black hole grew until it was large enough to slowly pull the equipment beside Aurum and his teammates. And Dawn was inside all of that.
"Dawn!"
The black hole had stopped expanding. However, the gravitational pull was still there. Aurum and his teammates tried greatly to anchor themselves to the ground in order not to get pulled in. The black hole instantly receded into its center and disappeared from the horizon. Aurum held in his breath, his semblance going wild and telling him that he needed to back off. The worst was just about to happen.
A flash of white appeared in front of them with an earsplitting explosion.
As the smoke cleared, the Atlas military secured the area. Most, if not all, of the White Fang's forces had been wiped out. Greatly due to the spontaneous black hole that had appeared out of nowhere. Aurum walked past the rubble as he searched for Dawn. The sand all around him had been sucked in and gathered around the ground zero, leaving rock as the floor. He looked at the mound of sand.
'Maybe… Just maybe… Please let her be alive!'
Suddenly, the sand shifted as something tried to make its way out.
"Dawn!" Aurum ran towards the mound and started digging frantically.
"Hey! We got a live one!" One of the soldiers shouted as more gathered around the scene.
Aurum dug and dug, reaching into the sand. He could feel the outline of a hand from the inside. With one big pull, Aurum landed on his bottom.
'Dawn! She's…!'
In front of him lay a still breathing body, but it wasn't Dawn's. It was a teenager with gray hair and a bleeding cut on his face. The same one his teammates had described. Aurum felt an array of emotions swirl inside of him.
"No… It can't be…"
A/N: When me and my friends started getting into RWBY, we learned about Original Characters (OCs) and thought the idea was fun. So we began working on those characters in hopes of connecting more with the world of Remnant. These trailers are only the beginning of the story we have planned for over a year. I know OC self inserts are not usually fun to read but think of this as getting to know all twelve of us. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for Destiny of A Few.
Disclaimer: RWBY and all of its characters, settings, etc. belong to RoosterTeeth. The original characters were created by me and my friends who are big fans of the series.
