A/N: Well... Here we are. End of the story arc for the beginning part of the story. No that does not mean this is over, it means that we are getting into the 'Beacon days'. So basically volume 1-3 with changes made to accommodate this story. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay but other projects kinda captured my muse (like making my first story not suck ass). I might as well stop delaying and get onto the show.
Chapter 12: Raising Hell and Freedom...-ish
Alex's POV, 2 weeks later
"Why do want to come with us Alex? It's a simple train heist, not a full-blown assault on a facility." Adam said as he stared me down through his mask, attempting to get a read on me.
"Adam, nothing is ever simple in this field, besides, it'd let me test my new gear as well as cover your ass." I said as a solider of mine stopped by to hand me his report. He did so as he pulled out a toothpick to chew on since he stopped smoking recently.
"Solider, hand me you toothpick" I commanded, earning a rather confused look from Adam
"What are you up to Alex?" Adam asked me but it fell on deaf ears as I threw it past him and skewered a fly that was 20 yards away (I gotta love stopping time)
"Okay, you made your point, and what do you mean new gear? You have good shit as it is" He said in a sardonic tone.
"I made an actual weapon, not some store bought bullshit." I said as I pulled out my new rifle. It was a .50cal like my old rifle but it was semi auto and transformed into two different firearms. Both were P90 sub-machine guns that were designed with duel wielding in mind (low recoil and the ejectior for used shells was on the left side of the left gun.) It used standard dust rounds with a bit of yellow dust lining the barrel(s) to enhance the speed of the rounds and both had large trench knives attached as bayonets to help complement my kick-based fighting style. The main rifle form used kinetic energy systems to both dampen recoil and could, in theory, fire kinetic rounds indefinitely once I fire enough times. All in all, a god-damn amazing piece of weaponry that I built with infusions of my aura for the sake of durability, understanding how to fix, and for ease of use.
"How did you even build that? From what I know, you don't have any knowledge on how to even design weapons, let alone build them." Adam said causing me to immediately freeze up.
"Well I-" I started but was immediately cut off by someone
"Hey hot stuff, thanks for helping me Relax, maybe you can help me some more and I'll teach you how to take good care for that Rifle of yours." The lithe blacksmith said before she walked away, swaying her hips as her cat tail flickered all the while.
"You di-"
"Not a Word Adam or I swear to god, I will give you cinder block shoes and push you into a lake" I threatened ominously. I heard Zack chuckling along with Violet giggling so I fixed it immediately
*glares* "Same goes for you and Violet, I don't need to think about what that woman enjoys" I said with a mild shudder, that woman is into some seriously kinky shit. I saw a look of pure strain on Zack's face and he looked like he was actually struggling with something.
"...Oh...So...Tempted..." He said as he continued with his internal (and External) struggle.
*glares harder* "I'll rat you out to Cinder about that one time you broke her shoes and blamed it on a solider.. that poor poor man" I said, remembering the unfortunate soul who was burned to a crisp. All he did was raise a eyebrow and laugh slightly
"She's already aware of that dumbass, hell, we had angry make up sex afterwards." He said with an ever growing smile on his face from an apparent memory.
"Or maybe I tell her how you screwed that blacksmith as well, a women's jealousy is frightening thing" I said as I noticed Cinder walk up behind him. Violet noticed this as well and immediately moved away from him.
"Unless you're me, who can navigate feminine fury like a beast." He said all while fist-bumping a passing grunt. Cinder began forming some fire in her hands and I moved to the side.
*chuckles darkly* "Would that be why Cinder is about to introduce you to that hellfire of hers?" I asked Zack, causing his eyes to widen slightly before calmly sidestepping, letting a passing grunt get immolated.
"Eh, once she works off most the anger, we'll deal with it though angry sex... Again." He said before literally break dancing around the multiple fireballs aimed at him with the intention of maiming him. An evil idea seemed to well up into my mind, one that I simply could not ignore. I froze time and knocked Zack to the ground before setting Cinder on top of him. I backed up and unfroze time, allowing my friend to see the angry woman who was currently straddling him with fire in her hands.
"There you go Cinder, have fun and you owe me one" I said before turning and walking away. Though that was stopped when Cinder flew over my head and into a crowd of grunts. I turned around to see Zack getting up slowly all while Cracking his neck.
"I think now's a perfect time for a little spar, wouldn't you say Alex?" He said viciously as he dropped into his combat stance.
*sweatdrops* "Now would be a good time to run, feminine fury is one thing but her actually being pissed off is another. Also I have a train to catch" I said before freezing time and running like hell to my deployment location. I unfroze time once I made it out of the base only to be met with kick to my legs, sending me rolling downhill. I caught a glimpse of Zack grinning like a madman so I voiced my displeasure with him.
"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Zack's POV
"THIS IS WHY YOU'RE THE ROOKIE!" I yelled back, entirely happy with my revenge. I felt two arms wrap around my waist and the sheer heat that was coming from person behind me.
"I'm going to destroy you before I make you my personal toy" Cinder said before throwing me entirely through the base to the other side. It's gonna be a long day...
Alex's POV, deep in the Forever Fall Forest.
(Cue From Shadows (Black Trailer) by Jeff and Casey Lee Williams)
"When's the train getting here?" I asked Blake again, just to piss her off.
"It gets here when it gets here! *sighs* I'm starting to regret bringing you" she said with worry etched onto her normally stoic face.
"You know you love me, besides, if everything goes to plan, it'll be smooth sailing from there." I said, implying that she'll be home free.
"And you'll be six feet under" she said with a deadpan. I went to counter but I heard Adam approaching from behind us.
"Blake, it's time" he said before walking away.
"Well, I guess this is it, see you on the other side Blake" I said before I began jogging off to my deployment point
"WAIT!" Blake yelled out to me before running up to me and nearly tackling me off my feet in a hug.
"thank you Alex..." She said quietly into my shoulder before running after Adam. I let out a sigh though it was muffled slightly by my helmet.
'This could work very well or go very bad.. Eh Fuck it, only one way to find out.' I thought to myself before sprinting to the cliff side that overlooked the train tracks. I saw the train approaching so I switched my rifle (which I hereby dub Mustang and Sally since that blacksmith's name is Sally and obvious horse puns) Into it's duel SMG form and jumped onto the train below. The knives of the weapons cut into the metal as I eventually came to a stop on top of the boxcar. I saw a tunnel approaching quickly so I cut the hatch and jumped into the car below.
"Looks like we're doing this the hard way" I heard Adam say over the comms
"Don't be so over-dramatic" Blake responded so I decided to ask something important.
"You guys tripped the alarm, didn't you?" I asked, only for gunfire to be heard on the other side before comms entirely cut out.
"INTRUDER, IDENTIFY YOURSELF" a metallic voice said in front of me, gaining my attention to the fact that I'm entirely surrounded by security droids.
"Uhh... Jeff Williams?" I said, trying to bullshit my way through this.
"FALSE ID, SURRENDER OR BE TERMINATED" The droid said as it switched its hands into knives.
"*sighs* So much for conserving my aura and ammo for later" I said to myself as I Shot the droid right square in the face, ending its existence. The other robots saw this and all rushed to engage, forcing me to take up a defense stance that relied heavily on my kicks (I gotta be a tad greatful to Zack for kicking my ass so many times.) The first droid slashed at me, only for a trench knife to block it and be met with a liberal spray of bullets in its head. I jumped into the air and span while I sprayed down the crowd with my SMGs, making my life much easier as they dropped one by one. I heard a firearm being loaded so I switched Mustang and Sally back into It's rifle form before firing down to push me into the roof. I sprang off the ceiling and into a hail of gunfire that I didn't even need to use aura for since my armor could take it. I Shot to my right just before hitting the ground, destroying a few droids and making me land on my feet simultaneously. Switching back to my SMGs, I made short work of the remaining droids with powerful kicks and swift knife work.
"I swear, one of these days, stuff will go to plan." I said to myself as a high velocity shell tore through my boxcar, effectively making it nothing more than a flat bed and throwing me into a large crate, nearly knocking me unconscious.
"...so...much...ow..." I wheezed out as I stood up to see Adam and Blake trying to fight a spider droid, trying being the keyword here. They simply couldn't even damage the thing with their weapons so I decided to put my Rifle's special function to use. I flipped a small button near the trigger and the barrel extended, forming what is basically a barrel for a gauss rifle. I aimed down the scope and lined up its head before firing, sending me back into another crate while causing a large explosion to hit the droid. I stopped paying attention after that because something a bit more pressing came up.
(End song)
'WARNING: AURA AT 3%' my cracked visor's HUD had decided to notify me before it flickered and died.
"I noticed, stupid helmet" I said to myself as took it off, it being too damaged for continued use. I quick glance over my armor made me cringe as it was in really bad shape.
'Well, I suppose it makes the next phase easier' I thought as I disengaged my armor and let it fall free, leaving me in a black muscle shirt, black cargo pants, and black combat boots. My weapon was entirely fine though most of the black and yellow paint got scratched off from being rag dolled. I began walking before falling to my knees from exhaustion. I looked up to see Adam extending his hand to me, which I graciously grabbed and got pulled up.
"You look like hell Alex" he said with a slight smile, which was entirely unlike him
"I feel like it too, I'm pretty sure I need to fix the recoil on my rifle, it damn near shattered my shoulder." I said as I tried to walk again only to fall flat on my ass.
"Let's get you up and get out of here." Adam said as he slung my arm over his shoulders and helped me walk.
"By the way Alex..."
"Yeah man?" I asked tiredly, exhaustion from the day truly catching up with me. I felt his grip on my shoulder tighten immensely and an evil smile come into his face.
"You knew, didn't you?" He asked venomously, the grip on my already sore shoulder tightening.
"W-what?" I asked confused (and probably a little concussioned from smacking my head into two separate metal crates).
"You knew she'd leave, in fact, you helped her" he said, making me remember the very reason why I was on this mission and how fucked I was right now.
"How would I do that man? I was imprinted into a wall and I can't even move on my own right now." I said, earning me a Hard kick to the chest from the enraged Faunus before he hit me with his katana, draining the rest of my aura and cutting my already screwed shoulder open.
"I'm so going to enjoy killing you" Adam said has he re-drew his katana. Now, I have two options here, get murdered by Adam or jump off the train and pray to god I live. Know what, I choose life, even if it is a very very slim chance.
"About that... Nope!" I yelled as I used the recoil from a Kinetic round to throw me into the forest below. And I managed to hit every branch on my way down.. and I do mean every branch.
"Fuck" *branch*
"Shit" *branch*
"Damn" *branch*
"Oh Piss off" *branch*
"Motherfuc-" I was about to swear again only to be cut off my an especially thick branch catching me in the gut, making me cough up blood and finally relieving me of my consciousness...
Adam's POV, that night.
'I can't believe I let him get away, though I'm sure he won't last long in the forest in his shape. Oh well, I might as well head in and get this over with.' I thought before walking into the base. Alone.
"Heya Adam, where are Alex and Blake, they aren't screwing are they?" Violet asked me in a happy mood. I almost feel about about being the one to destroy it. Almost.
"Blake ran away and Alex is dead. She killed him in order to escape." I told her hoping it didn't go badly. Even I know it's a bad idea to stay around an unstable woman.
"No...no you have to be lying Adam."
"It's the truth" I told her making her eyes well up with tears.
"YOU'RE LYING, THEY'RE ALR-" *Slap*
"HE'S DEAD AND SHE KILLED HIM, IT DOESN'T GET ANY MORE REAL THAN THAT" I screamed in her face, she looked so broken.. it's gonna be a long night..
Alex's POV, 1 hour after Adam returned to base.
My vision swam to full only for blackness to reclaim my sight. It kept on like this for a while until a heard a loud rour, reminding me exactly where I am and how bad it is.
'Okay, time to move your ass' I thought to myself as I climbed (read fell on my ass) out the tree I passed out in. I stood on my feet and started limping towards the main city of Vale only to trip over a heavy log
*Thud* "Fucking ow" I muttered to myself as I looked at the 'log' to see it was actually my Weapon. With a deadpanned expression, I stood and picked it up.
"I should probably bring you with me and now I'm talking to an inanimate object. I think I Adam rang my bell a little too good and you need to stop talking to yourself Alex... I'm shutting up now" I said, ending my concussion induced train of thought. I began limping off towards Vale again though I don't know how long it'd take me to make it there in my current shape. Hell, I don't know if I'd even make there if I encounter Grimm of any kind seeing how I can barely move, let alone fight.
'I need to find a place to rest, Grimm are far more active right now and I need to let my Aura recover enough to help dull the pain.' I thought to myself as I saw a cabin in the distance with a light on.
"Well, I'd rather deal with a possible A-hole than some Beowulfs." I said to myself as I limped to the cabin's door and knocked, albeit quietly to help avoid drawing Grimm from the noise. The door opened to reveal a Red Longsword inches from my throat.
"Who are you and How'd you find this place?" A feminine voice demanded from behind the door. Seeing how she could spill my blood with no effort at the moment, I has no choice but to answer.
"My name's Alex Miller, I'm a huntsman-in-training and I kinda got my ass kicked not too far from here so I limped in this direction until I saw your light on. I was kinda hoping I could crash here so I won't be Ursa Chow." I said before breaking into a coughing fit (that the Woman noticed and moved the sword slightly away so I wouldn't slit my own throat open) that I tried to muffle as best as I could. My vision began to blur and I coughed up a large amount of blood before unconsciousness claimed me yet again.
An unknown amount of time later...
"Ughhhh" I groaned out miserably from where I laid. I managed to crack my eyes open before shutting them nice and tight from the severe migraine I had.
"I feel like I got my ass thrown into a blender before exploding" I muttered to myself before opening my eyes again and sitting up. It looked like I'm in a standard twin size bed while the room looked to be the inside of a wood cabin. The walls were decorated with old weapons like a bow an arrow along with a spear. I sat up and looked around a bit more to find Mustang and Sally right next to the bedside along with a military MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). Not questioning Why it was there, I used my weapon's duel form to cut open the package before setting out with consuming the meal.
'Tastes like fresh ass and Satan's toe... I forgot how much I hate these meals' I thought before forcing myself to eat the rest of it.
"You're tougher than you look kid, even I have trouble eating those things" an older feminine voice said from the doorway. I looked up and saw a woman with long black hair, a red and black dress, a very large sword and sheath. And a Nevermore mask... Oh shit.
"You alright kid, you just got really pale" The Fang operative asked me, probably unknowing of my betrayal. I saw my rifle still at my bed side and I could feel I had about half my aura available for use. I froze time and rolled out of bed, picking up my rifle before leveling it at the operative before unfreezing time. She seemed to be taken aback at my sudden move and took up a defensive stance with a hand on the hilt of her sword.
"What the hell is wrong with you kid?!" She demanded, angry with my aggressive move.
"Stay the hell back and I won't blow a hole through your head! I should have know it wouldn't be so easy to get away from them!" I yelled as I checked the kinetic gauge on the top of my scope
'Three shots... I can work with that' I thought as I activated the kinetic function, re-extending the barrel with a low hum.
"You would need these to do that" She said as she held up the clip for my normal rounds. I smiled at that, making her tilt her head in slight confusion.
"What's got you so happy?" She asked as she partially drew her sword.
"You're wrong about me needing that clip" I said as I subtlety sent aura to my shoulder to brace myself.
"Oh? Why would that be?" She asked as she completely drew her sword to a defensive hold. I didn't answer as I Shot next to her head, completely destroying the door frame and a part of the wall. She ran towards me only for me to freeze time and move inside her guard, the barrel resting comfortably under her chin. I unfroze time and she stopped the minute she felt cold steel touching her throat.
"You're fast kid, I'll give you that. Why are you so hostile towards me?" She asked, unmoving as I could very easy take her head off.
"I will not go back there, and I will not die here." I told her, only serving to confuse her more.
"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked so I decided to enlighten her.
"I will not go back to the Fang to be their weapon and I'll be damned if I let one of their operatives kill me" I said, getting ready to make a run for it.
"What you think I'm... BWUHAHAHAHA" she started laughing so hard she was wheezing. It caught me entirely off guard for just a second though that was all she needed to kick me in my ribs and throw me through her already damaged wall.
"Holy *cough* Fuck you hit hard" I said before coughing up blood again. I finally noticed my attire which was me being shirtless with bandages covering most of my torso, my right shoulder, and nearly my entire right arm. My pants were changed out of a pair of boxer shorts (that were different than the ones I had on during my mission... I'll question that later) that revealed a lot of bandages on my right leg.
"What do you expect from a huntress? A pillow fight?" She asked as she picked up my rifle and looked it over, obviously impressed by the design. I managed to look up at her to see her without the mask, and holy shit her eyes are red, almost like...
"Qrow..." I muttered under my breath, though not quiet enough as I found myself a foot off the ground being held by my throat
"How. Do. You. Know. Him" the insane woman demanded, a punch to my stomach punctuating every word.
*Wheeze* "I fought off a Horde of Grimm with him and Tai-Yang *gets dropped*, he handled the large group while me and a group of allies handled a Dragon." I finished from my new position on the floor. She seemed to mull over what I said before throwing something to me that I surprisingly caught. It was the armor shard I fashioned into a necklace from Xiuhcotai's face plate.
"Xiuhcotai, the Dragon of the Volcanic Depths, one of the last Dragon Grimm to still live, much less be active recently. He is said to be the only one capable of speaking the words of man, and the only one who will admit defeat. This is from his face plate isn't it?" She asked me quietly to which I nodded in less pain than earlier (Aura, I love you so damn much)
"Hmmm... What do you know about your aura?" She asked, sitting on the floor across from me with her sword in her lap.
"I know it can be used as a shield and as a weapon. It can be used to heal the body to what the soul knows as correct and it ties in to our emotions" I said as I flared my own yellow aura to start healing my ribs because Holyshitthatfuckinghurts.
"While that is true, there is more to aura than that. Aura is very much a reflection of the soul, so your personality actually defines your aura and semblance." The woman said, making think about my own aura before I asked something.
"What's your name? You know mine yet I do not know yours" I said, making the woman pause before sighing heavily.
"Raven, and if you tell anyone you spoke to me, I will kill you." Raven threatened, which I shall ensure to keep quiet about meeting her as I'm sure she could easily destroy me.
"Anyway, Aura had 4 main classifications which is defined through the person's semblance.
Offensive: In which it is capable of dealing huge damage but it cannot heal as much as it protects.
Defensive: Where it is great at taking hits and healing the user but isn't very good at offensive applications.
Support: Which is basically making others much better while being average at defensive and offensive uses.
And last but not least, Sensory: The ability to see through deception, to find others, or to be able to entirely counteract certain semblances in general." She said, basically educating me on things I should have probably learned but didn't. I sat and thought about my own semblance but couldn't decide what it fell under.
"What would mine fall under?" I asked her, making her think.
"Well, what is it and I'll tell you kid."
"I'm not a kid!"
"You're young and inexperienced, so you are a kid" she finished, ending the small argument. I let out a huff of anger before beginning my explanation.
"I can stop time. I can deal great damage and avoid it entirely. I can bring others and even vehicles into the stoppage but it's very taxing and dangerous as it has nearly killed me on a few occasions. And there was once where I actually reversed the flow of time for a small period though I don't know how I did it." I said making her laugh slightly.
"Well, yours technically fits all four categories but it's mainly defensive as your aura works great as a shield and it is very good at healing." She said while standing up before handing me my weapon with a slightly apologetic look on her face.
"I do owe you a slight apology, in hindsight, it was a bad idea to wear that mask." She said which earned her a look of Areyoufuckingkiddingme? She looked a little sheepish at that look but stopped when I feel onto my back with a groan of pain.
"Also, I may have broken a few of your ribs..." She said, earning a deadpan from myself.
"I'm oh so tempted to shoot you right now but then I'd break my shoulder so let us avoid that" I said as I flicked the bleeder valve on my rifle, expending the built up kinetic energy.
"And I may have seen you naked..." She said making me very Slowly raise my left hand to flip her off.
"I seriously hate you so much right now..." I said before letting unconsciousness claim me again for the third time in I don't know how many days...
Months later...
"Again!" Raven yelled as she rushed forward with the pure intent to make my head nothing more than squishy paste on the concrete floor. She swung a right hook towards my head only for me to dodge under it and attempt a high kick. She deflected my kick and countered with a swift punch to my stomach, relieving me of the air in my lungs before her foot connected with my jaw, sending me into an destroyed building. Now for those of you who are confused about how I ended up here, as it would turn out, shit is apparently going to hit the fan soon so Raven decided to train me for the upcoming shit storm. Though training mainly consisted of her kicking my ass 8 ways to Sunday.
"You're getting better Alpha, I'd say you're ready to kick your plan into high gear." Raven said, making me groan slightly as I shifted my Fox mask (basically the ANBU black ops mask from naruto) to cover my face.
"You know how much I hate that codename" I said as I stood up from the rubble I made from my crash landing. I dusted off my new attire which consisted of a black shirt with yellow tribal towards the bottom. Black pants with yellow lines down the outside of it, and it was finished with yellow sneakers.
"True but we can't use your real name anymore as you are technically a dead man" she said as she rested her hand on the hilt of her blade.
*sighs* "I hate when your right. Anyway, I can't do this all on my own, I'll need a team if we plan on taking the Queen's pieces out of play." I said as I picked up Mustang and Sally from where it laid.
"That's why I have Dossiers on your old allies. From what you've told me, you all would make an excellent team." She said as she handed me a scroll, said info on it along with where to find them.
"Any tips on who I should start with?" I asked my mentor/boss
"Start with Sam, she's the easiest to find but it's up to you to persuade her. Do not let anyone besides these three people know you are alive and kicking. The entirety of this plan relies on you staying a ghost." Raven said, dead serious about the stealth aspect.
"I know, I guess I best get walking right? I won't find any of them here in Mountain Glenn." I said as I holstered my weapons.
"I'll save you the trouble kid" She said as she slashed her sword in the air, forming a red and black portal. I nodded to her in thanks and started walking towards it. Right as I reached it, she grabbed my arm and forced me to look at her.
"Just remember, your semblance is too dangerous for you to use in full power. I've taught you all I can on using it but it's up to you on not killing yourself" She said, letting go and stepping back.
"You know me Raven, I'm too damn stubborn to kill, even if it is by my own ends" I said turning away from her and walking through the portal. It looks like my journey has truly begun, I just hope it hasn't started too late, time is of the essence..
A/N: Well damn, it looks like we're finally getting to volume one in the timeline. Though will be changes and quite frankly. My "team" will be in a strange role, and that's all the hints you peeps get. Well, I'm off to start the next chapter and watch the finale of volume 3, laters peeps!