Hey everybody, I'm back and for once, I managed to release a chapter ON TIME. I thought what better way to celebrate a new volume than a new chapter. I'm still surprised I managed to pull it off. Good for me. Also, it appears I can't go ONE chapter without going off script in some way… so yeah, that's a thing. This, hopefully, won't change things up too much.
Chapter 14: It Begins
It was early in the morning with only a few students crowding around the entrance to cafeteria waiting for it to open and serve breakfast. William sat on a nearby bench trying not to frighten people with how much his stomach was growling.
Whether it could be classified as good or bad, the students within earshot of his gut's roars for food weren't as scared or timid around him as he thought they would be. Well, some did take a step back, but probably due to the fact his stomach's growls were closer to a Beowulf's howl than that of a normal stomach. Others just seemed to nod in understanding. The rest ignored it and just remained at their place waiting for the doors to open.
He tried to rub his eyes to break them out of their habit of trying to close on him. Despite years of dealing with the negativity of Feign Village- a place he would generously call the most negative place in the world- he was not used to being in such close proximity to negative emotions. The fact he was in a school for of teenagers would weigh on him normally, but the anxiety of the upcoming Vytal Festival was really starting to take root- and fast. Though, strangely, it wasn't so much the fighting as the fact they would be fighting in front of the entire world.
Apparently killing nightmarish abominations and fighting radical superpowered terrorist was easy, but put them in front of an audience and you have a problem. Whether it was having enough Dust, if they did their weapon maintenance, or if they could figure out what their semblance was before the tournament- apparently Jaune wasn't alone in that situation-, but it all boiled down to not wanting to embarrass themselves in front of the entire world. Or at least certain people in particular.
Apparently, a few huntsmen- Cardin namely- have some rather judgmental parents.
William never thought he would ever feel pity for him of all people.
It also appeared that there were a surprising number of huntresses concerned about what their parents might say about their choice in combat attire.
Then there were also the events that happened yesterday still fresh in the student's minds.
William still felt unexpectedly mixed about how the students acted around him and more specifically those he could sense within his expanded range. On one hand, there were plenty of people who still feared him, especially after the protest yesterday. Something he was WELL aware of. Given the number of anti-faunus pamphlets filling every trash can in Beacon. It wouldn't have surprised anyone that a few would at least look at them. Though the ones that worried him were the ones he couldn't sense, those who were a little too interested in him, or more specifically his bowls and genitalia.
Seriously what the fuck!
Though if he was being honest, the number had decreased. But, only to be replaced by people questioning his choice to look like he stuck his head in a cotton candy machine.
Despite the two extremes, it felt as the middle group was beginning to accept him as he was. Though from what he sensed last night and this morning, that that camp had deteriorated. Doubt was a powerful thing.
He could sense that many of them didn't exactly believe what the Hand of Humanity had spouted, but that minuscule bit doubt was nonetheless already implanted in the back of their minds. Something William was very sure he would have to watch. For many people, they have been conditioned to fear Grimm as a survival mechanism since ancient times. It's perfectly understandable, the creatures of Grimm literally want to end humans and faunus along with everything the built and/or hold near and dear. BUT, the Hand tied that fear in with William and with faunus in general. Something he detested. The mere thought of their twisted logic brought on memories of Feign and a gut full of bile to match. If he could get just two seconds alone with their leader, he'd rip off his head, eat it, just to shit down his-
Stop thinking about THEM! William mentally warned himself as he took a deep breath to calm down.
The last thing he needed to do was accidentally transform, even partially. For a moment, just for the briefest of moments, he felt his eyes twinge red and his fingernails sharpen into claws.
It would only hurt his image even further if he lost control in front of people and more importantly… he was just too damn hungry for any of the ensuing chaos.
If he didn't give them a reason to believe he was a threat, then all would be fine. The seed of doubt would never sprout and just wither and die. However, given his luck since coming to Beacon…well more the rather extreme duality of it, it would probably do him a favor to actively try not to cause any kind of incident. Then again that wasn't the only factor not in his favor.
Surprisingly, the second and somehow more prominent reason for the other students were still being wary of him was the team he had been assigned to; Team RWBY. In just the time since he had first met them, they have been known to cause more than a little unrest among the student body. Between Yang destroying what are -were- apparently very liked dance clubs- some twice-, her friendship trademarked with the destruction of private property with Nora, Ruby's hyperactivity devolving into some kind of hysterical debauchery usually involving her whole team, and Blake's big reveal causing some pretty substantial controversy among the students- both faunus and human alike-; it wasn't that hard to see why. Even Weiss had more than a few people cautious of her. Apparently, somehow, someone got a partial viewing of Weiss freezing and then threatening William earlier that week- thankfully, they couldn't hear the reason.
Gods know what Weiss would do to them if they had found out her secret. Unlike William, they probably can't regrow their bones and organs.
Then again, it could have been worse, there was a rumor that any guy who tries to ask her out is forced into public humiliation with hidden snipers aiming for them. Supposedly the last guy had to dance in a dress for the whole school to see.
That wasn't even to mention the other rumors about his team he had been hearing since coming to Beacon; blowing a hole in front of the school on their first day, along with team JNPR they destroyed the cafeteria in a food fight, and may or may not have been involved with a giant robot battle on a busy highway. The Beacon rumor mill turned twenty-four hours a day and team RWBY was its favorite subject. Somehow though, he didn't have that much trouble believing most of them.
To a lot of people, at least to how William sensed their emotions, they viewed team RWBY getting a Were-Grimm in much the same way someone might view giving a child who likes to start fires a gallon of gasoline and a flamethrower.
It also amused the wolf faunus how some people were actually more afraid of Ruby on a sugar rush than him. Nevertheless, he could kind of understand it. the last, and only, time he would ever agree to help catch a sugar-buzzed Ruby ended with him being run over by a honking little reaper before falling off Beacon cliff. (jwrite: yes, I made a looney toons joke, deal with it)
Speaking of the red reaper…Ruby said she and her team were going to rest today before meeting up for the opening ceremony. So, I guess they are just going to sleep in. More for me. He smirked, perfectly timed as the doors opened and the smell of the hot breakfast wafted out.
But what I'm really looking forward to is the post-ceremony food, he licked his lips.
And I think they mentioned fireworks…I can't remember the last time I've seen fireworks. I always heard them from the valley, but I could never see them from inside it.
As he walked towards the cafeteria, half ready to sprint, a wave from a familiar monkey faunus and his team caught his eye as the waved him over as they headed inside.
He was hoping to see Jaune and Pyrrha, to see how things had gone on their date, but team SSSN was good for a laugh or two. And he could finally know what Ruby's secret method to break the news to Sun was.
What the wolf-faunus didn't notice, was that six sets of eyes were focused on him.
/-/
It seemed like things were finally starting to pick up for him. It really did.
Now…now not so much.
Sure, he still had to lie to everyone and keep quiet about… well a lot of stuff; Neo, the fact he had killed Ruby's mother, Weiss' crush on and desire for a three-way relationship with two of her teammates, that he was the one who ate all of Weiss gourmet chocolate almond biscotti cookies and blamed Zwei, that he accidentally dropped Jaune's hoodie in the toilet and never told him…oh and that he was keeping dismembered Grimm parts in his closet.
That last one wasn't for the malicious or psychotic reasons most would have thought. For the Were-Grimm, it was no different than keeping a couple bags of chips in his room in case he got hungry. Even if he did have to cover up the severed heads. As much as it might surprise people, but even for someone who literally eats Grimm for breakfast, walking into a closet and seeing a decapitated Beowulf head staring back at you is was waaaayyyyy too creepy. Especially first thing in the morning.
Returning to the matter at hand, William now found himself walking down one of Beacon's overly long and, especially at times like this, ominous hallways with Ms. Goodwitch to his left, Ironwood to his right, and a half-dozen or so soldiers behind them. all of whom were doing everything they could to keep their emotions in check.
One soldier was even faintly humming that 'Shape of You' song.
Not William's first choice songs to keep calm by, but to each their own.
It had all started innocently enough; he was eating at the table, talking with team SSSN. It seems that Ruby's "secret plan" of breaking the news about Blake and Yang to Sun was to just tell him.
Oh how could he not have thought of that? Honesty, he shouldn't have been surprised, but couldn't help but shake his head and smirk.
And then suddenly Atlas soldiers filed into the cafeteria surrounding him.
"You students move away" one of them shouted. "And you stay where you are." He looked at William.
Before Sun could object, his teammate, William believed his name was Sage- the green haired guy-, put his hand on his shoulder and swayed his head. The blonde grit his teeth, but moved away as the remaining soldiers circled him.
He could sense they were ready for a fight. Additionally, - and if it was in a different situation he would find it funny that-, thanks to their well-organized military minds, he could tell they had been briefed on how he fought and what he was capable of.
Thank you, general Ironwood.
Before coming to Beacon William might have thought nothing of it. In his numerous battles in the Valley of Grimm, he had grown quite confident in his abilities that he could take on anyone. And if he was wrong, then he could just escape and try again later as always. But after sparring with team RWBY on and off for the last week, his bouts with Pyrrha, the Ironwood's students for his entrance exam, not to mention his fight with Neo, he had learned that those self-proclaimed huntsmen who wanted to collect on his bounty were little more than just that. Self-proclaimed. He had seen true strength and skill up front, some of which would have ended him several times over if not for his effective Grimm cheat, and he knew that there were even higher peeks still to come as seen when Ms. Goodwitch blew up a dozen Salamanders with just her mind.
Looking back, the only reasons he faired so well against the teachers and their teams of students sent to the valley was because more than half the group was out of commission due to the poison he had used, and thus needed to be protected, dividing the still active group's attention, and that he had the element of surprise that he had implemented with repeated practice. Though, it also probably helped that they thought he was only a smart Beowulf instead of a Were-Grimm.
These soldiers were different than the huntsmen wannabes he had faced before. They weren't as strong as he was, but he could tell by the way they approached that they weren't strangers to combat.
Still, there was some hesitation. Faint though it may be. Repressed worries about involving other students in the fight, where William's eyes fell, and a plethora of the bizarre rumors that had showered all over not just Beacon but the city of Vale thanks to Beacon's, apparently, infamous rumor mill.
Then walked in their boss, general Ironwood. Looking as stoic and yet somehow simultaneously pissed off as ever.
Iron-dicked asshole.
Walking quickly to catch up to him was William's guardian, possibly in more than one sense, Glynda Goodwitch.
"James, I told you we can do this peacefully."
The tall man only slightly turned his head, "This is peaceful… as long as he doesn't do anything." He added arms crossed, ready to grab his gun should he need it.
Turning his full attention to the young faunus, "We need you to come with us."
William looked towards his guardian, "I'm afraid general Ironwood is correct this time. There is…there is something we need to discuss with you in the headmaster's office."
Weighing his options William came to only one conclusion, "Okay, let me just finish eating."
"We mean now." The general said clearly forgetting William's fabled eating pace.
The young man smirked, "Okay." He said taking hold of his lower lip with his right hand as everything below his top lip morphed into that of a Beowulf as he stretched the skin and bone like it was rubber. A couple of soldiers took a step back and one or two of them covered their mouths like they would puke. Using his left hand, he lifted his tray dumping its content into his mouth before letting go of his grip and he began to chew at a rapid pace. Ms. Goodwitch estimated it to be at least a hundred and fifty chews a second.
Setting his tray down looking rather content, his throat made a jerking motion before he spat out his plate, landing squarely on the tray. He repeated this process with rapid fire as the three other regular plates, four smaller side plates, two cereal bowls, and finally his silverware were now neatly stacked on top of each other somehow almost sparkling clean.
Seeing this a few students clapped in light applause.
The next few moments are…hazy.
He could have sworn the general had insulted him. From there it just seemed to rapidly escalate.
He felt his eyes turn red and then…and then…nothing. Almost like sections of the film were removed as the general's expression went from angered to… well anger, but more of a confused anger than anything else.
What the hell happened?
The general had gone from practically begging him to hang him with his own entrails to complete confusion mixed with a defensive stance and his hand on his pistol.
There was a very confused moment for what felt like an eon, but it was probably only two or three minutes.
Not wanting to press his luck or the issue, William acted as though he simply misheard what the general had said and that it was all just a misunderstanding.
Ms. Goodwitch and his soldiers were eager enough to accept it in lieu of fighting. The general, however, despite saying he accepted it, clearly did not.
Nor did William for that matter, but he could even explain what just happened lit alone convince them of it. And why could he remember a golden colored flame?
This brought about the awkward and incredibly heavy silence they were all feeling as the finally made their way to the headmaster's office. Honestly, William might have been happy just to have someone shooting at him as opposed to this. Especially since he and Ms. Goodwitch kept glancing at each other only to quickly look away when their eyes met.
-meanwhile at team RWBY's dorm-
The four huntresses were sleeping peacefully, after all the training and stress of the exams then followed by the early morning to late night practice sessions Weiss had been so insistent on, the four girls were understandably tired.
If Yang had her way she would have fused with her bed and slept for all eternity in the comfy sheets.
However, like a lot of life, she didn't get her way as a thunderous pounding erupted from their door. "What the Hell?!" the sleeping dragon roared, eyes already glowing crimson, ready to murder the fool dumb enough to disturb her slumber.
As her other teammates began to rub the sleep from their eyes Yang had already crossed the room, Ember Celica drawn on her right arm, and flung open the door "WHAT!"
The imminent dead men, were none other than team SSSN, with three of their members now a fair distance from their leader as so not to die.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Sun pleaded hands up, his blue ice colored eyes melting before the inferno orbs of rage before him.
"You have ten seconds to explain why I shouldn't break you." Yang threated, cracking her knuckles like a cinderblock crushed by a sledgehammer.
Sun visibly gulped, "It's about William."
Ruby, now fully awake, moved in front of her sister, "What happened to William?"
…
After explaining everything to them, team RWBY got dressed and began making their way to Ozpin's office with team SSSN following behind.
"How can he do this, just who does Ironwood think he is?" Yang growled as they almost sprinted down the halls.
Blake rushed to get beside her partner, "Yang, calm down. I know how you feel, but if you go in there like this you are only going to make things worse."
"I know, I know." She reassured taking a breath. "I just can't help but be angry. It seems like every week Ironwood's got some new stick up his ass."
Blake had seen this happen before. Too many of the people she had looked up to and known had been singled out; labeled and treated with content…treated as monsters.
…and the kind of changes those labels can have on someone or those around them.
As the two teams entered the first floor of Beacon tower approaching the main elevator leading to the headmaster's office opened to a discernably irate Were-Grimm.
The eight students moved to greet him but slowed their progression when they sensed the malice he was permeating.
"Will-", Yang began as she met his glare. "-iam. William," she corrected.
"Are you okay?"
Both of his eyes were literally glowing blood red. "I need to go kill something." He almost snarled grimily as he tried walked past them.
No one said anything, but everyone hoped he wasn't talking about people.
Being the leader, Ruby rushed in front of him, arms stretched out to show him he wouldn't get past her without her permission.
The two faced off, Ruby giving the sternest face she could make.
William closed his eyes and exhaled a hot breath that could have peeled paint before taking in some air through his nose. To Ruby, it seemed everything about him was anger.
Taking that as the queue to begin speaking, "What happened in there?" she asked seeing his eyes somehow turn even darker shades of crimson as the words left her mouth.
"Ask them!" He thundered trying to move past her only to have the red hood quickly move in front of him.
"William, we're your friends. You can talk to us."
"MOVE RUBY!" He roared.
Ruby felt her eardrums shake but stood her ground. "No."
"I won't move until you tell us what happened in there."
"I…they…GAH!" he shouted as he disintegrated into a cloud of Grimm ash before swarming past Ruby and out the building.
As on cue, the elevator opened revealing a very exasperated and worried professor Goodwitch.
"Ruby!" she shouted practically running over to the group forgoing her usual dignified walk.
"Has William passed by here?" she asked eyes search everywhere for a clue to her ward.
"What happened?", Yang asked. "William came rushing by us saying he was going to kill something, looking mad as all hell."
The sorcerous sighed in disappointment and quickly looked around, "Follow me." She waved before leading the teams, "Only team RWBY, gentlemen." She halted team SSSN.
Blake looked towards Sun, "It's okay Sun."
As the five moved into a narrow side passage the professor turned around to make sure they were alone, "What I am about to tell you must not be repeated."
"We promise not to speak a word," Weiss assured.
The older woman made a sterner expression, "I meant it girls. If any of you leak a word about this you will not only be expelled but also face potential imprisonment."
The four huntresses-in-training made an owled expression, "We promise." They said with a nervous pop.
"Iris Ammolite and Jasper Chronic were murdered last night."
The four girls gasped, "I thought they were locked up?" Yang blurted out.
"Indeed, Miss Xia Long, the two were locked in a maximum-security prison designed specifically to contain rogue huntsmen and huntresses or those of a similar caliber."
Blake was the first to physically show that she figured out where this was going. Though all of them probably had an idea. "You don't think William killed them, do you?"
"Personally, I do not. However general Ironwood and the council have a strong inclination that he did."
They all knew that would be the case. The general has always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when it came to their teammate. They had come to accept it at this point and come to expect it. In their minds, William could sneeze on a public sidewalk and Ironwood would have charged him with chemical warfare.
But the council…well, they weren't really sure. The council rarely did anything outside of huge problems like Grimm breaches, acts of terrorism, and the fact that most of the insurance companies insuring Dust stores are going under. But even then, it was minimal effort.
Yang's hair started to flare up, "How can they even think that William killed them?"
The older blonde hesitated for a moment, "The marks on their bodies and their rooms were distinctly similar to that of Beowulf claws."
"You can buy novelty Beowulf clawed gloves at the mall!" she flared up.
It was the heiress' turn to raise her opinion, "And? What about other inmates? Where were the guards? How would he even know where to find the prison?" She asked giving off both her composed presence and angered self.
She had never fully been behind William coming to Beacon and had expressed this to her team more than a few times, but even she had grown to at least sort of like him as a friend- it definitely didn't have anything to do with him helping her with Blake and Yang.
"While William made the same point as miss Xia Long, it wasn't enough to persuade the council. Jasper Chronic was in solitary when he was killed so there wouldn't be any witnesses. However, I share miss Schnee's concern that Iris was killed and there were no witnesses."
"But that still doesn't even explain how William would even know where they are." The whitehaired girl reiterated.
"Unfortunately, the general proposed a plausible explanation. His argument is that William read the negative emotions of others, namely soldiers and faculty, as a means of gleaming their location."
"That's bullshit!" Yang burst. "He was sleeping next door to us all night."
"Regrettably, William has proven that he is more than capable of escape, evasion, and on more than one occasion, has proven he can be violent." She stated, feeling a sickening lump in her throat.
"How can you even say that you're his guardian. He looks up to you like you're his mot-"
"-MISS XIA LONG!" she screamed as the four saw her doing everything in her power to hold back the water building in her emerald spheres.
"I DID-" she sobbed before righting herself, "I did everything I could to argue on his behalf and that is why he isn't jail like James wanted.", she choked. "However, William is to be banned from even entering Amity Coliseum. Officially, we are going to have him say that he has trouble with the emotional feedback from so many people. Additionally, he is to be under direct supervision until such time that things can be sorted out, but they've already made their minds up...", the dam began to break as tears started flowing. "The council believes Ozpin is incompetent and Ironwood is the one who knows best…if nothing is done…" she began to sniffle.
Glynda tried to maintain her usual calm and rational demeanor, but every time she tried to build it back up, it would just as quickly crumble. It may have been James who had been yelling and throwing accusation after circumstantial accusation, but the one who probably hurt him the most was her.
She wanted to believe everything he said, but Gretna's foreboding warning made her doubt her perceptions of him. As well as her ability to judge him. It was when William picked up on this internal conflict that she saw his heart break. He asked her if she trusted him, desperately reaching for a hand to save him, and she had hesitated. The look he gave her was the kind a parent would see from a small child who just heard them say they hated them flatly to their face.
"I'm sorry. We tried to get William to tell us what happened, but he just rushed by us- saying he was going to kill something."
"What!?" she gasped.
Suddenly her scroll began to buzz. It was a live feed sent by Ozpin.
She expanded her scroll to its full length, the size of a clipboard. The video was being sent from the hidden cameras in the Emerald Forest. On the screen, everyone watched as one familiarly unique Beowulf was voraciously and savagely ripping his kind to shreds as their body parts literally rained from above.
"Well at least he's killing Grimm, right?" Yang tried to make light of the situation, but no one really saw it like that. When William had lost himself to his hunger for Grimm, that was one thing, but this…this was something else entirely. There was no reason other than sheer anger. They all knew immediately that he wasn't fighting with any kind of strategy, plan, or rhythm, it was plain and simple carnage.
But what was most concerning was the fact that the creature they saw on the screen didn't even have an iota of presence that it was ever anything other than a monster. A monster that was more a monster than the Grimm it slaughtered. There seemed to be no trace humanity as though William's rage -in all likelihood- had consumed him entirely.
The blonde brawler felt her nurturing side start to take over as she felt a sense of deja vu, "If we're lucky then this will be like when Ruby had a tantrum as a kid and he should just tire himself out."
"Yang I don't think a rampaging Were-Grimm equates to fretting hyperactive Ru- well you might have a point." Their fencer prosed as a finger rose to her chin in contemplation.
"You guys!" Their leader blushed trying not to, and failing, to keep them from noticing her reaction.
"well, how long-"
"-No, don't say it," Ruby ordered pointing to Weiss.
Her older sister only grinned as the heiress clearly missed the joke, "What, I'm just asking how long-"
"-No."
"-would it-"
"Weiss Schnee, I am warning you!"
The usually quite Blake would be the one to ask it, "How long could it take?"
-four hours later on the edge of Beacon cliff-
"Gods dam- darn it." Ruby 'cursed.'
"I'm beginning to think that we should start carrying around lawn chairs." Yang shrugged as they watched another Beowulf had its limbs ripped off. "I mean if this becomes a regular thing, it might be a good investment."
Ignoring Yang, their teacher was the one to remain calm, "Most likely William's anger is being exacerbated by his Grimm side drawing in more Grimm." She was a fool to think this would be like any other times a teenage boy went on a Grimm killing spree just to blow off steam.
"You girls go to the ceremony, it starts in half an hour and you need to get in place."
"That's probably a good idea." Weiss agreed. "If this is anything like last time, we still have a few hours to go. I had no idea he was so angry." Despite saying that, she felt a pang of guilt that she might have had some hand in it. given the whole freezing and threatening him thing. As much as she would have denied it, she also understood the anger to lash out after finding out a parent didn't trust you.
"Okay…" Ruby begrudgingly agreed, "-But the second anything happens please tell us."
"Thank you, Ruby. I promise when he calms down I'll notify you." Giving them an honest smile they rarely got to see.
"Yeah."
As she watched the four huntresses walk away she couldn't help but worry about those others watching William's rampage.
/-/
"You see Ozpin, the second things get bad for him he goes on a rampage." Stated the tall man with the white jacket.
The grey-haired man sitting at his desk only raised an eyebrow, "James, I'm not sure what you saw during our meeting with Mr. Beorthwulf, but what I saw was you accusing him of murder with only circumstantial evidence followed by baseless accusations and even suggesting that he poses a danger to everyone he cares about." He said calmly taking a sip of his mug. "As I'm sure your well aware, being a headmaster yourself, that though we train them to be the next protectors of the world, they are still children. Children, generally, when confronted with such things either break down crying or lash out in anger. While Mr. Beorthwulf is indeed a special case, he is still only sixteen- a year younger than most first years. For him to be able to direct that anger in a safe direction shows a good deal of control. Unlike a certain someone at that age." Ozpin smirked taking another sip.
Oh the general knew who he was talking about, "I only punched my old headmaster because he refused to acknowledge that his actions were incorrect and that he blamed me for the mission's failure." The cyborg defended.
Thinking his eyebrow might start to remain crooked, "And you don't see the similarities between the two situations?"
"I don't follow."
"Of course not."
/-/
It had been some time before William's anger waned. Anger undoubtedly made his transformations stronger, but the more intense a flame burns the faster it goes out. It would have been safe to say he had already wiped out several dozen Grimm, which by itself was something even some professional huntsmen would be unable to accomplish, however unlike his last rampage in which he was constantly resupplying his Grimm- and stamina- William had been carelessly burning through his Grimm supply.
Naturally, this was only the beginning of his problems. In addition to feeding his inner Grimm with his anger, his anger was drawing in every creature of Grimm within range of him while he idiotically stopped moving around and cornered himself in a small ravine.
Funny how the second he got control of himself was literally the moment he was surrounded by horrible monsters wanting to kill him -with his back against the wall no less.
Typical.
"Okay then," He sighed. He was tired and wanted to just go to sleep.
Fat chance of that happening now.
"Let's do this!" He charged at the beasts taking on the humanoid Beowulf mantle he'd became known for.
William knew he didn't have much in the way of reserves so strategy and guile were the deciding factors here. He used the narrow entrance to the ravine to his advantage, luring them in and getting them stuck in the passage. Watching the mindless mass of claws and death struggle and grind into one another just to kill him before reversing the role with a calculated claw slash to the vital spots and setting of the world's coolest, and spikiest, game of dominos.
It was when he pushed a large Ursa back onto a Beowulf piercing and crushing it that he noticed something. No that wasn't it…The entire time William couldn't help but think his body felt lighter than usual. It might have just been adrenaline, but he didn't think so. Something had changed. By all accounts, he should have been ready to keel over at any moment. He didn't even have enough time to eat any Grimm as he was too busy attacking and retreating. Yet he would have sworn there was even a little pep in his step. He wasn't sure why, but it felt…right.
These thoughts quickly disappeared as he had to fend off a car-sized Deathstalker before grabbing it by the tail and, with a little bit of trial and error, using it as an impromptu flail. A surprisingly good one at that.
He used his new weapon to knock down some nearby rocks shattered some Grimm skulls before it disintegrated from excessive damage.
Despite his plan working, he did not make it through each confrontation unharmed. With wave after wave of fangs and claws crashing towards him, it was inevitable. Each exchange left both sides worse for wear. William came ahead in terms of damage, but only because of his terrain. And even then, that had become a battle of attrition.
His plan worked for a little while at least, but for every Grimm slain, three more seemed materialized out of thin air pushing further against the entrance. Forcing their way against the entry, enlarging it and allowing more Grimm to flood in. All while driving him back further despite the little room he had to retreat to.
Before he even had a chance to consider a new plan, there was only a few feet to move with a mountain of claws and fangs bearing down on him, shredding into his Grimm form. His Beowulf form absorbed some of the damage, but there is only so much it could take. Each bite and slash added to the symphony of murder and death he was being subjected to as he futilely tried to fend the hoard off. He honestly would have rather been tossed into the world's largest blender and put on puree.
"ENOUGH!" William roared feeling his lungs about to burst at the sheer force of his shout. Crouching down, abandoning his defense allowing whatever damage to come, he gathered all his strength. He took a deep breath and forced his claws into the dirt conjuring forth a single massive release of countless rows of jagged bone spikes flowered from in front of the Were-Grimm stopping the claws inches from his face.
Cries of pain and agony could be heard back in Beacon. The dozens of Grimm surrounding him were shredded into oblivion. Any part of them that wasn't immediately eviscerated were sent flying.
William fell to his knees. He couldn't even begin to think about smiling with relief. Not for a second. He finally felt what his body was supposed to feel. exhausted. It was as if his strength had gone from max to zero in an instant. Though, looking at the giant wall of spikes, that isn't so unbelievable.
Every heavy pant as he desperately fought to refill his burning lungs with much-needed oxygen was accompanied with an agonizing sharp pain from his body.
He slouched down to the ground as his Grimm cloak evaporated revealing his body was covered in cuts and bruises. Just barely within his field of vision, he saw what remained of his left arm. It was amazing that his Grimm powers had at least managed to stop the bleeding before giving up on healing completely. He wasn't even sure when it had become so mangled. More than that, he could feel he had a few broken bones and probably a concussion…or ten. There was probably more damage to his internal organs than to his outsides.
He was going to need to sleep this one off.
The Were-Grimm had spent a decade in a constant fight for survival. There were always those near-death fights. times where he had survived by just a hair's breadth. But, this…this was the worst that had come. He had never gotten himself into such a situation.
Feeling a little strength return he managed to sit up a little.
His uniform reflected a just as bad state as he was in. Tattered to nothing but rags of tattered rags. He would need to replace it. Fortunately, Beacon offers free replacement uniforms. They apparently needed to, otherwise, some students would have gone bankrupt replacing their damaged uniforms.
Taking a page from Ruby's handbook he decided to look on the brighter side. Heh. I guess I am getting stronger. The battered huntsmen in training's mind snickered. Sparing on and off for a week with team RWBY really helped.
Before, he would have most likely been eaten alive. Granted, he almost was and a few pieces of him probably were. But he had become stronger. There was no lag for control. No forced activation. Nor loss of his senses. It was all him.
This was his power.
Just as the young faunus' breathing began to become, simi-regulated again, a monstrous roar erupted from the direction in front of him. Due to the obstruction of the spikes he summoned, William couldn't identify the source to any certain degree. But what he was certain of was that it was loud. He slammed his hands onto the ears on the side of his head, moving the left like it was asleep, as he forced his wolf ears to fold down as tightly as possible. Even then it felt as if every bone in his body was rattling due to the vibrations.
A long massive bone chain came barreling across from his left shattering the bone spikes like glass and sending the injured faunus spiraling out of the ravine and through several small trees before ricocheting off a nearby rock formation. He came to a crashing stop as he collided right shoulder first with a hard stone. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" He screamed in agony.
Blood streamed down his forehead covering his right eye. Barely able to open is left, he saw it. The source of the sound climbing up to meet him. The terror of the Emerald Forest, the Feartalos.
During initiation, each year applying students are catapulted into the Emerald Forest to test their skills and to form teams. Despite being told that professors, though observing, will not interfere, more than a few professors have broken this rule to save students if the up and coming huntsmen were unlucky enough to be cornered by the Feartalos. It was too strong for someone fresh from a prep school student to even hope of dealing with.
It wasn't that it was too strong for them, but served as a reminder that some creatures of Grimm were even beyond that of the greatest of huntsmen and thus could continue to exist to test applicants threat assessment abilities and strategic planning. In short, it was to see if students could grasp the difference in ability and see if they could run away.
The Pangolin shaped monster was covered in rows of bone-like armor capable of withstanding a barrage of anti-tank missiles without a scratch. At first glance, it looked like a heavily armored Ursa Major, minus the spikes on its back and with three-foot-long claws. Though its most dangerous feature is without a doubt, is its tail. More than three times its body length and covered with incremental bone plating and jagged spikes it was the whip from a huntsmen's worst nightmares. The body was slow, but its tail's attack speed and precision were said to be able to cleanly decapitate a fly from twenty feet away.
Now a badly injured William was being stared down by the creature of Grimm that is singlehandedly responsible for more deaths than all other Grimm in the Emerald Forest combined.
All his experiences in fighting stronger opponents told him that if he didn't run he was going to die.
It was his decision to break eye contact to look for an escape route that sealed his fate. In the instance, his eyes left the embodiment of armor and bereavement loaming in front of him, William saw blood spirt from his mouth.
Out of instinct, he turned his eyes down towards his front to see the Feartalos' tail going through is abdomen to the destroyed rock behind him.
W…When did that happen. His mind could only shakily construct.
It was in the next moment that the immeasurable pain burst throughout his body. The damage he had already taken from the wave of Grimm and the Feartalos' first strike was compounded by the thousands as the creature began to slowly withdraw its tail. Each slight movement of the tail caused William to wail in torturous distress as more of his blood would spurt from his body.
It continued to slowly retract its tail. Each inch taking what felt like an eon followed by an eon's worth of torturous agony.
Why… why won't it just end it? William tried to ask only for his mouth not to work. He could taste the copious amount of blood pooling in it. For whatever reason seeming unable to even control his jaw to release it. As such after every couple of slow movements of the Feartalos' tail would cause a little of his blood to trickle from his mouth onto it. it was the world's cruelest hourglass.
As another one of its spikes finally ripped from his body William understood. It's doing this on purpose. The Grimm isn't just simple-minded. It has learned. For all the years it was supposed to have lived, it wasn't just intelligent… it was cruel.
….
Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes…. weeks… months….
It was weird, his blood was so warm, but with the tail, a fifth of the way still to go, all the warmth was replaced with a cold icy emptiness. He no longer felt any pain. Or anything else for that matter.
He could no longer see, hear, smell… all his senses were gone.
He was empty.
Well, that wasn't entirely true, he was a little hungry.
What was he doing here?... Where was here? ...Why was he so tired?
*A few moments earlier*
"Ozpin! we have to save him!" The young man's surrogate mother shouted over her scroll as she sped towards the forest.
The man in the white suit motioned to say something, but the shorter grey-haired man held up his cane to stop his hand, "Go, I'll call Peter and Bart to assist you." He stated calmly but loudly moving to the scroll on his desk that they had only just moments ago been viewing William's battles.
The iron general moved to say something, "Oz-"
"-No James. Despite what you believe about William, he is still one of Beacon's students and as such we will do all we can for him."
"But-"
"-No buts!", Ozpin cut off again. "If anything happens to him, I will hold you directly accountable. You have not only overstepped your bounds for the umptieth time but also endangered my students as well as your own and others from the Vaccuo and Mistral. This will not stand." He said dialing a number.
/-/
His world had unknowingly become a soothing darkness. No sight, smell, or sound. Just an empty tranquility.
That is until a small ball of white light came into existence. Than another, and another. Before he knew it, there were countless balls of light peppering all in his line of sight. Suddenly the balls of light began erupting just as suddenly as they appeared.
In the next instance, he was in the same field he had been in. The Feartalos was gone and William's body and uniform were as they were early this morning.
Looking around it appeared to be just after sunset. Trying to stand in his confused state, he quickly plummeted to the ground as he felt his stomach grumble. This time there was no pain, but he could only lift his head. The rest of his body refused to respond to his commands.
"You know", a voice sounded from behind William. The voice was definitely a masculine voice. It also seemed familiar, but William couldn't place it. "Things always comes back to this…"
"…well, at least for you." The voice continued as William detected the sounds of footprints walking up behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw who was speaking.
The sight alone made him shake with rage.
Walking slowly into his field of vision was the man he swore to one day kill. The man he had secretly hoped to be able to kill, Vipera douleur!
During one of their many discussions Ms. Goodwitch had asked William what his thoughts of Feign Village and that, for the time being at least, they had to keep quiet about their practices- or risk losing one of the few symbols of 'peaceful' cohabitation between humans and faunus.
Naturally, however, he lied. He told her that he did not bare as great a grudge as those that he sensed she feared he did. Though if he was being honest, it would be more accurate to say he didn't hate the village entirely. After a decade of sensing their repressed negative emotions, all he could truly feel towards them is pity for their own self-imposed torture. However, that isn't to say there wasn't one person among them that William deeply desired revenge on. Whether it had been chasing him through town, setting his home on fire with him and his mother in it, the way he smiled as his sword exited Dawn Beorthwulf's chest was etched forever into William's mind, -or any of the times prior to that day the villages only full-time "huntsmen" took time out of his busy day of drinking to trip and harass a little half-breed wolf faunus- William truly hated that man.
It was him, no mistake. William would never forget that gray spotted brown coat, the golden cutlass on his right hip, and those soulless dark purple eyes showing through that rat's nest of blonde hair.
He didn't know how or why- nor did it really matter to him- but he didn't care. His chance for revenge was standing only a few feet before him. All these years of wanting to repay that monster for what he did to his mother. It was all going to end NOW!
…. or so he thought.
William tried with all his might to lunge at the monster in human skin before him. However, like before, his body refused to listen. At the same time, he felt his gut rumble even louder. But again, he ignored it.
"William…William", The 'huntsmen' tried to get the paralyzed faunus' attention. "Oh, now there are those eyes of yours." He commented smirking at the glaring William. "They are the same eyes as your mother when I killed her."
"Though, the pink hair is a nice touch." He chuckled.
William's eyes burst glowing scarlet, "YOU MONSTER!"
The Were-Grimm struggled with all his might, but his body just would not budge. It was as if his limbs were nailed to the ground with rail stakes.
The evil bastard standing in front of him snickered, "Always so helpless." He grinned.
"I'm not helpless. I survived the Valley of Grimm. I survived Ironwood's soldiers, huntsmen, and bounty hunters by the dozens! Compared to that your just another notch on my claws!" William spat back with as much poison in his words as he could muster. Trying to suppress the roar of his monstrous gut giving its best imitation of a hungry Ursa.
His smirk turned to a frown. "You only have yourself to blame. You like to think you have friends, but they're just your toys. Things to make you feel better."
"That's not true! They are my friends!"
"Don't fucking kid yourself! You didn't even try to talk to them. You just ran off on a temper tantrum and got yourself killed."
Killed?!
"They aren't your friends. No, to you they're just an emotional booty call for you to dump your weepy load into." he chuckled moving in front of him.
As eloquent as ever.
In truth that probably WAS the most eloquent- sober- thing William had ever heard the man say in his entire life.
"Now go to sleep." He raised his sword to bring it down.
"NO!" William roared as his world was ripped asunder into a lightless abyss.
/-/
"W…ll…m! St..y…w…me! Please…ke up…!"
No doubt the voice was feminine, but he couldn't place it.
The static of sounds around him were faint. Only phasing into existence for a second before he could identify them before fading back into the void.
He wasn't sure but he felt like he was moving.
"Han….in th…" the sounds faded in and out again.
Despite his weakened efforts, he didn't really feel like listening. He was too tired. The heavy ball and chain dragging him quickly into the abyss.
He could just deal with it when he woke up.
/-/
William slowly woke up to the distinct smell of the nurse's office ointment cream and the nurse's favorite sauerkraut. It must be during or just past dinner time.
Would it kill her to invest in an air freshen-? He thought before his head started splitting more than the time he heard Cardin singing in the shower.
"William, are you okay?" a figure asked sniveling as they wrapped their arms around him.
His vision was still incredibly blurry, but he'd know this scent anywhere, it had to be her. There was no other possibility.
"Neo?" He asked weakly.
"What?" or he could always be wrong.
"No William it's me Ms. Goodwitch."
"Who is Neo?"
Coming into focus he began to realize his folly. "No one, sorry, I guess I'm a little out of it." He tried to wave it off.
"What happened?" He asked both out of genuine curiosity and to change the topic.
His guardian released him to look him directly in the eye. He could tell she had been crying. The area around her eyes were red and puffy. As for her eyes themselves, the spoke volumes of fear, sadness, regret, anger, and concern.
As his faculties fully returned, he sensed that he had truly worried her. Feeling her dread was over and consume him like a tsunami.
She put a hand on each of his shoulders keeping him in place, "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" His guardian's voice shook the room. Or it may have just been him.
"I was so worried. I know you were angry and I wanted you to calm down. It was my mistake to let things get this far, but if you are ever troubled by something I want you to know that you can talk to me. No matter the situation, I will always be on your side." She begged fresh tears flowing the corners of her eyes.
As his dark blue eyes met her normally stern and unbreakable green emeralds now turned fragile as glass. This sight alone drove a pang of guilt like a gun-scythe through his heart. There was nothing else he could say. "I am sorry. I will if I am ever in trouble." He hugged her tightly.
Neither noticed Yang slip into the nurse's office. The blonde pugilist turned the corner of the short hallway leading into the nurse's office and saw that they were having a moment and went to silently fall back before backing into the nurse's desk loudly knocking down the nurse's various bobbleheads.
"Eep." She yelped as the two sets of eyes were glued to her.
"Well, I bobbled that one." She gave an awkward double thumbs up.
Before either of the two could even begin on how bad that was, Blake walked in with the rest of her team. "We heard Yang make a bad pun so everything is okay, right?"
"Hey, I don't make bad puns, I make comedy gold." She gestured to her hair.
As her team dragged their hands down from their facepalm they turned back towards William who was still hugging Ms. Goodwitch.
"Are you doing okay?" Ruby was the first to ask.
"Or do you two still need a moment." Yang offered.
Blushing the two separated immediately.
"I-I'm fine. Just a little sore." He answered testing the movements of his arms. There was a dull pain, but his body had already miraculously healed, for the most part.
"What time is it though?" He asked looking for a clock.
Pretending to clean her glasses as a means to distract from her flushed face, "It is six forty."
"At least it wasn't as bad as last time." He sighed.
Weiss, Blake, and especially professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow. "That is something I was wondering about." She returned her glasses to their natural place.
"Before you couldn't withstand a barrage from students and teachers. Yet this time you've slain several dozens of Grimm in numerous waves that would have been the end of many others!"
Her emotions were showing more than before. Even the non-Were-Grimms in the room could perceive her concern mixed with anger and sprinkled with sorrow.
Seeing the other's reactions, she sat up straight as a means to regain some of her composure. "You mentioned that the amount of Grimm you've consumed play a significant part, but even that doesn't seem to account for everything."
"I agree," Weiss added. "And what exactly were you thinking, anyway? We were worried sick?"
Somehow Weiss being the voice of worry made it seem all the worse than it had been.
"I'm sorry Weiss…Ruby, Yang, Blake," He went across the faces before him, "And again I'm sorry Ms. Goodwitch." He apologized as his wolf ears drooped a little.
"You guys were right. I should have just talked to you." He breathed heavily. His throat was still sore from earlier. "Maybe if I did, then things wouldn't have ended with me nearly dying."
"I should hope so." His guardian stated returning to her iconic disciplinarian state. "I never want to see you act like that again." She warned. It was harsh, but he could tell there was only an honest rage behind it.
"Returning to the question at hand Mr. Beorthwulf," Oh crap she only calls me that when I'm in trouble. "What caused you to be so reckless in the first place?"
"Well…you see", -sigh- "I've told you how other people's negative emotions affect me but have I ever told you about how my own emotions affect me?"
"Not in any great detail."
"That's because I was always afraid general Ironwood would try and lead me into getting emotional and triggering a transformation. I figured if I kept the information about it to a minimum, then there wasn't much he could do."
His mother figure placed a hand on his shoulder. Placing his hand on top of hers seemed to comfort him. "You know you can trust me." She turned to his team, "And I'm not alone." She smiled towards team RWBY who mirrored the action.
A small smirk appeared on the Pinkett's face, "Negative emotions of others give me headaches and can make my Grimm harder to control, but my own negative emotions are a self-feeding fire. The angrier I get the more control over my Grimm powers I lose and the more vicious I become."
"I've always tried to control myself, but this time… this time I just lost it. I wasn't me. I wasn't a Grimm. I was something in between."
"Don't worry about it too much." The heiress comforted. "Yang does that a couple of times a month."
"Hey Weiss-cream, I take offense to that."
"But it is true." Ruby piped up.
Yang just pulled her sister's hood over her head.
"What do you guys say we stop talking about all this depressing stuff and get to the festivities started."
"Festivities?" William's eyebrow crooked.
"The fireworks of course."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."
"I'll get everything ready." Yang proclaimed. "You guys meet me on the roof in ten minutes." She said fleeing the room before Ms. Goodwitch could protest. At least in normal circumstance. The older huntress had an emotional day and had no energy for anymore. So, she just let it go. Any damages or wrongdoings could be made up in detention later.
William looked around, "that's great and all, but I don't have anything to wear with me." He said feeling the opening in the back of his patient outfit. Thankfully it seems his boxers were still intact.
"Oh, I brought you a spare uniform." Ms. Goodwitch said reaching over to a table and handing a neatly folded uniform to him. "Your shoes are under the bed.
"Thank you."
It was when she handed him the uniform and their fingers touched that she let her guard slip and William sensed that she had something she needed to talk with him about.
"You guys go on to the roof, I'll be there in a moment," William told his teammates.
The girls shared a look and the nodded as they exited the room. Even Ruby could have read the mood on this one.
"You can join us, you know that right?"
"I know, and I would love to. However, as Deputy Headmistress, I need to be at the ceremony."
"Sounds fun."
"You have no idea." She said flatly earning a chuckle from them both.
"Now, why did you want to be alone." He inquired taking on a more serious tone.
If this was their first meeting she might have been caught off guard, but at this point, she had come to expect William to pick up on these kinds of things.
"When we were talking in Ozpin's office, I couldn't make it all out, but you seemed to think I wasn't fully honest with you or that I was manipulating you." He continued.
"I won't deny that I was given some advice along those lines, but I was imprudent to believe it. I promise you that I won't doubt you like that again."
It may have been his diminished Grimm supply, but William couldn't get a clear read on her emotions. There was relief, doubt, self-regret, and some other emotions he couldn't quite read. However, he could also tell that while she did care, she was still lying.
"I know, I trust you." He lied, hugging her.
"Thank you." She smiled standing up. "Now you go be with your team. I have to make sure professor Port doesn't set the stage on fire, again."
"But what about me needing to be under surveillance by a teacher?"
"Do not worry. Just for tonight, I can arrange it." She smiled.
William took on a more deadpan expression, "What the general doesn't know, won't hurt him?" He guessed.
"Of course not. You'll be in helping doctor Oobleck remotely launch the pyrotechnics all night." She winked.
He had guessed correctly.
He got himself up, she left and he got dressed.
As he was about to exit the room his scroll dinged from receiving a text. It was Neo.
I heard what happened.
If you need to talk, my door is always open.
-Neo
William wasn't sure why he typed what he did, but he had no way of knowing how one little innocuous text message could change the entire course of his life.
He exited the nurse's office, hugged Ms. Goodwitch, who had been waiting outside, one last time and the two went their separate way.
/-/
Ruby was practically bobbing up and down with excitement, "I can't believe it's finally here. We can show the world what we're made of." She pumped her fist in the air. "These last three weeks have dragged on forever."
"Three weeks? Try two years. I'd thought I'd have turned to dust by this point." The wolf faunus kidded.
The walked- Ruby walked/hopped with excitement- in somewhat awkward silence for a little bit before William spoke up again, "So…remind me why Yang wanted us to meet on the roof?" he asked as the stepped out onto the roof itself.
"Well…" The blonde brawler in question began stepping out from behind the entrance, "I was thinking we could have our own little celebration in addition to the fireworks." She said setting a Ruby-sized firecracker on its stand.
"Why do you even have that?" he asked taking a few steps back.
Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Hey, isn't that the firecracker you wanted to use at the school dance?"
"Yeah, but Weissy here, didn't want me to." She pointed with her thumb over her solder as she moved to the center of the roof.
"You were planning to shoot it off INSIDE of the cafeteria!" The heiress scolded.
"Blah, blah, blah. Let's hurry up and light this sucker." Yang gestured with her hand before reaching into her pocket for a lighter.
"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous to use a firecracker after such a long time. I mean you've kept it in the closet this whole time; are we sure it's still good?"
Yang bent down and lit the fuse, "Relax Ice Queen, what's the worst that could happen?" She said before the cardboard on one side gave out and it toppled over.
William having been distracted by the freezer burned pair's discussion suddenly realized there was a massive firecracker pointed directly at him.
"Oh, shit." He said flatly before a huge fireball came hurdling towards him knocking him over the railings and off the roof and…into the barrel of one of the fireworks cannons that were about to be used in the fireworks display.
Before William couldn't even pull himself out, he suddenly heard a small rumble before he has jettisoned into the sky yet again on another even larger giant fireball. This time, however, he burst into a display depicting a giant Beowulf in the sky.
"Huh, so shoot William with a firecracker and he explodes into a picture of a Beowulf… that is so…COOL!" Ruby cheered.
"-I mean… oh no." she tried to force in an overdramatic overcompensation. In all honesty, she was concerned for William, but when you see someone regrow their limbs and organs like it's nothing, it is kind of hard to take them getting hurt seriously in these kinds of situations.
Weiss turned towards the red reaper with a look of pure bewilderment, "You really don't know a lot about how fireworks actually work do you?"
"Nope, but I know they look cool." She smiled.
"You okay?" Yang shouted the smoldering body of William.
He only gave her a lewd hand gesture.
"He's okay."
The ceremony was now over. Tomorrow sixteen of the thirty-two teams would do battle to claim their right to stand at the top. A battle for up and coming huntsmen and huntresses who have proven themselves time and again in the heated forge of battle to become the glowing symbols of hope of tomorrow.
Or at least that was what the flyer said. In truth, many were just going to fight their best so they aren't the guys knocked out on the first day.
Though those that lost on the first day still might feel very blessed compared to William, still trying to scrap himself off Beacon's tower wall.
Oh, he was going to make Yang pay. Probably with a pixie cut in her sleep.
Yet fate will prove that things can always get MUCH worse.
*In the Emerald Forest*
The stand mounted lights burst on illuminating the darkened section of forest. A perimeter was formed of various equipment, individuals in lab coats, and a few contracted huntsmen monitoring the outer perimeter.
In the center of the scene, surrounded by yellow caution tape, was a mass of black flesh and ivory bones. The beast, or what was left of it, had been mauled to pieces. The impenetrable armored hide was shattered into pieces, limbs crushed and dismembered, and the creatures iconic tail now lay in pieces- several sections gone forever.
Three people crossed under the tape.
A short, portly, balding man with a plum-colored tie and a white lab coat with black pants with a pen and clipboard lead the way.
Bringing up the rear were two young men, both taller than him, but approaching the carcass stalled and hesitantly compared to the professor's calm stroll.
"I-Is this really the Deathtalos?" one of the interns asked slightly shaking from the intimidating presence the slain beast still had.
The short man just chuckled, "What's left of one."
"W-who or what did this?"
"Be grateful," He smiled, "the young man who did this is on our side."
"A-Are you saying a student did this?!" the two almost jumped out of their clothes.
"Yes."
"-And that was after slaying dozens of Grimm."
He turned to the interns grinning, "That young man may-no WILL- change how we view Grimm. Even if he doesn't even know it."
That ending wasn't foreboding in the slightest. Ha Ha Ha... Wow, it's finally here; The Vytal Festival. Damn it took a long time to get here- two years and some change-, but it was worth it. Okay, a few of you are probably wondering why William seems different. Well, the answer is he's always been a little dark, but until last chapter, you only got a glimpse here and there. Now that the Were-Grimms out of the bag I say, "fuck it" and now you get more of his darker side. This will come into play later on, especially now that Ms. Goodwitch (William's surrogate mother) has proven to him she doesn't trust him. Then there is what happened in the cafeteria, the text message, and of course his near-death experience. I wonder if William was right and I truly enjoy torturing him. Probably. But hey, at least he has his team…for now.
Also, did I give Ruby the power to break the fourth wall?
The answer is yes. Let the terror reign.
Let's hope this volume gets everyone pumped….And that I'll stop being too cheap to pay to view RWBY the day it is release.
Fat Chance.
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Good night !