Surprise! It's Umber! This chapter is about 95% of my friend's own imput, which I changed a bit, but the general idea was his. So thank him... if you know his name! Cheers and enjoy.
Within the darkness, rubble and rusted steel, was movement. Slowly, a large block of concrete was lifted and thrown to the side. Then Umber stood up, gently moving his shoulder in circles. He paused to look around, curious eyes behind the black mask. The old train tunnel to Mount Glenn, abandoned after the Grimm attack. Umber looked straight up and saw that it was dawn, with the hints of daylight coming through the clouds. That also meant that the soldiers would come back, he would need to keep moving.
Umber slid down the pile of rubble caused by that maniac Auxiliary, then after finding his discarded cane on the ground, began his trek down the endless tunnel. As he walked, he examined his clothes and cane. His suit was slightly torn, covered in dust and was now an unbearable eyesore. Umber's cane was next under his eye, he nodded with approval as the cane showed no signs of damage. Unfortunately he also knew that his Aura was all but gone, a necessary sacrifice for survival. When, or if, he found a quiet space he would go about regenerating it.
Umber's trek was silent, only his shoes clattering and cane tapping on the old concrete gave any noise. He twirled his cane for awhile, bored as he walked. Finally, after twenty minutes of walking aimlessly, the tunnel expanded into a massive cavern. Umber paused as he looked around, at the old buildings and destroyed train. He walked towards it. The old machine was torn to bits, with massive dents in the engine and the wheels laying at least five feet away from where they should be.
"Destroyed. Scavengers?" Umber asked himself, tapping the side of the train with his cane. He stopped when his eyes landed on a pile of masks on the ground, White Fang masks. "Strange, White Fang in this place. For what purpose?" He hummed and continued on, exploring the underground ruins. He came across a few bullet casings, when he examined it he found it made of brass. "Abandoned." Umber hissed, pocketing the casings and turning around and spotting a large ramp going up into the wall of the cavern. Umber jogged over and made his way up the ramp, finally free from the underground.
His head hit something metal, causing him to grunt. Umber reached up and shoved the cover aside, clambering out. Umber's eyes widened behind his mask as he saw the charred destruction around him, the blackened truck and ashen bodies. Umber saw the melted masks of the White Fang scattered about, but he also saw one made of brass on a corpse within the truck. Just like those who wore their attire in the Abandoned. Umber took the mask and pocketed it too, grimacing when he felt black flesh pull against his hand
"Apologies." Was the quiet word given to the corpses he had disturbed, then Umber left the destroyed building and entered the ruined town above ground. His cane was ready for combat, just because Vale got attacked by a horde of Grimm doesn't mean there isn't any stragglers. Umber heard a growl and ducked, swinging his cane up and bashing the Beowolf's jaw. "Damned Grimm. Hungry, greedy." Umber stated coldly and stood up, turning and looking at the four beasts behind him.
Two more Beowolves barked and leapt at the young man, who twirled and smashed their chests in with quick jabs from his cane. The next barrelled into his chest, knocking him on his back. The Grimm snapped at Umber's face, but the boy turned his head and the jaws bit thin air. Umber swung his cane over the Beowolf's neck, then spun around and onto the beast's back. The Grimm snarled and reared back, with the boy forcing the cane against the Grimm's throat. Finally Umber heard a crack and released the beast, allowing the corpse to fall limply. His eyes narrowed as they landed on the last Grimm.
The Beowolf snarled and snapped, charging at Umber. Then a large axe swung low and sliced the beast's head clean off, the body skidding to a stop at Umber's feet. The dapper teen looked at his saviour, then felt a heavy object slam into his head. The last thing he saw, was a horned man wearing a White Fang mask.
Umber awoke to the sounds of a dull hum, talking and slashes of water. He slowly raised his head, only slightly, but enough to see his surroundings. He was in a Bullhead, surrounded by three White Fang members, in the middle of the ocean. Wonderful. Umber was glad to feel his mask still attached to his head, but not so glad to have a bag over his head. The dapper teen chose to remain quiet to get any information before being noticed.
"Why are we even bothering with this guy? Let's just kill him and throw him overboard." One of the grunts said and pointed out the open door, glaring at another.
"Because Adam, as stupid as he is, ordered us to." The other one responded, sounding tired. He sat on the seats in front of Umber, his posture slumped.
"Can it, the two of you." A deep voice ordered, the third of the White Fang. He was a massive man, with goat's horns on his head. "Our sleeping beauty is awake." He grunted and tore the bag off Umber's head, grinning down at boy. "Gidday. I'm Bruce, I've got a few questions that you will answer." The man knelt down to Umber's level, still smirking. "Got it?"
"Yes sir." Umber answered, causing the man to laugh.
"Either he's a lousy hunter that's giving up, or he is just a pompous little shit." He crackled, then looked back at Umber. "I like you, so I'm gonna be nice. What, in the fuck, happened in Vale?" Umber took a moment to sigh, then began.
"The Abandoned. Burned, killed, took the city. My friends, dead by their hands, the other huntsmen. Captured." Umber answered in his unusual way of speaking. "Slaughtered White Fang, Atlesian soldiers, human and faunus alike. They say they are there for peace, so they left those who opposed them in pieces." Umber finished with a dry laugh. Bruce looked both annoyed and terrified of the boy's story, then he stood slowly and looked at the standing grunt.
"Get the other one." He murmured and then looked back at the masked teen. "You could be speaking lies, I don't know. Adam will continue this conversation." Bruce stated, unfortunately, Umber had different ideas. His hand was already gripping a small blade, but he just needed to wait for the right time. The White Fang member stood and turned when his accomplice came back with another person, but Umber didn't see them before he leapt forwards and slammed his knife into the throat of Bruce.
"Wha-" The seated grunt started to stand, so Umber threw Bruce at the man and charged at the standing grunt. The man had thrown his prisoner down and drawn a pistol, aiming at Umber's face. The faunus fired with a smirk, a bullet flew and smashed into the lower part of Umber's mask and shattered it. Then the dapper teen tore the gun from the grunt's hands and shoved the man out of the airship. Umber leaned to the side and aimed through the door to the cockpit, he spotted the controls and fired three shots.
The control panel exploded and the pilots cried out, then the airship dropped right into the ocean. Umber grunted as they hit the water, then inhaled deeply. His mask might've had the power to be a good rebreather, but that crack ruined the system. Umber started to swim out, but saw the other prisoner. His internal moral code had spoken, he quickly wrapped an arm around the person and started to swim out. Umber broke the surface of the water and gasped, turning around wildly to look for any nearby land. He spotted it, an island not too far away.
"Come on, can't have you dying out here." Umber muttered and dragged both himself and the person he was holding towards the island, though he didn't see, two handles were also getting dragged by the person's arm. Umber's struggle was finally over as he reached the shoreline, pulling himself to his feet and dragging the soaked person to the sandy beach. He would've smiled, saving an innocent and all that, but his friend wasn't exactly breathing. "Oh, hell no." Umber grunted and tore the bag off the girl's face, then placed both hands over her chest and pushed sharply, CPR training might actually pay off for the teen. He pressed again and the girl spluttered back to the land of the living, coughing out water and going still, but now breathing.
Umber felt proud, he stood back and his foot bumped something. He looked down and saw both his cane, and a pink, white and black parasol. He raised an eyebrow from behind his mask and looked over to the girl he had saved, taking the chance to actually examine her... not in that way, you fucking creeps-
The girl was tiny, at least five foot or maybe smaller. She had pink and brown hair, with bits of white among the pink, obviously dyed. Her attire was comprised of what was basically a white crop top mixed with a jacket that had a pink interior with a brown corset underneath that slightly showed off her hips. Around her neck were a few bead necklaces. She wore brown pants on her legs and white boots, with abnormally high heels. The whole colour scheme reminded Umber of neapolitan ice cream, was that her theme?
Umber stood tall and looked towards the forest nearby, then back to the girl. "Cold air, water clogged, not a good combination." Umber muttered, gently picking the girl up and throwing her over his shoulder, but not before grabbing both weapons with his other hand. The dapper teen then started off towards the forest, not a single destination in mind.
Umber pushed through the bush and found himself on a trail, not a game trail but one for constant use. Umber took the chance to put his little friend down, then stood on the path looking backwards a forwards. He frowned behind his mask, one way would lead to civilisation but the other? Umber decided to do something that usually, half the time, worked. He raised a finger and pointed down the path on his left.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." Umber started and flicked his hand to his left and right on every word, after saying the little rhyme, his finger landed on his left. Umber chuckled to himself at the sheer stupidity of risking life on a simple rhyme, then picked the girl up and continued on his way. The walk was quiet, peaceful, unlike the events of the past few days. Umber knew that this wasn't for him, that the streets were more understandable than this. While the teen thought to himself, his little friend opened her eyes. Suddenly Umber fell to his knees, a pain in his back.
Neo leapt out of Umber's grasp and angrily glared at the teen, who turned with narrowed but hidden eyes. Umber held his ground, towering over Neo. The girl's eyes flickered to the parasol in Umber's hand, then back to his mask.
"Don't." Umber warned, raising a hand. "You are injured, this won't end well." Neo paused, apparently taking his warning. Then she sprinted into the woods, away from Umber. The dapper teen moved to follow after, but hissed in pain as the blade in his back was shifted. "Damnit, girl." He muttered as he pulled a bundle of bandages from his suit, slightly moist but it was all he had. Umber knew what he was going do was going to both ruin his suit more, and hurt like hell. He reached up and tore the blade out, then took his jacket off before bandaging around his torso. "Trying to help, get stabbed in the back." Umber continued to grumble, finishing his wrappings and gently slipping into his jacket again. Then he looked up and pointed into the woods. "A ruined jacket, is still a dapper jacket!" He barked then picked up both weapons and continued on his way, angrily now.
Neo was watching the man walk away with curiosity. She awoke in his arms, stabbed him with her trusty backup knife, ran away... and all he did was complain? Neo turned to leave, but hesitated. She had no clue where she was, or how she got here. Then Roman would look... for... her. No, he wouldn't. He was dead. Neo felt emptiness, with Roman gone, what could she do? Then the strange teen flashed into her mind, she pondered the idea then sighed. Neo took off after the boy, sticking to the trees and stalking out of sight.
Umber hummed a little tune, something to keep him occupied from turning around and pointing out his little friend. He twirled the two weapons in his right hand, switching the umbrella to his left and using his trusty cane to look extra dapper. The boy felt a breeze on his chin, surprising him.
"Broken?" Umber murmured and felt around the lower part of his mask, finding a decently large crack over his chin. "Lucky shot." He chuckled, feeling over the exposed skin, over the scar that ran from further up his mask and down to his chin. Umber turned and saw a flash of white, a grin reaching his lips. "You follow, even after injuring me? Perhaps to finish your prey, or for sanctuary?" Umber spoke loudly, waiting for a minute for the girl to appear again. Neo stubbornly remained hidden, so Umber turned and continued on his way.
This little game continued for a few more minutes before Umber stopped and turned off, into the forest. Neo quickly rushed to get the boy in her sights again, only to stumble to a stop and hide when the teen appeared with a bundle of wood. The dapper teen sat himself down in the middle of the path, dropping the sticks and placing both weapons next to his knee. Umber then used two sticks, through the power of friction, to ignite the wood.
"Come, rest for a moment. Regain your strength before stalking me again. Perhaps, talk for awhile?" Umber asked calmly and loudly, using the fire to dry his clothes if not a little. Neo hesitated, thinking about stealing her parasol and killing the man, then sighed silently and walked over to Umber. The girl stood opposite Umber, staring down at him with narrowed eyes. The dapper teen just stared into the fire, ignoring the girl until she sat down. "Umber Iwashita, your name?" Umber asked, Neo moved to pull out her scroll only to pause in realisation. She internally shrugged and decided to hazard sign language, maybe he would know it?
"Neopolitan, or Neo for short." Neo signed, Umber hummed.
"Neo, no surprise, from your outfit." Umber said and Neo looked surprised, Umber noticed.
"You understand sign?" Neo asked and the dapper teen nodded.
"The streets and libraries, hold many tongues. Learning took time, necessary to survive." Umber said poetically, in his usual way. "Sign took longer to learn, Latin more so." He stated, his tone going cold. Neo awkwardly looked down at the fire, then noticed her parasol. Umber saw her eyes and picked up the weapon, tossing it over to her.
"You know you just armed your enemy, right?" Neo asked, her eyes glinting in the fire. Umber nodded.
"We are in the same boat, you and I. Both in Vale, both ended up here. Fate perhaps?" Umber hummed and Neo scoffed silently. "Ignore it, if you wish. Denial, ignorance, both overshadowed by the truth." Umber stated, picking his own cane up and examining it. "You aren't a huntress, you are a criminal. You have an air about you, like me at one point." Umber spoke with a strange happiness, Neo nodded hesitantly. Umber saw the sadness in his little friend's eyes, feeling sympathetic. "We all lost allies. My entire team, gone in seconds... your loss?" He asked calmly, Neo glared at him.
"Why would you care?" She signed, scowl on her face
"Because I told you, and saved you from drowning." Umber answered, emotionless. Neo silent glare was meet with unseen anger, but she could feel it.
"My friend, Roman." Her eyes flickered to the black mask. "Roman Torchwick."
"A true criminal, would have respected him if I were younger." Umber hummed, looking into the embers of the fire. Neo frowned.
"You were a criminal? I thought huntsmen were all knights in shining armour?" She asked with a smug grin, Umber chuckled.
"A knight in shining armour, is a knight who has never had his metal tested." Umber stood up and towered over Neo, leaning on his cane. "Let's get moving, shall we?" He asked and offered his hand, Neo smirked and took it.
The unlikely pair wandered down the path, finding themselves in a deeper part of the woods. They remained silent, with only Neo giving occasional glances at Umber to check if he was going to backstab her. The sky above them was grey, cloudy but not yet raining. Neo had already popped her parasol up, protecting herself from the few gentle slashes of rain. Umber didn't move under Neo's umbrella, he just remained as he was.
Their peaceful walk was interrupted by loud thumping, then a roar. Neo turned first, but was slapped away by a massive black paw. Umber ducked under the Ursa's next swing and dashed around the beast. The Grimm swung its claws again and hit the teen's raised cane. Only to have its paws shoved aside, then feel a sharp pain through its jaw, then nothing. Umber yanked his rapier from the beast's jaw, then rushed over to Neo.
"No Aura, hard hit, no doubt internal damage." Umber mumbled as he knelt over Neo, her stomach growing an ugly purple bruise. Umber leaned down and tried to pick the girl up, only for her to smack him over the head. "As you wish." Umber muttered angrily and helped Neo up onto her feet. She took two steps before collapsing, luckily Umber caught her before she hit the ground.
"Fuck!" She signed and Umber chuckled, wrapping an arm under her own to help her walk.
"We need shelter, either a cave or a cabin." Umber stated, feeling the rain starting to pound on his arms and back. "Fast." He added, then the pair hobbled down the trail. Neo started to shiver first, her clothes drenched and her hair dragged down. Umber was only faired a bit better, but even his hair and clothes were completely soaked. "There." Umber yelled over the thundering rain, pointing his cane to a faint light in the distance. They walked faster, or at least as fast as Neo could manage.
The light was coming from a window of a small house, which to them seemed like a god send. Umber felt Neo buckle and grunted, holding her up as they circled around to the front of the house. Neo gritted her teeth through the pain as Umber leaned against the wooden structures and pounded on the door with his cane, the rain and thunder screaming in her ears. Their hopes were renewed when the door opened, but was quickly diminished for Neo.
"Please, we need help." Umber spoke to the busty blond, whose eyes turned red when they landed on Neo.
"You."
Well shit, looks like they found Tai and Yang. This is the beginning of another separate story arc, you could say. Umber and Neo, in their adventures! Anyway, next chapter is with the Abandoned and how they are dealing with Vale. Cheers for reading.