The wind whistled through an abandoned warehouse in the Vale shipping yards. This section of the shipping yards was normally inaccessible because of high concentrations of Grimm. Cinder Fall was surprised to see that none of her darling pets were nowhere to be seen. Her legions of precious Beowolves, Ursae, Creeps, Nevermore, and Boaratusk were all either cowering in the shadows or taking cover on the rooftops. "Have the creatures of Grimm grown soft on me?" She asked herself, "What could possibly be causing you all to act like this."
Cinder got her answer in the form of a ghastly looking version of the shade that had visited her the previous night. This physical manifestation had glowing blood red eyes and what looked like antlers on its head. Behind it were two large, snarling, dire wolves. The wolves kept their eyes locked on the Grimm while their master had its eyes locked on Cinder's. It spoke in a raspy, disembodied voice, "We weren't… expecting you… until much… later." It stepped toward the woman sending a frigid cold through the air.
Cinder called forth her two short swords and prepared to fight. She lunged at figure and delivered a blow the base of its neck. She would have decapitated it, had it not been for a layer of ice that accumulated on the edge of the blade. Instead of slicing cleaning through the creature's neck, the blade became too cold for the woman to hold. She felt an intense cold race up her arm. She dropped to her knees clutching her arm. "That should have killed you," She growled, "What happened?"
The creature let out its growling laughter that angered Cinder to no end, "Even with your… stolen… powers," It said, "We… still outmatch you. Soon… all your power… will be ours." It walked past Cinder and leaped to the roof tops, downing two Nevermores in the process. The negative energy in each or the dark birds flowed into the creature causing it to grow slightly taller and the antlers on its head to lengthen. It looked back over its shoulder, "Savor your time… in your current state. It will not last... much longer." It darted off into the alleys, hell bent on draining energy from the nearest sources. Not even a girl with half of a Maiden's power could stop it.
The students, remaining Whitemane siblings, and even the professors were waiting in the Docking Bays. Redwood had explained the plan to everyone. Just like Wendigo was bent on regaining his power, Redwood was bent on defeating the monster and saving his son at the same time. When Redwood had revealed that his plan was to wait for the Wendigo to grow to its full power, even General Ironwood had trouble comprehending the Faunus' sanity. "You want to allow a monster like that to grow to its fullest potential and then vanquish it?" The general asked, "What bizarre reason would possess you to take that course of action?"
"It's for the purpose of saving my son, James," Redwood replied, "Right now, Wendigo will only be draining aura from innocents."
"What if it draws in the Grimm?" Ironwood inquired sternly.
"The Grimm cower and flee from this creature," Redwood said, "it wields powers that terrify the Grimm. There are even reports of Wendigo feeding on the negative energy that holds the Grimm together. Think of it like a mosquito or a velvet ant…"
"…Or a basalisk or cockatrice," Cy piped up, "A creature with equal characteristics but kills off the genuine article for its own gain. After it's done it's damage and taken hold it wreaks havoc on the other areas."
Ironwood looked to Redwood, "He's wise beyond his years, isn't he?"
"One can hope he grows up to be like my father, Taxus," Redwood said, "He was stubborn, but not without a well-rounded and exercised sense of logic and a wealth of knowledge."
"Sometimes playing games sharpens the mind," Cy said, "right Umbra?"
"Little dude speaks the truth, sir," Umbra said, "But what chance does Rowan have of surviving a deadly possession from the Wendigo in the first place?"
"Rowan's meditation," Cy said, "I trained with him a few times. I've felt the effects of what it can do. If something can hold off a monster like Wendigo, meditation under a freezing cold waterfall can."
"We don't know whether that is true or not." Ironwood said, "I've heard meditation can do a lot of things, but I'll need definitive proof that it works."
"We've got Penny, Cy, and the waterfall at the base of the cliffs in front of the school." Yang said, "Every morning before Team WULF left on their last mission, he'd go and meditate at the base of the waterfall."
"What if Penny shorts out during the test?" Ironwood asked.
Tesla brought out a folded one piece jump suit and goggles, "These should help prevent that from happening, sir. I had them made especially for her for inclement weather."
"Do they know about…" Ruby started.
"No, I just told said friend that Penny was very active and needed some wet weather clothes and some goggles to help with visibility." Tesla chuckled.
Penny accepted the new garments and put them on. She took the garments and put them on, "Gizmo," She said, "Would you zip up the back please? My body's configuration sadly does not allow for movement beyond normal human limitations."
"I guess your father wanted you to be as human as possible." Ruby said, "I can actually say I appreciate that."
"You sounded almost like Weiss when you said that, Rubes," Yang said.
"I know," Ruby said, "It's just weird that she's not here. I hope she gets better soon."
"We all do, Ruby," Cy said, "We all do."
Penny put on the goggles and everyone headed to the waterfall at the base of the school.
Redwood looked to Ozpin, "I'm going to need something from the vault."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "For what purpose?"
"I want to put a thief to the test." Redwood replied.
"Against whom," Ozpin asked.
Cy was in the process of changing in his swim trunks. Ruby had her hands over her eyes, facing away from rocky out cropping that the boy was using for privacy. "Okay I'm coming out," Cy said, "Promise me you won't laugh."
Ruby turned around eyes wide with excitement, "We promise, now come out!" She shouted.
Cy stepped out wearing a pair od red and black tie-dye swim trunks. What had Ruby enamoured was the young Faunus' torso. It wasn't rippling and chiseled like Ruby Rowan's, but it was slim and streamline. Yang rolled her eyes and closed Ruby's mouth, "Take it easy, Rubes," the brawler said, "He's still a little young."
"Ew," Ruby said, "Yang, why'd you have to make it weird?"
Penny brought out a set of sensor patches from one of the pockets in the jumpsuit. She handed them to Ivy, "Place these on the major vital points." Ivy did so promptly.
When the patches were in place, Ivy stepped back and watched her little brother scamper up the rocks at the base of the falls like an agile mountain goat. When the young Faunus reached a flat rock directly at the center of the rushing torrent of the waterfall.
Cy looked back over his shoulder and gave a thumbs up. Penny got out her scroll returned the gesture. Cy turned back to the waterfall in front of him. He did an about face, took a deep breath in through the nose, raised his arms outward, crossed one leg in front of the other and plopped into a meditative posture under the icy waters. Penny looked at the scroll and took note of the elevated heart rate resulting from the exposure to the cold water. As Cy began get control of his heart rate and become use to the sheer cold of the falls, he began concentrating on focusing hos aura to a single point in his core.
Penny looked at the energy levels building in Cy's body. Ironwood examined the readings, fascinated at how such a young man could generate readings like that. "This is incredible, such excellent aura control for only ten years of age. I'm genuinely impressed."
"You should see Rowan when he meditates," Sycamore said, "With him you can feel the energy in the air. When he pushes the energy out, it splits a waterfall from top to bottom."
"I think I feel some of Cy's energy in the air," Ruby said.
"It's faint," Telephe said, "but it's there."
Cy felt the energy building up, he let it build until he couldn't hold it back. He relaxed and released it into the waterfall. The energy pushed the water off and up from the young Faunus. There was a large space between him and the cascading waters. Ironwood crossed his arms, "Now imagine that only at a large scale, sir," Ivy said, "That's what Rowan can do."
"I suppose I owe you an apology for doubting you, young man," Ironwood said.
"Us too, sir," Ivy said.
"Right," Sycamore said.
"Never doubt a Whitemane," Ashe said. Everyone smiled at the fact a five year old had said what they were thinking.
The vault was a massive dark catacomb-like room deep beneath Beacon Academy. It was storage for a particular item that Redwood needed for his plan to work, Amber the current Fall Maiden. "Now then, Redwood," Ozpin said, "for what reason do you want to extract Amber's remaining power?"
"Do deliver the ultimate injury to a witch," Redwood replied holding a pair of ornate aura cancelling gauntlets, "You see, my friend, the Dream Realm has been abuzz with chatter regarding Amber's condition for months. So much so, that the three families all agreed that the malicious group that stole half of the Maiden's powers must not be allowed to use it for their nefarious purposes."
"So am I to assume you'll give this person the rest of the Amber's powers," Ozpin sipped from his mug, "and then rob them of the incredible powers?"
"To put it simply, yes," Redwood replied, "You see, these gauntlets were created with a special feature. Instead of a physical lock that can be picked by any dedicated kid with a knack for breaking and entering, the heads of the Phoen and Aquio families, and myself, agreed on a voice activated lock. And with what will happen to Amber during the transfer, there won't be possibility of the witch getting what she wants."
Ozpin understood the premise of the plan. To give the target party in question exactly what they wanted but deny them the use. And to further the impossibility of the Maiden's powers working for this witch's purposes, he was going to use Amber's voice for the command. "An ingenious plan indeed," Ozpin commented, "but if your target will be in possession of the Maiden's power, you'll need to keep them occupied or find a way to wear them down in order to get your chance."
"I have that part of the plan already worked out with the head of the Phoen family." Redwood said, "In the last few days, I visited Amber in the Dream Realm. I consoled to her that it was the only way to ensure that she'd be freed of her pain."
Ozpin sipped from his mug, "I see. And what of Emerald and Mercury, do they know your intentions?"
"I'll let them know soon," Redwood said, "Now then, I want to get this phase of my plan set in motion."
The alleys of Downtown Vale, a homeless community full of roughed up people both human and Faunus. To anyone else, this was a decaying den where those who'd lost hope came to die. To a ruthless aura draining monster like Wendigo, however, this was an all you can eat buffet. The cloak of darkness from the setting sun was plenty to conceal the beast in the shadows. But trash can fires used for warmth kept it moving along the rooftops. It waited until after it was dark, then it decided to have its fun with its prey. It cast its gaze to the full moon above. Anyone looking skyward would fall under the spell of the monster's illusionary tactics.
This will be a perfect meal for us, Wendigo thought, So much aura to drain, so little time. And yet, I shall benefit from a little exercise. Let the fun begin.
The seaside cliffs of Vacuo's wastelands were and insurmountably high to climb after snaking through a precarious fog laden rocky labyrinth riddled with wrecks of ocean borne vessels of old and airships of various sizes. The deep, criss crossing catacombs winding for miles into the rock face made the home of the thought to be extinct Aquio family. Kaiyo Aquio, head of the large family of dragon Faunus, sat in a large well lit room deep within the subterranean maze. He focused on a small blue flame at the end of a candle.
Thoughts danced in his head concerning the news he'd discussed with Redwood Whitemane and Paschaliá Pheon, the Phoen family matriarch, an hour ago. The enemy of the three families had reawakened as was now running unchecked throughout the streets of Vale. He was informed that Paschaliá's daughter Telephe was already in Vale, and she'd seen the creature taking root in its new vessel. What troubled Kaiyo most was the identity of its new vessel, Redwood's second born son Rowan, what worried him even more was the fact that Redwood was planning on letting Wendigo grow and fully develop before vanquishing it again. Another thing that unnerved the dragon Faunus was that Paschaliá agreed with this choice of action.
"Father," A voice behind Kaiyou stirred him from his meditation, "is everything alright?"
The voice came from a thirteen year old boy with pale blonde hair wearing a blue silken robe. On the boy's head were two horns that looked like ground down antlers. His name was Azure Aquio because of his deep blue eyes. "Azure, how many times must I tell you not to interrupt me during my meditation?" Kaiyo asked.
"I'm sorry father," Azure bowed his head and stepped back.
Kaiyo sighed, "To answer your question, my son, I'm troubled." The tone of the dragon Faunus' voice held back an air of dread, "The head of the Whitemane family delivered unto the Phoen matriarch and myself a rather grave piece of news an hour ago."
"Is that why the elders seem so on edge," Azure asked, "as Aquio's descendant, I need to know… it is my birthright."
Kaiyo looked up wearily at he motioned the teenager into the room, "What you hear must not leave this room." He said as Azure nodded. Kaiyo took a deep breath and continued, "The middle son of Redwood Whitemane, Rowan, has been possessed by Wendigo, the enemy of all life on Remnant including the Grimm."
Azure was shocked. He'd heard the Dream Realm chatter around Rowan Whitemane, the wolf Faunus who'd lost his mother and saved Weiss Schnee from the White Fang. The dragon Faunus was curious as to how this could have happened. Suddenly, an informant came huffing into the room. "Master Kaiyo, sir. There's an incoming transmission coming from Beacon Academy. It's Professor Ozpin."
"Ozpin," Kaiyo asked with an air of surprise, "Azure, come with me."
"Is something wrong, father?" Azure asked.
"You're the descendant of Aquios," Redwood said, "You're as much a part of this as Rowan and Telephe. And with Rowan in the belly of the beast, you and Telephe need to save him."
Azure's eyes went wide, but deep in his heart Aquios' blood flowed through his veins. "Alright, father. Lead the way."
A/N: Well, we now have a new group of Faunus in the story. For those wondering, Kaiyo is a modified version of the Japanese word for ocean (A deep shade of blue green), and we all know Azure is a shade of blue, so I'm staying in the color naming rule for OC's. Next chapter will mainly focus on the Aquio family, but chapter 36 will have the gang from Beacon returning to meet Kaiyo and Azure at Beacon. I might further introduce Telephe's family in a future one-shot, you never know with me. I just write what I have a hankering to. Hope you liked this chapter. Please remember reviews are appreciated but by no means are they mandatory.
Until next time,
~Cluny