Here we are at Chapter 100. Sorry for the late update, but it be that time of the year and all that. Anyway, today we learn about Khazhak's grandfather, Celadon Kazeryu, and his connection with Maria, but that's not all we'll learn. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 100. Enjoy.
Chapter 100: The Dragon's Den
"It was back when I was still an active huntress. I was out on a mission to kill a Nevermore that had been terrorizing a village in the mountains. I was able to deal with it without much problem, but then real trouble showed up. These group of hooligans showed up, and apparently, their target... was me," Maria tells her tale while the others listen. "I dealt with most of them, but their leader, a female crocodile Faunus wielding a pair of cutlasses, overwhelmed me, saying that they were there because their 'master' wanted me dead because of my eyes... She slashed my eyes and I was blinded, aura depleted, and defenseless. She took her time in preparing to kill me. I really thought I was dead... until Celadon showed up..."
...Flashback begin...
"Well, I can respect your efforts... A fighter until the end," Tock says as she readies her right cutlass.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blows Tock back away from a younger Maria. Maria tries to look around, despite her injury. However, she can hear footsteps approaching from behind her and then stand in front of her.
"You alright?" a male voice calls out.
"Who... who are you?" Maria asks.
"Someone who came to help," the male says.
Tock gets back on her feet and looks at the new opponent. It is a male with shoulder-length black hair with green tips, wearing a grayish green vest over a black shirt with one long sleeve going down his left arm. He is also wearing gray pants with knee armor, and black leather boots. He has on shoulder, elbow, and vambrace armor on his right arm. On his waist is a pair of belts, one of which has a mechanical sheathe with an arm to adjust its position on his waist, with a katana sheathed inside. Around his neck is a chain necklace with a dragon symbol carrying a green gem in its claws. The man has a few scars on his face and slightly tanned skin, and green eyes. (For the sheathe, think Jetstream Sam from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, without the trigger mechanism)
"Who the Hell are you?!" Tock yells out.
"This is your ONE warning. Leave now, and never return," the man warns her.
Tock looks between the man and her target, "If I return empty-handed, my master will feed me to her pets. Damn it!" Tock thinks before readying her blades. "Don't worry, love, I'll leave as soon as she's dead. This is none of your business," Tock says.
The man glances between Tock and Maria, "I'm making it my business," he says, resting his right hand on the handle of his sword.
Tock growls and then charges at the mystery man. The man closes his eyes and a small, concentrated surge of wind encircles his hand and the hilt of his sword. When Tock gets close and swings her blade, the man's eyes shoot open and the wind suddenly blows forth, causing his hand to unsheathe and swing the blade at break-neck speed. Tock ends up behind the man, and glances back at him, seeing that his blade has a gray body with a green-ish edge. A second later, Tock drops her swords and falls onto the ground, dead. The man sheathes his blade and calmly walks over to Maria, who inches away in fear.
The man kneels before her, "It's alright. I'm here to help," he says gently.
"Who are you?" Maria asks.
"...You may call me... Celadon. Celadon Kazeryu," Celadon replies, offeing a hand to her.
...Flashback end...
"Our grandfather saved you?" Khazhak asks as the group continue to ride through the wilderness, with Yang driving her bike.
"Yes. He took me to his place, where his wife healed my injuries, though she couldn't restore my eyes or my sight. We became friends after that, and he helped me get to Atlas where I got my prosthetic eyes so I could see again. I went into hiding after that..." Maria explains.
"I can't believe it..." Qrow says, getting their attention. "You're the Grimm Reaper... You were a legend! And then you disappeared..." he says, and then looks to the Ryu siblings. "And your grandfather is the Dragon Swordsman. He was said to be the fastest blade around. Not even bullets could match his draw speed; some called him the Dragon Sword Flash. Two legends of the past that eventually... went away," Qrow says.
"How do two legends like that just... fade away?" Oscar asks.
"You guys never used your names, and you never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just laying low after you two disappeared. Eventually, we just came to accept that you were probably dead," Qrow says.
"Well, Celadon truly is dead," Maria says.
"What?" Qrow asks, then looks to the Ryu siblings.
"Before we were born, our grandfather left the battlefield to train his son, our father. Later on, our grandfather died of illness when we were very young. Don't have that many memories of him, and those that we do have, are a little hazy at this point," Voshkie'ahk explains.
"I heard about his death, and was saddened by that. I never got the chance to repay him for saving me all those years ago. He told me about his family though, and about his grandchildren," Maria explains.
"But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper. And Raven... She based her weapon off of the Dragon Swordsman," Qrow says.
"Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way," Maria says sadly.
"How can you say that?" Blake asks.
"Child, a huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight. Afraid someone would find me again, finish what the others started. Celadon tried to convince me to get back out there... but I was just... too afraid to do so. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already," Maria says, looking at Yang, who glances down sadly. "It's... comforting, seeing that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape," Maria says and then looks back at the Ryu siblings. "Celadon told my about his grandchildren, and how you, Khazhak, aspired to be a great warrior like him and your father. I always wanted to meet you, but I never got the chance... But now, to meet the grandchildren of Celadon Kazeryu face to face, I can see much of him in you, both of you," Maria says.
The siblings look between themselves and Maria, unsure of what to say.
"Well, maybe you can try and do something now. Teach me how to use my eyes like you," Ruby suggests about her Silver Eyes.
Maria stares at her, thinking about it. However, the moment is cut short when Khazhak looks to the forest, narrowing his eyes.
"Stop here," Khazhak says.
"What are you talking about?" Yang asks.
"Just do it," Khazhak tells her, leaving no room for argument.
The others are a little surprised by his demand, but Yang does as he asks and stops her ride. Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk are the first to leave the flatbed and start walking off into the forest.
"Khazhak, where are you going?" Ruby calls out and then runs after him.
"Guys, wait!" Lloyd yells.
Everyone leaves the flatbed, and Yang slowly drives her motorcycle around the trees behind them as they catch up to Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk.
"Khazhak, what is it?" Ruby asks as she catches up to him.
Khazhak says nothing and they eventually come to a small clearing in the forest. Everyone else reaches them, and aside from the Ryu siblings, are shocked by what they see. Sitting in the center of the clearing is an old house, what remains of it anyway. The signs of a fire long since passed are clear on the walls of the building. The roof is barely holding together, the windows are broken, there's burn marks everywhere.
"It looks like there was a fire here," Blake notes.
"Guys, maybe we should go before Grimm show up," Weiss suggests.
"There's no Grimm here. There hasn't been any living creatures here in over six years," Khazhak says.
"Come on, how could you know that?" Yang asks.
"How could I not. I know this place better than anyone... This was once my home," Khazhak says, melancholy.
His words stun the group as he and Khazhak walk towards the old house.
"I remember now," Qrow says, getting his nieces' attention. "This was Azraq's home... before one of Salem's men came here and killed his wife and set the place on fire with Voshkie'ahk inside it," he says.
"This was Brother's home?" Lloyd asks, stunned.
Khazhak approaches the front door, or the remnants of it, and pushes it out of the way to get inside. Everything from the living room couches, to the dishes on the kitchen counter, remain where they had been so long ago, back when he used to live here.
"Over six years since we've been back here," Voshkie'ahk notes.
"Yeah," Khazhak mutters.
Meanwhile, everyone else still remains outside.
"Let's just give them a minute for now," Qrow says.
"I've never seen Khazhak's old home before," Porphyrius says.
"Wait, you mean you guys have never seen this place? Khazhak has never come back here when he was travelling with you guys?" Weiss asks.
Reaper shakes his head, "No. Not even once," he says.
Ruby feels a little worried for Khazhak now, with how he might be taking all of this. Inside, Voshkie'ahk enters her old room, finding the burnt remains of her bed, a desk drawer next to it, an opened closet with nothing left inside that hasn't been destroyed by the fire, and a few other things lying around. She walks to her desk, seeing an old picture frame sitting on top of it. Most of the picture has been burned away, but she can still see the happy faces of herself when she was younger, and Khazhak. However, the faces of her parents have been burned away. Voshkie'ahk softly runs her hand across the old picture, a single tear escaping her eye. Meanwhile, Khazhak enters their parent's old room, seeing just about everything burned to cinders. He walks over to their closet and opens it up, looking down on the floor to spot a hatch on the floor. He forces it open with his left hand, finding a long metal case inside, left untouched by the flames. Pulling it out, he breaks the lock off and opens it up, revealing none other than his grandfather's sheathe and sword inside of it. Khazhak pulls it out and slightly unsheathes the sword, seeing the grayish green blade also untouched by the fire. Khazhak sheathes the blade.
"Khazhak..." he hears Ruby behind him. "Is that..." she mutters.
"My grandfather's weapon. He called it 'Wind Caller'. It served him on many battlefields, from all the stories he told Voshkie and I when we were little. It's pretty much like a family heirloom. His father had the original and passed it on to him. He modified it to his own liking. When he passed it onto my father, he had his own weapon at the time, after he completed his training. My father said that he would pass it on to me when my training was complete... Of course... that never happened," Khazhak says.
Ruby sits next to him, "Are you okay?" she asks.
"I'm fine," Khazhak mutters and places the sheathe on his back above his own blade. And then stands up.
He gets ready to leave, but notices something under his mother's desk drawer: another small door on the floor.
Khazhak moves the furniture and opens the compartment, finding a small object wrapped in cloth inside. He unwraps it, finding a picture inside, one of him when he was younger, Voshkie'ahk, their parents... and a third person in the picture. One with black hair and red eyes
Ruby walks over and tries to look at the picture, only for Khazhak to suddenly crush the picture frame in his left hand, spooking her.
"Khazhak?!" Ruby says.
Khazhak drops the destroyed picture and walks out of the room. Ruby watches him go before looking back at the photo, finding that the picture is still in one piece, if only crushed into a ball. She fixes up the picture and sees Khazhak's family, but her eyes also dwell on the person with the black hair and red eyes in the photograph.
"Who's that?" Ruby mutters.
The rest of the group enter the house once curiosity got the better of them. Lloyd and Blake head into Khazhak's room, finding some burnt furniture, while Reaper and Weiss check the kitchen.
"To think that this used to be where Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk lived. I never would've expected this. Aside from the destruction and decay, it is actually quite quaint," Weiss notes.
"Khazhak never told us where he lived exactly. He only said that his family lived outside the kingdoms, but were settled on Anima. Whenever we asked him where it was exactly, he wouldn't say, and after a while, we dropped the subject. Figured it was just something he wasn't comfortable with talking about at the time. We all had things we didn't feel like talking about back then," Reaper explains.
Meanwhile, Qrow, Porphyrius, and Yang check out the living room, with Porphyrius looking through some old books that were charred black on an old bookshelf. When he picked on out, it fell apart and dispersed into ash. Khazhak finds Voshkie'ahk, and the pair walk out the front door, followed by Ruby, meeting with the others as they all walk out.
"You okay there, Brother?" Lloyd asks.
"I'm fine," Khazhak says, not in the mood for a conversation.
"What's that?" Weiss asks, pointing at the sheathe.
"Family heirloom," Khazhak says.
He ends it there and takes a walk around the old house, walking to the backyard. The rest of the group follow and they all find three wooden crosses standing at the end of three graves in the backyard.
Ruby gasps, "These are..." she can't find the strength to finish her words.
"His parents' graves," Reaper says.
Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk kneel in front of the graves. Voshkie'ahk clasps her hands together and offers a silent prayer, while Khazhak takes no action aside from bowing his head and closing his eyes. The others stay back while the siblings have their moment with their late parents.
"Hey Mom. Hey dad... It's been a while. I'm sorry for not coming to visit after so long. Things have... been pretty crazy. But I have good news. I finally found Khazhak. We're finally reunited. And we've been travelling together with our new friends. Even Khazhak here has a team from Beacon, and he's the leader. Team KEPL, and they certainly made an impression on everyone. We were recently taking care of some stuff at Haven, and now we're on our way to Atlas. Not glad to hear about going there, I'm sure, but it's really important. We can't stay long. I know it wasn't really part of the plan, but I'm a warrior now, not like you Dad, or like Khazhak, but my own kind of warrior. I'll work with Khazhak to keep our family legacy alive. We'll protect the innocent, just as you once did, just as our grandfather once did. I hope one day, we can make you proud, Dad. And Mom, I actually met someone. Her name is Yukari, and she's really sweet, if a little awkward at times. She and Khazhak don't always get along, but that's pretty much to be expected. We've been together for a while now. You'd really like her though. One day soon, I'll introduce her to you guys," Voshkie'ahk says, glancing at the ring Yukari gave her for a moment. "Listen, we need to go now, but we'll come back one day. I promise," Voshkie'ahk says and offers one more prayer.
"Are you alright, my child?" Tiamat asks.
"I'm fine Tiamat. I'll be fine," Voshkie'ahk replies before standing up.
Throughout the exchange, Khazhak does not utter a single word, staring at the graves.
"You're not going to say anything?" Bahamut asks.
"...There's nothing left to say," Khazhak mutters and stands up.
The siblings finish up and rejoin the group.
"You guys okay?" Yang asks.
"We're fine. Sorry for the detour. Let's get going," Khazhak says.
"Khazhak, is it true that you've never come back here? To see your parents?" Ruby asks.
"There was nothing left here. No reason to come back," Khazhak replies.
"But... this is your home," Blake says.
"No... This is just a house with a couple of graves. My home was with my family while they were here. But they haven't been here in a long time. Again, there was no reason for me to come back. Enough of this banter, we need to get moving and get to Argus," Khazhak says and starts walking back to the front of the house.
The rest of the group watch him with worried expressions, but decide to go along with it and not press him further for now. The group make their way to the front of the house, but as they do, a sudden blast of energy hits right in front of the group, sending up smoke and blasting them back. Most stay on their feet, with only a few falling onto the ground.
"Oops, did I do that?" a male voice rings out.
Khazhak looks up and draws his sword, as does the rest of the group. The dust settles and they see a lone figure walking towards them from the distance. A figure wearing a black cloak concealing him.
"It can't be," Voshkie'ahk mutters as her eyes widen.
"To think that we would meet again after all this time... right where it all began. Right, Khazhak?" the male says.
"Who are you?" Khazhak demands.
"Khazhak... It's him. He's the one who killed our mother," Voshkie'ahk says, making his eyes widen.
"He's the one..." Khazhak mutters, and his rage builds.
"Oh now, no need to look so angry at me, Khazhak. It's been so long since we last saw each other. I've missed you," the man says and removes his cloak.
The group now get a good luck at this individual. He appears to be in his early twenties, with shoulder length black unkept hair, with red eyes, a fair complexion, and a few scars on his face, including one long scar going from his brow to his left cheek diagonally. He is wearing a sleeveless black, long jacket with a jagged tail and with red edging and a red inside. Under the jacket is a black, skin-tight shirt with a red zipper down the middle. He is also wearing dark gray pants with two pairs of black belts with silver buckles wrapped around his thighs, and jagged silver armored boots on his legs. On his left arm is a shoulder pad, elbow armor, and a jagged gauntlet on his left arm and a black glove. However, the right arm is concealed by a half-cloak wrapped all the way around the arm, going down to the waste, so the group can't see it. On his back is a sword the same size as Khazhak's with a jagged edge and a gun mechanism on the back end of the blade, and a glowing red section in the hilt and a spiked tip on the end of the handle. (Think the warped blade from Code Vein, but a little smaller and different in appearance)
It is someone Khazhak recognizes all too well.
"...YOU!" Khazhak seethes, his anger rising beyond what the others believed it could go.
"Khazhak," Ruby Mutters fearfully.
"It can't be..." Voshkie'ahk trails off in horror.
Khazhak growls as his grip tightens on his sword, "KAMIR'AHK!" he shouts in rage.
The young man just smirks evilly, "...Hello... little brother..."
And that's the chapter. The fated reunion between Khazhak and this new individual, Kamir'ahk, has arrived. Just so you know, his full name is Kamir'ahk Shiryu, the red-eyed dragon of death. Also, some of you guys thought it was an uncle, but I never once speculated that it could be an uncle. A family member, yes, but never an uncle. Now then, Khazhak's greatest challenge yet has come in the form of someone from his past, but will he be able to defeat this new threat? Until then, please Read and Review.