Team CYAN: Grimm Family Matters

Chapter 18: Awakening

(Note: I do not own RWBY, all rights to RWBY go to Rooster Teeth in honor of its creator, Monty Oum)

Aidan's POV

June 15, 03:06 PM

Zaka Lias stands before us after his Grimm and human half's have reunited. He looks to ground next to him to find Ly's poetry book on the ground and he picks it up.

Aidan: "You got some serious guys for showing your face again like this... You just don't know when to quit..." Run towards him. "Do ya!?" I attempt to strike but he quickly puts the book away, grab his sword and knock my strike back, to which I jump back, switch to my guns and fire a double charged shot at him that he blocks, but the impact still pushes him back a bit. We stand in our places and stare at each other for a second. "Get out of my way, Celena!" We both charge at each other as I switch back to Eclipse and we stay in a hold.

Zaka: "Defeating you like this has no meaning." Not even a smirk on his face.

Aidan: "Come on, Lloyd! Let's do this, right now!"

Zaka: "...I told you, while I concede my name at birth is Lloyd... my name is Zaka Lias!" He sweep kicks my feet and then side kicks me back. "Heal your wounds, Master. Get strong. After that, we'll settle the matter." They just state for a bit until Zaka turns around and uses the Salem to open a portal before putting it away. He turns his head to look towards to Celena as he stands before the portal. "Thank you, Celena." She just stares in confusion. "Oh, and worry no more your Spirit Guardian. It would seem you weren't as big a threat as I thought you might be... the seal should where off any time now." Then he walks through the portal and it closes after him as I get up and try to run after him.

Aidan: "Damnit..."

Celena: "Now hold on a second! If that's your student, what happened to Ly?"

Aidan: "He returned... to himself." Now it clicks in her head that Ly was his human this whole time. "Go home, Celena. This doesn't concern you." As I turn and head towards the exit.

Celena: "Like hell! I almost lost you because of him!" As she trails behind me.

Aidan: "This isn't your fight. I need to stop him and that's all that matters."

Celena: "I'm not gonna let you keep trying to fight this alone, Dad!" At that point I stop and turn to her.

Aidan: "You don't get it!"

Celena: "Oh, let me guess: 'I can't handle him'? Well you can shove that-!"

Aidan: "That's not it, Celena-"

Celena: "What is it, then!?"

Aidan: "He's your brother!" She obviously now looks shocked and then upset.

Celena: "What!?" Well, I guess I better explain myself now.

Aidan: "I had the feeling the first time I met him but I wasn't quite sure... And then I ran DNA test on some spilled blood from our battle before he disappeared again... and I certain. He still doesn't know it, but he is my firstborn son... Lloyd Verde" She still looks on in disbelieve. "After he was born, video footage shows a man in all black armor, mask and cloak sneaking into the the hospital and taking him away. And if you recall, that matches the description of Raven Crofts disguise from when he killed Quartz. Up until we saw that, we had no leads to follow into catching him and getting Lloyd back. And then a year after his kidnapping, we had you. And during your first year of combat school, I found a lost amnesiac boy with a dark crystal sword, claiming that his name was Zaka Lias. I took him in as a sort of... secret pupil during your entire combat school career. And about a week before your graduation, he regained his memory... and unlocked his Semblance as well as unlock the true power of the Salem Sword... which started his thirst for power. He told be a lot about his past. That he remembers his name true name was Lloyd and the he stole the sword from his captor, which we now know is Croft, and that Croft experimented on him... to give him dark powers by mixing his blood with that of Grimm blood. His Semblance being to control Grimm much like how Salem could with her magic. In order to keep the stress of your mind, I kept him a secret from everyone after discovering his true identity from forensic test on his spilled blood." She still can't believe this... not that I blame her... after all I practically did the same with Connor until she turned 17 last year.

Celena: "Does anyone else know about him?"

Aidan: "The only other people who know are Chris, Makayla, and your mother." She stays completely silent. Understandable. But I can't let this distract me! Lloyd is still out there and still on a pursuit for power! I have to get going! "Now as his father, I have to go teach him a lesson. Now I know you want to save him from this mindset as much as I do but it's obvious that sword has a very strong influence on him so if it comes down to it... I'll be the only one coming home alive. And I can't have you go kill your own brother." As I pat her shoulder before walking away and out of here. She's just stands there in complete disbelief.

Celena: "My brother...?" Cut to Zaka at the very top of the tree looking down on both Atlas and Mantle.

Zaka: "Even now, I still wonder who I was taken from... I wonder what my life would be if it hadn't happened. We're my parents a Huntsmen and Huntress? Standard citizens? Criminals? Law enforcement? I have a feeling that the only one who can help me answer this... is you." A dark crystal throne appears behind him as he sits down. "So with that... then we must finish this now... Master." Cut to a ledge outside where Nya, Makayla and Chris are looking around in bewilderment as the earth quakes.

Chris: "Damnit! What now?"

Makayla: "Oh god, I thought it was over..."

Nya: "This isn't good... We gotta get outta here!" That's when I show up from above as I flew out of there.

Makayla: "Aidan! What's going on?"

Aidan: "My dumbass son is back and I'm gonna rip him a new one!"

Chris: "Lloyd is-? How!?"

Aidan: "Oh, and Chris?" I give him back his weapon. "Thought you might want that back."

Chris: "Uh, cool? I guess?" Obviously annoyed I changed the subject on him.

Nya: "In that case, Professor, here!" She tosses me a pair of silver gauntlets. "Made it for Mr. Kaen to replace his weapon, just finished it a moment ago. It'd be a shame to waste it like that, so make good use of it!"

Chris: "Yeah, you can have it. Nothing beats the good old Scorponok!"

Aidan: "Alright, alright! Thanks for the weapon, but right now, you three need to find Celena and get out of here. I gotta go teach my son a lesson." As I put the gauntlets on and put them away with my Semblance and walk away.

Aidan-new weapon:

Burning Stardust, Meteor

Silver gauntlets combining Fire and Earth Dust. Swapped for the Scorponok.

Gauntlet artes:

Rapid Attack

King Hammer

Tiger Bite

Palm Blast

Shell Shock

Demise Claw-Divine State

The Grimm appear to be going crazy but are completely ignoring me, which means I can reach Lloyd, which I'm betting he's at the top of the tree this time, without trouble... but surprise, surprise I meet trouble. I see a Petra Gigas, a Sabyr and a small Nevermore... I don't even need Skeith to help me figure that these are Ly's companions Tobu, Kiba and Yurei, but instead of being all white, their black with white bone plates and masks like normal Grimm but their glowing purple just like the Evolved Grimm.

Aidan: "Hey guys, where have ya been? I thought you back into Lloyd. You're gonna wish you did."

Tobu: "Oh, the wise guy Verde." As he perch's himself on Yurei's shoulder. "We were spawned from Lloyd's abominable thoughts. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Aidan: "Come to think of it, I did feel like something was off. Just like my evil son. But I am a bit curious about your backstories."

Tobu: "I suppose I can share that story before you die. Yurei here was the first. Croft has captured a Petra Gigas and gave it Lightning Dust to put Lloyd through intense training, as a part of his objective of creating a dangerous killing machine. But all he did was scare the kid to death as he almost did die. It was after that he finally escaped, taking the Salem with it to keep its dark power out of Crofts hands. Crofts hideout where he was keeping Lloyd was in the middle of a forest somewhere in Anima, as Lloyd was lost in the forest before coming across a village, but before being attacked by me. A large Nevermore that had consumed Fire Dust was chasing him down. He tripped and fell very close to town and I almost had him when a town Huntsmen came in and saved him. And as for how I can speak, that a merely an accidental imprint of his mind, as he heard the Huntsmen voice in the back as I coming close, burned into his head. After recovering from that incident, he thought that Atlas would be the safest place to be, so a Huntsmen of the village helped him find his way to Argus and the soldiers helped get him to Mantle. But as luck would have it, a Grimm attack occurred. Lloyd tried to duck out to safety in an alley, where he encountered a Sabyr that had consumed Ice Dust. Though we was saved by Atlas soldiers, he took a heavy blow to head which lead to his amnesia. After waking up from the incident, he took up the name of Zaka Lias and figured that a Headmaster could help him recover his lost memories, but considering how hard is was to get in touch with Atlas', he tried the next, closest option... you. And you know the rest."

Aidan: "And after splitting himself, Ly gained his own Semblance to summon and control you three."

Tobu: "To sum all of this in a nutshell: we're merely his discarded thoughts from when he was Zaka Lias. No longer bound by his consciousness. And we're here to kill you of our own free will! Hraagh!" He threw out his fire breath to which I blocked with my Broadsword. "And kill you we shall, Verde. Us! Not Lloyd." Tobu and Kiba come my to which I switch to my Twin Blades and send out Skeith to handle Yurei. Both Tobu and Kiba have me on my toes with their ice spikes and fire projectiles but fire and ice go together as well as oil and water. I switch to the Dual Guns to keep the dual wielding blades but also have a distance advantage until I switch to Broadsword and attack with Bone Crusher followed up by Reapers Touch. I switch to the Meteor and use Shell Shock to shatter all of Kiba's incoming spikes before finishing Kiba with Armor Break. After avoiding more of Tobu's projectiles I stun him with Ghost Falcon and move on to Yurei as I enter Divine State with Meteor and preform Demise Claw. It may not have finished him off but his body is covered in cracks. He attacks he his electrical projectiles but I deflect them with the Twin Blades and switch to the Gauntlets and hit him with Rapid Attack followed up by Palm Blast which shatters his stone body, forcing the Geist to abandon it and try to run but I get in close and knock him to the ground with Heavely Wheel and follow up with Reapers Dance to finish him off. Afterwards I see Tobu in the air to I use Judgement to shoot him down. He struggles on the ground as he slowly withers away.

Aidan: "You should've known better. Despite being a Grimm, you got a good heart, but your about as sharp as a marble."

Tobu: "Perhaps... But if you had even a little bit of trouble defeating us, imagine what Lloyd can do to you in your old age... Go see for yourself..." As he finally vanishes. I look up to the top of the tree.

Aidan: "If those guys were really spawned from his trauma... then maybe this'll be the end of his nightmares? But I guess the only way to find out would be to try and change him... but if not then..." I shake my head. "No! I can't think that way! I can still save him... It's about time I tell him the truth of where he comes from!" Cut to Celena running down a branch of the tree that is like a perfect diagonal road, but she has to be quick has the ground behind her crumbles, but Nya and the others find her and drive next to her.

Nya: "Celena, jump in!" Chris has his hand outstretched with the door open as Celena grabs him and he pulls her in, closing the door behind them, and Nya keeps going to avoid falling from the crumbling ground.

Celena: "Where's Dad!?"

Makayla: "He's got this! We have to go!"

Celena: "Dad said that this guy is my brother! What the hells going on, Makayla!?"

Makayla: "It's all true. The facts don't lie. And it was only a matter of time before he showed himself again."

Celena: "This doesn't make any SENSE!" As she proceed to slam Nya's work desk in the back.

Makayla: "I know you must hate Lloyd right now, but you can't kill your own brother!"

Chris: "She's right. It'd just make you no different from the gods. Please, just forget about this. You saved us, you should be proud-"

Celena: "Nya, stop the car!" As Makayla tries to hold her back.

Nya: "No chance! After all of this!? Are you insane!?" Everyone just stays silent for a second.

Celena: "Fine! I'll go by myself!" As she zips out the window with Chris and Makayla look through said window in fear.

Chris: "Celena!" As the car keeps going forward.